From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A Kaduna State governorship Aspirant for the 2023 general elections under the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr. Abdulmalik Muhammad Duruguwa has said that he knows Kaduna terrain very well which has made it easier for him to govern if elected.
He however, challenged anybody who thought he knew the State better than him to come out and face him to a debate.
Dr. Duruguwa who is a Federal Commissioner, National Population Commission (NPC) said he was a technocrat, but now a big time politician, burning with the desire to serve the people of Kaduna State.
Addressing Journalists at the Kaduna NUJ Secretariat shortly after breaking of Ramadan fast with them at the weekend, the governorship hopeful said he is more experienced politically to handle issues troubling the State.
“By the grace of God and by the will of Allah, I am putting myself forward after consultations and meeting alot of people in Kaduna State and in fact the neighbouring States and the whole Nigeria that God willing, I think with the socio-cultural knowledge of Kaduna State, there is no nook and cranny of Kaduna State that I don’t know, there is nobody in kaduna, I challenge, nobody knows kaduna state like me, Dr. Muhammed.
“Secondly, I have traveled a lot but not too far. I have attained the highest level of education at PhD level. I have worked with the Government for your information even to the point of Deputy Director of investigation with Public and planning commission with the federal government. I think if it is Governance at public service or bureaucracy, I am bonafide to say that I am a Technocrat, turned a very big Politician.
“Since 1988, I have been in the corridor of Politics and since 1999 in Kaduna State here, I have been seeing what is going on and happening in Kaduna State. I am telling you that I am more experienced politically, as someone who knows kaduna state more than anybody to help secure the state for everybody to go to bed and wake up without any fear of insecurity.
“My dream is to have a harmonious Kaduna State where every local commuters can go to their bed and wake up in the morning, go to their farm and businesses peacefully without any fear of molestation, that is when we will have a Kaduna that you are always dreaming.
“You can have all the social amenities but once the populace are not at peace, you cannot achieve a lot. That is the number one thing in this state. We need serious peaceful coexistence to be able to solve the issue of insecurity in Kaduna State.
“As far as I am concern, Kaduna is one of the best state in Nigeria that I have never seen, there are good human resources, good materials, mineral resources, in fact the environment is so fantastic, the human beings are so wonderful that I am telling you that they need a multi functional person to come on board to harmonise all these things, put them in proper perspectives and then we move on.
“I am breaking this fast with you to tell you that you should report every positive thing about any Aspirant, either in APC or in PDP or any other party devoid of hatred or blackmail nor tear people apart.
“Even if I don’t get it at the end of the day, I will still work for APC but we just have to throw the chaff away and stand by whoever is good, competent and most importantly good leadership.
“I must thank our present Governor who has done his best at his own time, of course he has changed the face of kaduna state and as such anybody that is coming to become the next Governor of Kaduna State, must have a kind of multifunctional and dynamic brain to be able to push Kaduna beyond where it is currently. It is not just to develop the urban areas alone. The rural areas also need to be given critical attention as well.
“Kaduna and Zaria is not just the only local government we have in Kaduna State. There are other areas that we can turn them to cities.
“We have alot of other border ranch areas that we can turn into big agricultural farm to make sure this bandits could no longer be seen in Kaduna State. I am telling you, kaduna has enough to offer everybody so that all of us here can live comfortably everyday.
“Right now there are so many challenges in Kaduna. We need to stop thinking of how to bring resources from the federal government, rather to look internally to see what we can use to generate revenue for ourselves.
“So, let us put our heads together, I have come to fraternize with you to pick you as my friends and to look at me as your brother to see how we can make this state thrive regardless of wherever you come from, so we can be proud to come back and say indeed, this state is a centre of learning God’s willing if we have the chance.
Governor Nasir elrufai is our Leader and as far as APC is concerned in the state, he is our number one leader. He has done very well and I want you to look at his strength rather than his weaknesses because all of us have one weaknesses or the other as human beings, by so doing we can be able to move Kaduna State forward.
“Some of the students I taught in Government day secondary School in kafanchan , they are now Human beings. I taught them in 1988 all of them have grown up and are working in various places. They told me Mallam, we know you. If you hadn’t taught us mathematics we wouldn’t have been where we are today. We are now mathematicians, we have Medical doctors among others and we have gathered our money to come and give you because we know you are a teacher you don’t have money but we know you are doing business. So what we gathered, we will give you so that with the little you have you can add it so you can be able to get the form no matter how it cost”. Duruguwa said.