By Ibraheem Musa
Since assuming office, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has changed the socio-political and economic landscape of Kaduna State in more ways than one. In the last three and half years, the governor has been a trailblazer, reformer and revolutionary all rolled into one.
In summary, here is a synopsis of what The Sun Man of the Year has achieved since May 29, 2015.
In size, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, is both slightly built and somewhat vertically challenged. However, beneath his small frame lies big grey matter, an uncommon courage and a steely resolve to get things done. In school, the young El-Rufai was called “Giant,” but his academic feats, more than his physique, earned him the pet name. Perhaps no public servant, government appointee or head of a ministry, department and agency of government has re-engineered governance like El-Rufai in recent times. The governor, in the last three and half years, has taken on professional politicians, organised labour and various entrenched interest groups, in his effort to make Kaduna State great again.
Specifically, El-Rufai has taken tough decisions, broken the siege mentality and threaded where his predecessors and fellow governors dreaded. In particular, he has sacked 21,000 incompetent teachers, in spite of threats from the National Union of Teachers (NUT), and employed 25,000 qualified ones in public primary schools. In solidarity, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), led by its national leadership, mobilised against the decision and took to the streets. However, their protests and agitations came to grief as both the NUT and NLC ate the humble pie. The governor, by wielding the big stick, has salvaged the education sector and, slowly, the entire value chain is being overhauled.
Similarly, El-Rufai has sanitised the civil service, steadily replacing its aging workforce with young professionals. Likewise, the governor has reformed local government administration and freed up its resources in the last three and half years. When El-Rufai came into office in 2015, several local governments were practically bankrupt. In fact, eight of them could not pay salaries. Before now, their bloated personnel costs, accumulated over the years, had plunged them into huge debts. Monthly, the state government had to bail them out, especially to pay salaries. However, in the last two years, their fortunes have now turned around for the better as some local governments are even executing projects after paying salaries and meeting various overhead costs.
All the 23 local government councils are financially buoyant. The El-Rufai government conducted local government elections in May 2018, introducing electronic voting to Nigeria. That election was a referendum on the performance of the El-Rufai government. Unusual for local government polls in Nigeria, it was free and fair, and despite its dominant performance in the elections, the APC did not win four local government councils, and it respected the result.
In addition, El-Rufai’s reforms have restructured the traditional institution, as some districts have been dissolved. In summary, 4,776 district and village heads lost their positions in that exercise. Likewise, he has taken politics to a new level by dismantling the patronage system and has entrenched a people-centred approach to who gets what, when and how. El-Rufai, by so doing, has demystified the so-called political class, a band of rent seekers, which had a sense of entitlement and contributed little to the commonwealth. Similarly, the ethno-religious bigots and tribal associations, including promoters of divisive politics, have little relevance now in Kaduna State.
Significantly, since assuming office, El-Rufai has been a trailblazer, a reformer and a public servant who has been putting the people first in all that he has been doing.
El-Rufai the trailblazer, first to constitute cabinet
No doubt, Malam El-Rufai was the first governor to make appointments in 2015. On May 27, 2015, he had appointed five principal officers, two days before his was sworn in. Specifically, the Governor-elect had appointed Alhaji Balarabe Lawal Abbas, a seasoned administrator and a former lecturer at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), as the Secretary to the State Government. Similarly, Dr. Salisu Suleiman and Mr. Abu Sheyin were appointed principal private secretaries to El-Rufai and his deputy, Arc. Barnabas Bantex, respectively. In addition, Hon. Bala Yunusa was made deputy Chief of Staff, while Mr. Samuel Aruwan, then Kaduna Bureau chief of Blueprint newspaper, became the governor’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Significantly, about two months later, Governor El-Rufai had submitted the names of his proposed commissioners to the State House of Assembly. On July 30, he had sent the list to the legislature, along with their proposed portfolios. In Nigeria, this is unprecedented at both national and sub-national levels, as nominees are often sent without their proposed offices. Similarly, eight days later, the legislative arm of government had approved all the 13 commissioners. Specifically, ministries were pruned down from 19 to 13 in a bid to save cost and ensure efficiency.
First to introduce TSA
On August 6, 2015, Kaduna State had announced its decision to commence implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) framework by September 1, 2015, a few weeks before the Federal Government did. In this regard, the government put all banks on notice, directing them to close its accounts and remit the balances to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). By that directive, all the state government accounts in commercial banks were closed, and their balances were remitted to the Kaduna State Government TSA account in CBN. In fact, the directive opened a can of worms on the opaque accounting system of the previous administration.
Kaduna State, El-Rufai found out, had been operating more than 470 bank accounts, as against the 324 that was earlier revealed. Collectively, they held government’s funds amounting to N24.5 billion.
Joins Open Governance Partnership
Significantly, the Open Governance Partnership (OGP), which is aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability and citizen participation in governance, was launched in eight countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, UK and the United States.
Nigeria subscribed to OGP on May 11, 2016, making it the 70th country to join OGP. However, Kaduna State was the first sub-national in the country to subscribe to and be accepted into the OGP, because of its willingness to be open and transparent. Specifically, the state subscribed to seven commitment areas for implementation, the areas include citizens’ participation in budget circle, open contracting and adopting a common reporting standard, as well as promoting ease of doing business and improving compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, the state subscribed to the development of permanent dialogue mechanism on transparency, accountability, and good governance between citizens and government and has adopted technology-based citizen’s feedback on government project and programmes.
El-Rufai, the reformer, improves IGR
In addition, the governor changed the way of doing government business in Kaduna State. In particular, El-Rufai has improved the internally-generated revenue (IGR) since he assumed office. Initially, the state’s IGR hovered around N12 billion yearly but, in 2017, it generated N26.53 billion as revenue, doubling the IGR it inherited. Similarly, Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) generated N30 billion as IGR in 2018.
In February 2016, Governor El-Rufai signed the Tax Consolidation and Codification bill into law, which brought revenue collection under KADIRS. According to him, the law “is an investor-friendly tax code that consolidates all taxes payable in the state in one law and in one document.’’ Furthermore, the law is aimed at improving the revenue base of Kaduna State, making payments easy and raising the efficiency of tax collection.
Empowering women
El-Rufai, in line with the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution, has given women the recognition that they deserve in his government. Last week, Hajiya Hafsat Mohammed Baba, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Services, said that, before the coming of this administration, her ministry was reduced to “a place to sing, dance and mobilise women whenever there is a function. But now, that has changed positively.”
Indeed, there are five women commissioners in a 14-member cabinet and, simultaneously, women head sensitive positions in the El-Rufai government. For example, the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General of Kaduna State is a women, so are the commissioners of Works , Housing and Transport, as well as Commissioner of Commerce, Industries and Tourism, and Environment and Natural Resources. Likewise, the Kaduna State Investment and Promotion Agency (KADIPA) as well as the Kaduna State Transport Regulatory Agency (KADSTRA) are headed by women. In addition, a woman is the Head of Service and, above all, Dr. Hadiza Abubakar Balarabe is the running mate of Governor El-Rufai in the coming election.
Significantly, the administration has been empowering women with soft loans, especially to boost their businesses. Last November, the state government doled out N200 million to women groups, under the Kaduna State Women Empowerment Fund (KADSWEF), which has a flexible re-payment plan. So far, over 1,262 people have benefited from the fund and they include 123 women cooperative groups, 10 women with disability clusters and 1,000 women entrepreneurs.
Putting people first
In summary, the entire policy thrust of the El-Rufai administration, across all sectors, is to improve the life of the common man. In the education sector, the state had declared a state of emergency and made the first nine years of basic education truly free. For girls, all the 12 years of primary and secondary education are free. In this regard, the government began to fully implement and enforce the Universal Basic Education Act, which places emphasis on tuition-free, compulsory basic education for every child living in Kaduna State.
In addition, the APC-led government began investing resources to improve infrastructure in the sector, providing the best tools, in order to attract the best to the teaching profession. Teachers can rise to Grade Level 17 without having to stop being classroom teachers. Also, the government started building and equipping more libraries in schools and community centres, with access to online educational and instructional materials throughout the state. For effective running of schools, funds meant for running schools now go directly to the schools and their management boards.
Giving public health a new lease of life
Significantly, in the last three and half years, the El-Rufai-led administration has successfully placed healthcare under one roof and has partnered with DFID and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The partnership has improved routine immunisation, family planning and maternal/child services. Also, the partnership with General Electric is refitting 255 primary healthcare centres in the last three and half years. By December 2018, the government had completed renovating 150 of the 255 target primary health centres. Similarly, the administration has recruited more than 2,500 health workers, including doctors, nurses and paramedics. In addition, the government has upgraded Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital to a teaching hospital. Likewise, it has instituted the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme in Kaduna State and, at the same time, pregnant women, children under the age of five, and the elderly get free medical service. On the whole, the El-Rufai-led APC administration has done what no past government, whether military or civilian, has achieved in the health sector in Kaduna State.
Attracting investments, creating jobs
In the last three and half years, several local and international firms have set shop in Kaduna. For example, the $150 million Olam Integrated Feed Mill and Poultry Breeding Farm was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 12, 2017. Olam, a multinational company, was founded in 1989 and, right now, it is one of the largest agricultural companies in the world. Currently, the company is Nigeria’s largest single foreign direct investment. In fact, it was designed to produce 1.6 million day-old chicks weekly and 360,000 metric tonnes of animal feeds annually, a significant milestone for Kaduna State and Nigeria in the quest to ensure food security and achieve economic diversification through agriculture. In addition, it has created 2,000 direct jobs and impacted positively on the local economy by creating jobs along the value chain.
Similarly, Governor El-Rufai opened a new animal feed mill, constructed by Sunseed Nigerian Limited, at Dakace village, outside Zaria, two weeks after launching Olam, on September 28, 2017. The mill, which is a N5 billion investment, will produce 100,000 tonnes of animal feeds a year. In addition, the company built a 15-bed hospital for its host community as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Likewise, Mahindra Tractor Assembly Plant, an investment worth $20 million, was inaugurated on April 4, 2018, by former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete. Mahindra, a subsidiary of Springfield Agro, is a sister company of Kewalram Chanrai Group of India, which has created 200 direct jobs in Kaduna State. There is also the positive multiplier effect on agriculture in particular and boosting the local economy in general.
Similarly, a $10 million renewable energy investment, Blue Camel Renewable Energy Solar Power Assembly Plant, has been launched at the Kakuri Industrial Area. It is an environment-friendly renewable energy company offering a broad portfolio of renewable energy technologies, products and solutions to clients. The company designs and integrates renewable energy solutions, cutting across all levels of demands, from small household solar and hybrid systems to mini solar grid systems for rural electrification and industrial power backup systems.
Simultaneously, the El-Rufai-led administration has created direct jobs in the public service, with the establishment of new agencies and recruitments in the civil service. For example, 5,550 marshals were recruited into the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency(KASTLEA) in 2016. Also, waste collection and management engaged 6,700 youth and women to keep major cities clean.
In the education sector, 2,300 new Science, English and Mathematics teachers were recruited for public schools, besides the 25,000 competent teachers who were recruited to replace the 21,000 that failed the competency test in 2017. The process of recruiting 7,600 teachers for public secondary schools has already began. Also, the primary school feeding programme and renovation of public schools created 125,000 direct jobs within the first one year of APC-led government in the state.
Giving a breakdown, El-Rufai said the school feeding programme alone had produced 85,000 direct and indirect jobs, comprising food vendors, their staff and supervisors. Similarly, 11,100 direct jobs were created through the free uniforms scheme, where secondary school students were given a pair of uniforms each. In addition, 18,855 job opportunities were created through rehabilitation of schools, which also included construction of toilets and boreholes across the state.
In the health sector, 1,200 health personnel have been recruited, just as the Primary Healthcare Development Agency has concluded plans to recruit 3,000 health workers for the renovated 255 PHCs in all the wards in Kaduna State. Additionally, new agencies such as KADIPA, Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS), KADIRS), Budget and Planning Commission and Kaduna State Facilities Management Agency (KADFAMA) have all recruited professionals to enhance their capacities.
After all said and done, Malam El-Rufai has been a trailblazer, reformer and people-centred leader in the last three years. Indeed, he has achieved so much in so little a time, which is under-reported. Conversely, it is the news of demolition, feuding with political opponents and battling selfish interest groups that have been grabbing the headlines and not how he has left indelible imprints on the socio-political and economic landscape of Kaduna State. Ultimately, the governor will receive his due recognition in the pantheon of history.