Rating the Murtala Nyako Administration
by Zayyad I. Muhammad
Laughable politicking; reminiscent of one in a comical drama, instead of good governance, has occupied a prominent status in Adamawa State today, and the reasons for that, are anybody’s guess. From the former Gongola State, to the present day Adamawa, the State has went through some interesting political paths; with different governments, playing different political games, but almost all the governments Adamawa State had, have maintained one unique style of governance- liberalism. This has helped those governments maintained and managed the complex nature of the political geography of the State.
The present government in Adamawa State is running its affairs based on an ideology of enmity against its predecessor- the Boni Haruna led administration. This, the government claimed, was to right the ills of the past, and give the people an administration that would be better than Mr. Boni Haruna’s. Well, that’s good; human beings appreciate having something that surpasses what they used to have. However, as events in the Nyako government continue to unfold, from its inception to date; it appears that the government is witnessing what political pundits may term: self-inflicted political confusion.
The huge hullabaloo about Boni Haruna’s style of governance among the beneficiaries of the Nyako government compels one to try and make a simple comparison between the Murtala Nyako led administration to that of former Governor Mr. Boni Haruna.
The Boni Haruna led administration, however way they did it, were able to maintained internal democracy in the party that brought them to power, fairness in the government and the State at large, but the Nyako government, since it birthed, to date, is facing serious political crisis- its failure to reconcile with the other gubernatorial contenders who were denied the right to contest the 2007 PDP primaries; the persistent political-row between the Adamawa House of Assembly and the executive, and the growing disconnect between the government and the grassroots. These, including other political issues, were the main reasons behind the current crack in the Adamawa PDP, which led to the emergence of a faction led by Medan Teneke, and the failure of the government to get it right in the last local government election conducted in the State, which was surrounded with huge objection before and after it conduct, especially among the PDP supporters.
Who is in control in the State? – This is the question many people are asking; because, one interesting thing that has characterised the leadership style of those in power in Adamawa State today, is the noticeable absent of a standing leader. Adamawa people are confused on who is in control among those in power in the State- is it a Senator? Is it a Junior Minister? Or is it a former Deputy Governor? Murtala Nyako is an elderly man; but the man is so much bamboozled to the extent that, there is a rumour moving around in the State, that whenever a memo is brought to him, he has to take it to his eldest son, and ask him in Fulfulde- binìel ém, mi wata jungo na? (My son, should I sign this?); this has shown the level of disarray the Adamawa government is. For having a clear leader, the Boni Haruna administration was able to established a room for everyone in its folks – for instant, cordial relationship with the legislature, stability in governance, avenue for discussion, negotiation, engagement and amicable settlement of political disputes.
Nepotism and cronyism are today clear deliberate policies of the present Adamawa government; the most pathetic is the level of involvement of the Governor’s family members, relatives and his village folks in state’s policy formulation - from the much-talked four wives saga, to the clear involvement of the governor’s eldest son in government, to the continuing holding of power as PDP State chairman by Mijinyawa kugama- Nyako’s cousin.
Those in power in Adamawa are running the affairs of the State without fairness, and with discrimination, forgetting that, nepotism and cronyism deny ordinarily qualified people access to basic income and power; but this can have long term and short term impacts on those perpetuating the act- political degeneration and society’s unacceptability .
All-inclusiveness in government is very alien to the present government in Adamawa state; those in the saddle of responsibilities in the State have forgotten that participation by both men and women from the entire fragment of the society is a key cornerstone of good governance; but ‘we’ and ‘them’ way of thinking is today central in government appointments, awards of contract and State policies. Good governance requires reaching the different interests in society; reaching a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the people and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. And this can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society. The present crops of people hanging in the corridors of power in Adamawa know these, but their hearts don’t want to believe it.
Corruption has reached a disturbing level in Adamawa state today, from the inflating of contracts sum, to the outright stealing from government coffers- for instance, an earth dam that can be ordinarily build with N50 Million, the government is building it with N300 Million, the rehabilitation of the Shagari Estate roads, which when combined are not up to 10Km, the government said will cost N3 billion to rehabilitate, and the continuing siphoning of tax payers money through a ghost scheme – the 6,000 Special Assistants. If one is to grade the Murtala Nyako administration on accountability, transparency, responsiveness, consensus, participation, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, its best mark will be 2/10- which is a very poor result.
Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa State, zaymohd@yahoo.com , 08036070980
