The resurgence of good governance in Sokoto state

There is a new feeling in Sokoto state. And, this is primarily because the people of the state understand that their governor, Aliyu Ahmad Sokoto, is strongly committed to the delivery of the nine points that he enunciated at his inauguration as the focal point of his governance of the state. These include education, health, water, agriculture, security, youth empowerment, local government autonomy, religious affairs, and economy. About 16 months after pronouncing those focal points, the state’s people are looking back and thanking God for bringing Governor Sokoto their way.

The governor had declared that “education is number one on my 9-Points agenda because of the serious importance that I attach to it.” This declaration was at the back of the governor’s mind when he ensured that medical students of Sokoto state origin who were forced by the war in Sudan to abort their educational pursuits in that country, did not have their dreams of acquiring advanced education terminated. Through the benevolence of Governor Aliyu, the medical students, number 88, were reintegrated into Usman Dan Fodio University Medical College Sokoto and continued their education uninterrupted. Last weekend, the 88 students achieved the first lap of their quest to become who they always wanted to be –medical experts. The students shared the joy of completing their academic journey and graduating successfully.

Speaking at the convocation ceremony, the Commissioner for Higher Education in Sokoto state, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi, said “The governor’s funding and support for education is unprecedented. We in the education sector are happy with the governor…One-third of the budget of this year is dedicated to education; our tertiary institutions have benefitted from accreditation and infrastructure which is part of Governor Sokoto’s agenda.” This comment summarises Governor Sokoto’s unrelenting impact on the education sector of the state. Besides this, Governor Sokoto ensured free primary education and boarding schools for children in the state irrespective of their state of origin. This is besides his efforts at the rehabilitation of classrooms, employment of teachers, provision of education infrastructure, payment of counterpart funds to enable the state access services offered by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), and the provision of water and sanitation facilities in public schools. For Gov. Aliyu, education is an area of strategic investment for the development of manpower for the state and Nigeria.

Beyond this, Governor Sokoto is also taking bold decisions to address insecurity in parts of the state. Though details of his investments in the security of Sokoto state need not be made public, the governor has created a new synergy among security agencies in the state and has stepped in to show support and facilitation through the provision of logistics. He has also enhanced the of the state’s Community Guard Watch Corps to complement the security agencies, through the provision of more logistical support, including allowances for the security personnel, motorcycles and vans to enable movement and tracking. The impacts of these strategic investments are gradually being felt in parts of the state where citizens who were hitherto displaced by criminal elements, have peacefully realigned with their homes and farms. This development is also steadily impacting food production in Sokoto state positively by restoring the confidence of the people in the capacity of the Aliyu administration to be pragmatic in responding to security challenges around them.

Food production in the state has been boosted by the governor with the deployment of agricultural inputs, including fertilizers, for both the rainy season and the dry season farming. To this end, the Governor Aliyu administration distributed 10 trucks of fertilizers to each local government area of the state free, alongside agricultural extension services to boost capacities for food production. This is while also distributing grains worth over N5 billion to the people to enhance their capacity to feed while waiting for harvest. This is outside the distribution of trucks of rice to each of the local government areas.

One exciting area of Governor Aliyu’s pragmatic leadership in Sokoto state is the deliberate extension of the tenure of local government administration to three years. Before he ascended office, local government administration in the state enjoyed a two-year tenure. According to Governor Aliyu, two years is too short a time for local government administrators to make meaningful impacts on the lives of the council areas. For this reason, the governor achieved a successful amendment of the Sokoto State Local Government Law increasing the tenure by one year. It is significant to note that while extending the local government tenure to three years, Governor Aliyu, had also declared full autonomy for the councils. This was long before the Supreme Court decision on the autonomy of local government areas in Nigeria.

As the Sokoto State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Alhaji Sambo Bello Danchadi, said in an interview, “For (Gov. Aliyu) local government autonomy is an article of faith which explains why it is one of his 9-Point agenda. Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto worked for the local government and understands why it needs to be free. His support for local government autonomy is based on experience. Before the Supreme Court he had tabled the bill for the amendment of the Local Government Law 2009 for the extension of their tenure from two to three years because, in his opinion, two years are too short a time for any chairman to deliver. When the Supreme Court ruling came, we were very pleased about it as we in Sokoto state saw it as vindication of the governor’s position.” Those who will be elected at the local government elections to be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, will have three years to deliver on their promises to the people of their various council areas.

The fact, as it is for so many people in Sokoto state, is that Governor Aliyu is gradually returning good governance to the state. According to the people of the state, the youthful governor has been able to take the challenge of governance from where Sen. Aliyu Wamakko left it off in 2015. They believe that with the governor’s tireless passion for the good, the state would be radically transformed by the turn of his eight-year tenure. Perhaps, Governor Aliyu happened to Sokoto at the right time –a time when most of the people were looking forward to a new meaning in leadership and governance.