Kaduna has always been in the news—either for ethnic killings, banditry or kidnapping. At a crescendo of insecurity in the state, it was branded the “kidnapping capital” in Nigeria.
A lot of mass kidnapping, especially students had taken place in the state. Some of the victims are yet to be rescued—either by ransom payment or security agencies intervention.
As I type, Abuja-Kaduna expressway remains one of the most dreaded roads in the country, despite the fact that majority of security national infrastructure are domiciled in the state.
When Nasir El-Rufai was announced winner of Kaduna State governorship in 2015, still flowing in the ill tide of euphoria called Change, there was wild jubilation in the state.
As a resident of Abuja, we know El-Rufai better, I received the news with mixed feelings—I knew Kaduna residents had entered “one chance”. El-Rufai is not only notorious for being “accidental public servant”, as he coined his book.
He relishes controversies and craves for attendant publicity that comes with it. He has the capacity to carry out great developmental roadmap to logical conclusion—not minding whose ox is gored.
In Fact, FCT has resemblance of a capital today, can be attributed to him. But his downside: he executes most of his initiatives without human face, of which portrays him as a leader not only bereft of emotional intelligence but bankrupt of empathy.
In the face of dwindling oil revenue and a recessed economy, every state is struggling to stay afloat, albeit financially. El-Rufai has been complaining of huge wage bill of Kaduna civil service—that he barely has nothing left to prosecute capital projects after paying salaries.
As germane and logical his argument may sound, he has not shown serious commitment when it comes to sincerely reducing recurrent expenditure of the state. As a governor, you cannot have over-bloated cabinet and aides—and you want to downsize workers in thousands—that’s insufferable hypocrisy; stands logic on its head.
El-Rufai must come to equity with clean hands. For those of us that know him very well, controversy is like oxygen to him. He is emotionally banal—he doesn’t feel pains of people around him. The timing of the mass retrenchment is not only insensitive but irrational.
Ayuba Wabba’s Hypocrisy
The president of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has carved a niche for himself—negative one for that matter. He has created a looming image of a weak, compromised and hypocritical labor leader.
Wabba only becomes active in the “aluta and solidarity struggle” when state governors are concerned. The biggest anti-labour actions have been going on in Abuja since Buhari came to power.
Petrol prices have been increased uncountable times. Nigerians are being mortgaged via unexplainable loans by the FG. Inflation has astronomically gone up. Purchasing power being wiped out at the speed of light. Excruciating pains of economic hardship is biting harder.
Nigeria has gone downward spiral of squalor and cascading difficulties—millions of people are daily being improvised by anti-people’s policies of the FG. What did Wabba and his NLC do? play ostrich.
But whenever state government does anything consider anti-labour, Wabba’s double-faced becomes revived again. He starts leading protests; shouting from one TV station to another. Wabba only takes on soft targets. That’s exactly what it means.
Either El-Rufai’s tyranny cannot cancel Wabba’s highfalutin hypocrisy. The lives of Kaduna workers and their families matter.