THE disturbing news emanating from Niger State is that governance in the North-Central state is currently ‘frozen’ as the government of the state has been literally moved, as it were, to Saudi Arabia where the top echelon of government, namely the governor, his deputy, the speaker of the House of Assembly and 60 percent of the State Executive Council members (SEC) have gone to perform the holy pilgrimage. It was also reported that all the female Permanent Secretaries in the state were on the entourage of the governor to the holy land! Worst still, it was reported that none of these senior government officials passed on the batons to those who could act in their stead while they were away. Consequently, governance in the state is currently grounded and without anyone in charge. This crass display of insensitivity and impunity by the political leadership is tantamount to outright disdain for the citizens and their welfare. The shabby treatment meted out to the citizens of the state, as exemplified by the official lackadaisical approach to the important task of governance, is horrible. Yet, the impression is often created, through propaganda and choreographed public displays, that the rulers are interested in the public good even when it should be clear that they are only interested in personal aggrandizement, the welfare of their families and that of their close associates.

The Niger State government’s selfish decision to embark on Hajj jamboree at this inauspicious time has drawn the ire of the opposition political parties in the state, and their censure encapsulates the feelings of the average citizen of the state and indeed that of any dispassionate observer. For instance, in his criticism of the government’s action, Alhaji Danladi Abdulhamid, a chieftain of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) in the state, was particularly harsh on Governor Mohammed Umar Bago’s judgmental error that led to a temporary depletion of top officials of government, and by implication, grounding of governance in the state. He queried: “Why should a personal interest of the governor, his deputy, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, that of other SEC members and in fact principal officers in the state assembly take preeminence over that of the entire citizenry, thereby subjecting the state to a standstill without anybody in charge?” Abdulhamid frowned on the abandonment of government activities and governance, which paralysed the celebration of Democracy Day on June 12, as the event was marked in vacuum in Niger State in violation of Section 190 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. He also expressed shock over the way the Bago-led administration had been operating with little or no concern for the citizenry, many of whom are living in refugee camps due to the activities of bandits. He argued, and rightly so, that the issue of insecurity should have attracted the governor’s sympathy and attention not to leave the state without anyone in charge.

Even if Abdulhamid’s loud complaints have political undertones, it is difficult to discountenance his grave observations against the backdrop of the instant monumental official indiscretion. That a state’s Chief Executive could acquiesce to and indeed facilitate this kind of jamboree at government expense at this trying time in the country is patently unconscionable and profligate. To be sure, no one is against observance of hajj, as it is one of the pillars of Islam. However, we are against the abdication of official responsibility in any form, let alone in a manner that does not spare a thought for the interest and concerns of the citizenry. How can the entire leadership of a state go on a hajj at the same time, leaving their responsibilities unattended to? It means the state is on autopilot. Besides, they are alleged to have refused to hand over power as statutorily required. This is condemnable, and the grave indiscretion will still not be assuaged even if it is discovered that they, indeed, handed over power. Worse still, it is highly unlikely that these set of individuals had not already performed hajj previously. And one wonders what is so special about the performance of this year’s hajj to warrant putting the governance of a whole state in abeyance. That is an unworthy sacrifice! Meanwhile, this is the same state in which terrorists killed about 50 persons recently in some of the ungoverned spaces. Yet, before embarking on the patently needless jamboree, the state’s political leadership could not even ponder on what the terrorists could do when the entire state is “ungoverned,” as it were, today. It is imperative to stress that statecraft demands high levels of selflessness, sensitivity and empathy, especially in a clime where, historically, governance has yet to meaningfully impact citizens’ lives.

Is it not ironic that Nigerian leaders are fond of going to holy lands and pontificating on religion, but the country rarely sees the expected benefits in terms of positive attitudinal change towards governance? For instance, has the annual religious rituals altered the leaders’ proclivity for profligacy and the plundering of the common till, and generally making the country hell for the citizenry? Sadly, the legislature that should call the executive to order is involved in the jamboree. And if asked, for instance, what their mission is, Governor Bago and fellow pilgrims would aver that they are on hajj to pray for Niger State as if prayer is a substitute for hard work and commitment to real service and public good. It is baffling that public officials trooping to Saudi Arabia for the hajj jamboree do not see the contradiction in the development in Saudi Arabia that reflects the hard work of those in charge of the place, and the poverty and underdevelopment they all left at home, which is a testament to their own unfortunate rulership.

Then there is the question of the huge cost: why should Niger people bear the burden of such mass pilgrimage? The top government officials reportedly flew to Saudi Arabia in a chartered flight, and that is most probably at the state’s expense. Why should the state resources that should have been channeled to the provision of public goods and services be squandered on religious observance that is ordinarily personal, and ought to be at the personal cost of the public officials involved? This is aside from the implicit costs of keeping governance in abeyance while the jamboree lasts. If the Saudis handled their affairs in this cavalier manner, would Nigeria’s political class be able to go there for hajj? Nigerian rulers have to show more seriousness and commitment. The current concern with ephemerals must give way if the country is to ever witness real development. It is unfortunate that Governor Bago and his band of unconscionable loafers in government have been found on the side of ephemerals, as depicted in their current jamboree. And judging by the unfortunate emergence, proliferation and the troubling activities of insurgents and bandits in the North, which are largely a culmination of age-long official neglect, insensitivity and impunity, it is bewildering that some political leaders in the country still take the citizenry, especially the poor, for granted.

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