Foolhardy: Niger State A View From Zuma Rock By M. Halilu

.. For five years now there isn’t pipe
borne water running in the taps of
Minna.
Four years later (A tenure gone)
Niger State looms in the qualms.
Blessed with an educated and vocal
Governor, his ascend into power
was met with an unfeelingly
welcome, but he made millions of
promises, and on the daily basis
reminded Nigerlites of his intended
transformational intentions/
programmes.
Dr Aliyu Muazu’s reign of
Governorship has been a sway of
absolute deceptions and a reversal
of Niger State. It has been a series
of Lies, propaganda and inept
misappropriations.
Elected July 2007 Dr. Muazu
claimed to humbly be called CHIEF
SERVANT. In his inaugural speech
on 29TH May 2007, he asserted his
determination to reshape Niger
State in becoming a threshold in
Africa by aggressively doing
anything possible to achieve his
campaign promises which were
Agriculture 2. Infrastructure 3.
Commerce 4. Health care 5.
Employment 6. Public / Private
partnership 7. And Tourism.
He said “to achieve the above I
must first dismantle the system of
corruption that exist which has
literary crippled Niger state’s
economy..there will be zero
tolerance for corruption and will
open line of corporation with ICPC,
and EFCC” Dr Muazu also mentioned
“State Polytechnic Zungeru will be
renovated and accredited by
National Board of Technical
Education (NBTE) and completion of
IBB University Lapai will be
accelerated”
Alas Dr Muazu’s Governorship
commenced with a condemnation of
the Government-House which he
termed as unbefitting for his statue.
He awarded a contract for the
renovation of the Government-
House and also his private
residence, which subsequently he
stated he will be staying at his
private residence. To that effect the
Niger State Government paid N500,
000,000 (Five hundred Million naira)
to him for a 4 years lease of his
private residence to be occupied by
him.
Settled in his choice asylum,
Nigerlites assumed Dr Muazu will
get down to business, but he has
other ideals. He has been nurturing
a grand-publicity-schema; Dr
Muazu’s top primacy was depicting
HIMSELF in any medium available
(electronic, print, and most notably
Billboards).
He started by granting interviews to
Newspapers, Television and all
media reporters, and then he
engaged the services of
{Beyond360 degrees marketing
limited} whom he entrusted Billions
of Niger State’s funds for the
singular mandate of making him the
person with the most Billboards in
Sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond 360
degree marketing embarked with
the execution of mounting 50
billboards in every local Government
of Niger state (25 Local
Governments) amounting to 1250
gigantic billboards. The billboards
carried his pictures stating projects
(which he had failed to execute),
and projects that were executed by
others he claimed to be his.
Visibility engulfed in his Publicity
lunacy, Dr Muazu spent more time
publicizing his projected feats and
gradually Dr Muazu began
announcing the launching/
implementation of phantom projects
that does not exist.
Nigerlites where doomed to the
realities of their new Governor,
Minna the State Capital was struck
by a sudden shortage of flowing
water from the taps and this
malevolence has continued (5)
years on. Minna has a population of
less than 500, 000 (Five hundred
thousand), Minna has Chanchanga
water plant and is surrounded by
other rivers, previously with a
functional water board providing
pipe borne water in the taps but
agonizingly since the inception of Dr
Muazu’s Administration water seized
flowing the taps in Minna.
Nigerlites thought the water
shortage was due to system repairs
and normal water supply will
resume, not knowing it’s going to
be unending. In trying to tackle the
water problem Dr Muazu attributed
the problem to Chart pushers that
sell water in Minna, he said they
caused the problem and ordered
arrest of any chart pusher seen.
Without success, Dr Muazu
announced launching of 20
numbers 11,000 Liters truck for
distribution of water in Minna, his
imaginary solution failed, till date
Governor Muazu’s residence in
Minna water is supplied by water-
tankers backed by borehole.
My investigations revealed that the
Niger State Water board has been
underfunded since the coming of
Governor Muazu, the problem is
with a faulty machine in the main
plant and requires the sum of
N100,000,000 (One hundred
million ) which the Governor has
eluded paying.
Water the fundamental substance
for survival is omitted in Dr Muazu’s
scale of preference. The resultant
shortage of pipe borne water is a
having an adverse effects on the
poor citizenry of Minna. With a jerry-
can of 25 Liters of water selling for
N100, some civil servants in Minna
spend half of their salary on water.
An attestation of the fury in Minna
was the Jan 11th 2012 mayhem in
Minna, where properties and people
were burnt even the Governor
barely escaped being mobbed.
When asked about the water
shortage in an interview Dr Muazu
said there is water everywhere in
Minna expect for the Houses on
Hilltop. How can he know there is no
water in Minna, when he has a Farm
in Minna that has over 80 boreholes
sank in for the provision of water
and also his House is fortified by
Boreholes and constant supply by
the Tankers?
Dr Muazu has affianced himself and
the funds of the state into achieving
his twisted jamboree fantasies. Dr
Muazu has moved round the world
from France, South Africa, U.S.A and
China all using chartered planes for
himself and an entourage made up
of Cultural troupe (Sibonbon
Singers) numbering over 50 of
them. He has also opened an office
for them, equipped them with Cars
and has placed them on ridiculously
high salaries.
Furthermore every Sallah is a period
for Dr Muazu’s show of folly. He
disburses over N500 million to
organize Dubbar (Traditional Horse
ridding) for him in Bida, Minna, and
Kontagora (with the onlookers
poverty stricken). His lust for
carnival prompted Niger state to
host Nigerian Art and Culture
Festival where Niger State spent
Millions all at the detriment of the
common Nigerlites whom the
hosting did not add any positivity
into his/her life.
The Governor has eulogized his
achievement at every avenue
available, he praise sings his
legacies and what he intends doing.
Dr Muazu Wants to build a three
arm zone in Minna (similar to that of
Abuja), he went to Paris and ranted
about transforming Minna into an
Airport city, building a 5 star Hotel
in Gurrara and in Minna and a billion
other promises.
He has had consultations, seminars,
blueprints, master plan, and white
papers that can full the city of
Suleja (we all know they are all fibs).
BUT WHAT THE COMMONER IN
MINNA CRAVES FOR IS HAVING
DRINKING WATER BEFORE ANY
OTHER THING.
But to be fair to Dr Muazu I have to
mention his achievements. He
awarded a contract for the
construction of Road in GRA along
the Government House at the sum
of N2 Billion, within months of
construction before the road was
launched there was potholes on the
new road it had to be redone
(contract was re-awarded and paid
again).
He constructed housing Estates,
Talba and MI Wushishi Estates built
for civil servants; the selling prices
of the Houses are tenth fold, but the
Houses did not survive the first
rainfall that hit it (Roofs and
Structures were destroyed) because
of the substandard nature of the
buildings.
In 2008 Dr Muazu invited President
Yar’adua for commissioning of a
health institution, the president’s
advance party came and saw the
project and they said the project is
not worth commissioning by Mr
President but maybe the Senate
President will. David mark agreed
and came to Minna but on reaching
the site, he said “this is not a new
structure; in fact when I came to
Minna I met this structure while
serving as Governor of Niger..”
Apparently his lust for hype pushed
him to renovate a building built in
1975, and he claimed to have built
it.
Dr Muazu’s omnibuses of
catastrophes are endless, but for
heaven’s sake was the word wicked
coined out of him that he will
deprive people of water? Niger’s
history will never be written without
Dr Muazu being mentioned for the
flawed reasons. Come to Niger
State, Dr Muazu makes other bad
Governors look like saints, what he
says is paradox with the reality on
ground, what is most regrettable is
the ease at which he bungles the
state and sarcastically lauds his
ego.
Niger State budgeted N111bn in
2011 with capital vote gulping
N74.404 billion, representing 66.7
per cent of the total estimate,
economic sector getting N29.875
billion, social sector N13.45 billion,
regional development N16.5 billion,
general administration N13.9 billion
while science and technology will
get N569 million. Recurrent
expenditure for 2010 is N37.107
billion, consisting personnel cost at
N19.876 billion, overhead cost at
N11.533 billion, state contributory
pension at N1.426 billion, local
government dues at N900 million,
local government pension fund at
N450 million and pension and
gratuity at N2.9 billion. (We are in
2012 all said there still no water.
From the budget what does it take
to remove a chunk of it for the
provision of water? But what was
the money used for?
Many are on the postulation and
quietly hoping that Dr Muazu will
change and start delivering, sadly
this kind of person is unrepentant. A
tenure passed he didn’t do anything
and miraculously he will wake up
and start performing? He is on the
full throttle descending Niger into a
realm of dysfunctionality, any
person that becomes the Governor
after Dr Muazu will inherit a ruined
state, and indebtedness.
We stand for something or we
stand for nothing, what’s the next
step? We call on all our State
Assembly members to impeach him.
And if they don’t, we recall them,
the onus is on us but leaving the
state in the hands of Dr Muazu is
what will be lead to Self-
Annihilation.

Source:SR