By Lawal Akanbi Sharafadeen.
When Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was appointed as the new Nigerian Governors’ Forum Chairman in May 2023, succeeding former Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Kwarans across all party lines rejoiced at the news of his appointment. People like myself, despite political ideology differences, were optimistic that this would translate to better things for our Kwara – facilitation of more developmental projects to the state, juicy appointments for Kwarans, and several benefits. This optimism was coupled with the fact that this is a state that delivered an appreciable number of votes to the ruling party in the last general elections. However, this hope has proven to be delusional and misplaced.
The federal structure necessitates that appointments are made with consideratios for balance, merit, and promotion of national development, which often depends on how much influence one can exert to lobby for these appointments. I was not wrong to have high expectations from the Chairman of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum to facilitate more appointments for Kwarans, who have individuals rich in experience, expertise, and a commitment to public service. However, it is unfortunate that our governor lacks the basic minimum expectation from that highly exalted position.
In fact, my findings have shown that the majority of those who have secured federal appointments so far in the State have done so through other influential personalities or by leveraging their own personal relationships with the Presidency. Kwarans are left to suffer from the inadequacy and unavailability of the state governor without any tangible benefits to show for it. Call this the lamentations of a concerned Kwara citizen, but how can a ranking governor boast of only about 3 or 4 ordinary members out of 555 appointees in the recent federal appointments to university boards?
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq knows fully well that he is not playing his cards right. If he still has his conscience, he should address this with the Presidency at Aso Rock to save his infamous reputation at home. This insufficiency on the part of the governor will not only reduce appointments to the state but also diminish the influence that the seat of the Chairman of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum commands. Perhaps this is already happening. My guess is that the forum is already seeing the lack of leadership from Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, which is why it has gone ahead to seek deputies from the six geo-political zones—an unprecedented and unnecessary move, likely due to perceived weakness in Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s leadership.
There would have been no need for comparison—something I usually do not encourage, especially between different political parties and officeholders—but in this case, I feel it is necessary. We need to recognize that incompetence should not be the new normal. For instance, Adamawa State under the reign of Governor Adamu Fintiri of the People’s Democratic Party secured 32 appointments in the University boards. Osun got over 20 appointments. Not to mention states like Borno, Lagos, and Benue, where the current presidency hails from. If the opposition can secure this many appointments, is Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq truly that powerless?
These are the issues. We have never had it this bad. Even when we had a Senate President who was not aligned with the presidency at the time, he facilitated many appointments as Chairman and Board members of various agencies. Notably, even after Senator Bukola Saraki lost the election and as a member of the PDP, he facilitated the appointment of a Director-General of one of the most coveted agencies in the National Assembly. We will always talk about it because our current governor, despite having so much to leverage, is not functioning. Is he really that helpless? Perhaps he should take this letter to the presidency if he is not bold enough to demand developmental dividends directly or, better still, resign as the first most ineffective NGF chairman in history. These are the issues.
Lawal Akanbi Sharafadeen writes from Kwara State Capital.
