El-Rufai, Bishop Bagobiri and Kasuwan Barci
Ihave great respect for the Catholic Bishop of Kafanchan Diocese, Rev. Father Joseph Danlami Bagobiri. Always very blunt, hardheaded but fair. When Bagobiri is angry, he’s justifiably angry. I was not surprised when he came down heavily on Governor Nasir el-Rufai this week. Bagobiri wants this governor to stop running the state as his “personal estate,” noting that “the Kaduna people have watched with pains for about two years as the state is being managed in a way that excludes many stakeholders.”
My take away from Bagobiri’s Easter message is the part where he declared that Kaduna State belongs to all, irrespective of their political, ethnic and religious affiliation, warning el-Rufai to stop treating some stakeholders in the state as aliens: “Kaduna is the only state that we can call our own. And because Kaduna State is our state, we are contributing significantly to its progress.
“Government must recognise us as equal stakeholders in the management of the state. We do not accept being treated as aliens or reduced to playing the second fiddle in the state we call our own. Those that divine providence have entrusted with the responsibility of governing the state politically, must govern justly and in a manner that includes, not one that excludes other segments of the state.
“El-rufai has abdicated his responsibility of being governor to all, and instead gave in to the luxury of waging an unrelenting media campaign against Southern Kaduna people. He has unabashedly taken sides with the armed herdsmen, thereby failing in his responsibility as a true statesman; becoming, therefore, a biased umpire who blames and criminalises Southern Kaduna victims as the cause of the mayhem. The attitude of the state government has been marred by lots of complicity and bias which exacerbated rather than ameliorated tensions.”
While urging el-rufai to ensure justice and fairness to all irrespective of religious, ethnic and political considerations, Bagobiri, who is also the Chairman, Southern Kaduna Christian Elders Association charged him to ensure equitable distribution of political offices among adherents of the two main religions in the state: “Government should see that the application of resources that had accrued to the state and the siting of developmental projects and services for the improvement of the quality of life of the people, are done giving due regard to the North/South divide in the state and that no part of the state is placed in a disadvantaged position.”
Honestly, I want el-rufai to reflect deeply on Bagobiri’s Epistle if he truly loves Kaduna State as he proclaims. This cleric’s views may sound very harsh, but there is a lot of sense in what he is saying. This state has been in the news in the last two years for all the wrong reasons. Hundreds have been slaughtered by herdsmen in Southern Kaduna without convincing response from governments at all levels. In fact, many are convinced that el-rufai is part of the problem. Just like Bagobiri, I am convinced that el-Rufai has not done enough to curb the herdsmen, who again on April 15 attacked Asso Village in Jema’a Local Government Area, killing 10 people, along with their parish priest, Rev Fr. Alexander Yayock. Of course, el-rufai’s supporters may say that he is not in control of security agents. The truth is that he does not have to be in direct control of such security agents to make an impressive impact in Southern Kaduna. He is the Chief Security Officer of the state and has his security vote. Even el-rufai’s utterances on these killings have not been fair to all in the state. I would like to see him compensating all the victims of this mayhem.
Talking about running a people-oriented government, I think the Kaduna State governor should shelve plans to demolish the famous Kasuwan Barci Market, in Tundun Wada area of the state, famous for its textile and second hand clothing. With about 4,800 shops and thousands of people earning their livelihood here, demolishing it in this era of recession will ruin many lives. The idea of building a modern market here is a good one, but not at this period when many traders are struggling to survive. Living will be tough for many of them while construction is on, because they will have to hang around all sorts of illegal markets. Again, getting funds to acquire shops in the proposed new market will be a challenge to many of the traders.
Senator Shehu Sani was apt when he said that the traders were angry and fear that if the market was demolished, it would be difficult for them to regain their shops: “We promised to deliver change to the country and as democrats, whatever we will do, we need to consult and carry the people along. We cannot treat people with arrogance and insolence and expect them to trust us again. El-rufai should suspend the demolition plan and concentrate on completing projects he had started.”