To those who support Barrister Ibrahim Shehu Shema, the immediate past governor of Katsina State, the legacies he has bequeathed to the Katsinawas in the eight years he was at the helm have remained the best and most enduring since the state was carved out of Kaduna State in 1987.
However, Shema’s opponents, most, if not all of whom are drawn from the current administration in the state, point to the cost of these projects, which, according to them, were inflated, and question the quality of the projects, among other things. They do not believe Shema deserves the praises that came, and are still coming his way. Since most of these viewpoints are rather political, it is pertinent to look at them from a dispassionate perspective so that inherent lessons can be learnt, to the benefit of Katsina State and its good people.
To many Nigerians in Katsina and beyond, Shema remains the best governor that this Republic has produced. Those who hold on to this point of view believe for us to get it right as a nation, we must, as a people, learn to be fair to the few leaders in our society that selflessly excelled in their call of duty, and celebrate them so that upcoming generation of leaders can be encouraged to see the virtue of selflessness and imbibe same. ww
Was Shema selfless; and was the cost of the projects he executed jerked up to shortchange the good people of Katsina? These questions are really difficult to answer. But one of the best examples to use in answering these questions is the Katsina Government House project he executed in the course of his tenure of office, and which his successor, Masari, is now enjoying. Whereas Shema spent a little over four billion Naira to build a befitting structure standing to the pride of the state, a state in north-central Nigeria has spent more than three times that much to erect a government house that is not even close to that of Katsina in size, equipment and quality.
Even more importantly, Shema built that government house without touching one dime of Katsina’s statutory allocation. He invested resources and drew from it to provide the structure as a sort of gift to his people. In Nigeria, this is an unprecedented feat. No governor before Shema was able to achieve such. Indeed, many such funds invested ended up disappearing into deep pockets of those governing. In this wise, therefore, Shema deserves the commendation of all people of goodwill wherever they may be. He must be seen as a rare example of governance with responsibility and utmost patriotism. And political differences should not deny him this pride of place.
The above example buttresses, in a big way, the fact that Shema served as selflessly as possible, and that the cost of projects he executed were some of the lowest, given the example of a smaller structure executed in another northern state.
Already, there are deeply entrenched views in Katsina that Shema’s legacies are impossible to match, not to talk of surpassing. And if this viewpoint is allowed to go on unchallenged, it will spell doom to the incumbent government which has just started a first term, and will want to finish it on a high and win a second term of office.
In saner climes, since government is a continuum and there is always a lot of work to be done, the expectation is that upon coming to power, the incumbent administration will roll out the drums and hit the ground running, as Shema did when he assumed office, to make life better for the good people of Katsina. This is only achievable with little or no di straction, even more so as time waits for no one.
Already, more than one-tenth of the four year period is gone, and there is the danger in Katsina that if the current slow standard is maintained, not even half of Shema’s legacies could be met, and the pull him down syndrome in place would at the end of the day not work, because the people are no fools. They know what Shema did to uplift their state and make life better for them, and they feel that in their everyday lives.
The people cannot, for example, forget Shema’s unprecedented achievements in education, particularly in taking girls off the streets of Katsina and making them better future mothers and leaders by getting them educated. They recall the incentives given to mothers, which made school enrolment a top target for those homes that considered western education prohibitive. Throughout the state, parents did not have to bother about payment of WAEC and NECO fees for their children, and many did not also have to enrol their children in private schools because the structure and facilities Shema provided were better and will still be enjoyed by the people for many, many years to come.
The people of Katsina also recall, with nostalgia, Shema’s strides in agriculture and in reducing poverty. The Zobe Dam he spared no effort to transfer ownership from the federal to the state government has been ensuring a major boost in irrigation. The Songhai agricultural initiative, introduced in the three senatorial zones, and based in Daura, Katsina and Funtua had gone a long way in ensuring farming is made more attractive to the youths. Through this initiative, thousands of youths were lifted off the streets and made useful to the society, accounting for why under Shema, Katsina was one of the most peaceful states in the Nigerian federation.
At a time most states were owing billions of naira in salary arrears, Shema ensured Katsina civil servants were paid without fail. He did not owe for even one day, but rather left billions of naira in the state treasury that the new administration had used to continue paying the civil servants.
As stated earlier, no one is stopping Masari from investigating Shema, but it is a whirlwind which will bear neither him nor anyone any good. Of course palace courtiers, many of who regard Shema as an enemy, will not allow the governor see or accept this.
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