EXPECTATIONS CONFRONTING ELECTED LEGISLATORS FROM LERE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The 2015 general elections have come and gone; with the victors positioning themselves in preparation for swearing-in and resumption of their executive and legislative duties, while the losers are in deep-reflection, counting their mistakes and losses. It is no longer news that, Lere local government of Kaduna state, the once known stronghold of the People’s Democracy Party (PDP) has been swept away by the Change Tsunami of the All Progress Congress (APC).

 The APC won all the electoral contests from the presidential down to the State House of Assembly; while of direct interest to the good people of the local government are the elections of the Member of the House of Representatives, and that of the two Kaduna State House of Assembly members representing Lere West and East constituencies.

In the light of the above, on behalf of our youth, Federated Kurama Youth Association-Kaduna branch, I want to use this medium to congratulate and show solidarity to all our elected legislators. They are, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Rabiu, Member-elect Federal of House of Representatives; Alhaji Kabiru Doka, Lere West and Alhaji Abdullahi Marafa, Lere East constituencies members-elect in the State House of Assembly. We assure you of our unalloyed support through active and constructive issues-oriented participation in achieving the purpose of your various legislative responsibilities towards the overall development of our constituency, state and nation in general.

Indeed, the expectations on the newly elected legislators are enormous and justified; because of the massive votes they garnered in their various constituencies from the constituents. Also, Lere local government is the sixth largest in the state, with a population of three hundred and thirty one thousand, one hundred and sixty one (331,161) according to the 2006 census, and has an area of 2,158 km²  . It is home to agricultural activities and contributes to the economic growth of the state. In fact, it is said to be the largest corn market in the whole of the West African region. It hosts to diverse ethnic groups such as Kurama (AKURMI), Hausa-Fulani, Gure, Kahugu, among many others. 

Furthermore and importantly, the local government lacks federal and state presence in terms of functional institutions, factories and industries. Critical infrastructures and other social amenities are not equitably distributed, non-functional or non-existent. A large percentage of the population, especially the youth, are unemployment; leading to increased poverty rate, high rural-urban migration, criminality and immorality.

 It is then normal for the constituents to expect the newly elected legislators to; first, present bills and support laws that address these challenges; secondly, lobby for intervention projects and government presence in the area; third, maximize utilization of constituency allowances and equitable distribution of constituency projects.

As it is, the task of nation-building and sustenance of the democratic process, if it is to be successful, cannot be left in the hands of elected and appointed office-holder solely; but the civil society must actively and constructively participate. This we must do through vigilance, consistent accountability and transparency-check, incisive-advocacy and pressure, generating and forwarding relevant bills and policies, avail ourselves during public hearings, monitor and evaluate legislative performance and constituency projects.

 These and many more, we intend to initiate and facilitate in supporting our members from Lere local government towards meaningfully performing their legislative and constituency responsibilities in line with the expectations and needs of the constituents. Be that as it may, we would want to use this platform to forward some of our other immediate and long term expectations.

Elections are over and it is expected that politicking should come to an end; while focus should be redirected to result oriented law-making and good governance. Excessive triumphalism and witch-hunting, such as the one that led to post-election violent clashes and the loss of valuable lives in Abadawa ward of the local government, should be halted. The elected legislators must come to the reality now that they are not representing the interest of their political party, religion, ethnic group, clan or family; but that of all constituents, and this they must do through ensuring reconciliation, equity, fairness and justice to all.

As a result of the aforementioned, we expect that all of the elected legislators would open functional constituency offices in all the wards of the local government; unlike what is obtainable now whereby the constituency offices, if available, are always comatose or closed, with their party flag and portraits on the wall as the only sign of an office. These offices must have human and material resources that would serve as center for collecting correspondences and generating activities that would serve as interventions for the needs of each ward.

As a major activity, we expect the legislators-elect, through their constituency offices to organize consistent, periodic and interactive town-hall meetings; to bridge the gap between they the leaders and the led, access first-hand information (expectations and needs assessment) from their constituents through opinion-sourcing rather than from their loyalist and aids (who focus only on their personal interest), report back and account to their constituents on their legislative activities and progress, and seek the buy-in of their constituents on future legislative activities or projects.

In fulfilling some of the objectives of the engagements with the constituents, we expect nothing less than optimal utilization of quarterly allowances allocated for constituency projects towards result-oriented human capacity and inclusive infrastructural development in the area. They must allocate these funds strategically strictly base on needs, and not white-elephant projects that are propagandist and have no long time benefit to the constituents.

Furthermore, they must sharpen their lobbying skills to attract both federal and state government projects to the area. As it is, we deserve to host an educational institution or industry or factory. We need more feeder roads to create access to remote community and the transportation of agricultural products. We also need increased funding for the agricultural sector, which is our mainstay. Some communities are still without portable drinking water, so, the need to ensure the expansion and completion of the Saminaka water project and sinking of boreholes. More schools need to be constructed and equipped; while the dilapidated ones need to be refurbished and made conducive for learning. There is the urgent need for vocational skills acquisition centers to cater for the large army of the unemployed especially the youth, majority of who are unskilled and uneducated formally.

These and many more we would expect from our elected legislators in ensuring that the dividends of democracy reaches the doorstep of ordinary people within the local government. As for us, the Federated Kurama Youth Association-Kaduna branch in partnership with other like-minded associations, we are ready to keep our elected legislators on their toes.  This we are determine to achieve through active vigilance and participation by serving as pressure groups, accountability-watch through the instrument of the Freedom of Information Act, advocacy engagements, lobbying, forwarding proposed bills to the Members, and create massive awareness on the activities of the legislators-elect. We wish them all the best.

PRESS STATEMENT BY FEDERATED KURAMA YOUTH ASSOCIATION-KADUNA BRANCH CONGRATULATING THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KADUNA STATE, MALLAM NASIR AHMED EL-RUFA’I, AND MEMBERS-ELECT FROM LERE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

On behalf of the Patrons, Executive Committee and entire members of the Federated Kurama Youth Association-Kaduna branch; we wish to extend our profound felicitation to the Executive Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-rufa’i, over his well-deserved victory at the April polls and his subsequent swearing-in. It is our firm belief that the electorates in Kaduna state made the right choice in voting into power a governor with the requisite experience, repository of knowledge and the knack for excellence to lead the state back to the path of socio-economic development and greatness.

We want to also use this medium to congratulate all our elected legislators both at the state and federal level from Lere local government for their victory at the polls; and urge them to see their victory as a call to selfless service and competent representation of all within their constituencies regardless of political affiliation, religion and ethnicity.

We further wish to call on the governor to make the youth the priority of his administration and the center of his policy formulation and implementation; this is because the youth constitute the largest demography of the population in the state, more so, they are the engine room that drives growth and development in any society. Youth should be seen to occupy key positions in his government; after all, they gave him the chunk of the votes that made him governor. He should focus on investing hugely in employment generating sectors such as agriculture and the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. These sectors have the potential to generate massive employment, create wealth, reduce poverty, mobilize increased revenue and enhance economic growth in the state.

We also urge the governor to display fairness, equity and justice in all his dealings in re-integrating the state back to it status of peace, unity and development. It is a known fact that Kaduna state has been polarized over the years due to incessant political and ethno-religious crisis that have left behind sorrow, bitterness, mutual suspicion, mistrust and deep-rooted desire for retribution. No matter the noble intentions of the governor, without peace and unity it would only be a mirage.

Finally, we wish to pledge our unalloyed loyalty to the new administration in making Kaduna state great again.

(it was aired on the 16/06/2015; around 7:30pm on Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC 90.9FM))

Signed:

Yusuf I Goje

Secretary,

FKYA-Kaduna branch

THE CREATION OF GURARA STATE AND THE DESIRE OF THE KURAMA PEOPLE – Yusuf Ishaku Goje

The struggle for self-determination and affirmation by subjugated ethnic groups in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial era; with the first recorded and significant step in agitation taken in the 1953 constitutional conference. While in 1954, there was trickling in of request for the creation of autonomous divisions, which laid the foundation for subsequent agitations that necessitated the constitution of the Harry Willink Commission in 1957 by the British Colonial secretary, set up primarily to look into the fears of the minority ethnic groups in the Nigerian area.

 It is without doubt that it was the in-balance in the colonial political structure and preferences that exacerbated the subjugation of some ethnic groups, especially those stereo-typed as pagans or minorities, who even before the arrival of the colonialist where vicious targets for slaves raids, extraction of tributes and socio-cultural imperialism.

It is in allaying these long standing fears of the subjugated and marginalized ethnic groups that the post-independence constitution (regions) and the subsequent ones, down to the present amended 1999 constitution have made provisions for state creation. In between this period till date, 36 states have been created and are currently in existence out of the avalanche of agitations and requests of both contenders and pretenders.

One of such legitimate contender that has agitated for over three decades now is the good people of Southern Kaduna; who have vehemently, and qualified to do so, demanded for the creation of Gurara state out of the present Kaduna state. The agitations for Gurara state can be premised on two realities. First, the area to be carved out as Gurara state has a land mass of about 28,393 square kilometers, with favorable rainfall for agricultural activities and potential human resources for development of about 3,383,207 people. In fact, the request made by the proponents of Gurara state in 2010 was adjudged the best in line with and in fulfillment of the requirements of section 8 (1) of the 1999 constitution.

Secondly, as a result of political subjugation, economic in-balance and other forms of deliberate systemic marginalization; Kaduna state over the years has become polarized, leading to cleavages along the lines of northern and southern parts of the state, political, religion and ethnicity. The tension emanating from the mutual mistrust and suspicion have led to violent confrontations in the state over the years. No wonder, after the Sharia crisis of 2000, the committee set-up to investigate the crisis by the then governor of the state, now senator Ahmed Makarfi recommended the splitting of the state.

That is the more reason why it did not come as a surprise when the just concluded Nigerian National Conference recommended the creation of Gurara state among the 18 new states in addition to the 36 states already in existence. Another decision made by the conference that did not also come as a surprise, but which elicited vociferous excitement and commendation, is the inclusion of Lere local government as part of the 13 local governments that make-up Gurara state. This is so because the recommendations are a true reflection of the hopes and aspirations of the good of people southern Kaduna and the majority of genuine indigenes of Lere local government especially those from the Kurama extraction.

 Our excitement and anxiety emanates from our determined desire to return to the pre- 1992 southern senatorial zone arrangement where the Kurama people share more cultural and traditional affiliation, which falls in the proposed Gurara state. These agitations are justifiable with the myriad of monumental marginalization and discrimination meted out on the Kurama people in the present arrangement in Kaduna state. This is evident up on till now in the inequalities in the distribution of appointments, contracts, allocation of resources and infrastructure, dividends of democracy, and the stigma of a second class citizen on our land.

In terms of population, according to the Zaria gazetteer of 1911, the Kurama population far exceeds that of ethnic groups such as Moro’a, Kagoro, Jaba and Chawai. It is expected that these numbers should have increased by now; majorly due to the absence of any major man-made or natural disaster to stagnate the population growth. It is also on record that the Kurama people have been in their present location or territory since the 14^th century, while other ethnic groups in Lere local government arrived the area around 1773. History also has shown us that Lere district (now Lere L.G) came up as a result of a merger of two Kurama dominated districts of Kudaru and Garu, while the other is Lere district, into a single entity in 1936.

It is on record also that the gazetted population of Lere L.G according to the 2006 national census is 331,161. In the same light, the population is relatively shared by the four chiefdoms; one again curiously begins to wonder why there is inequality in the distribution of the 300 polling units and constituency wards. The absence of the corresponding polling units to reflect the actual population spread and strength in Kurama dominated areas can only be explained as a systematic ploy to subjugate the Kurama people by denying them access to political positions, participation, institutions and dividends of governance and democracy.

The legitimate agitations by the Kurama people by extension Lere local government to be part of Gurara state is premise on our firm desire to close the wide gulf which exists in terms of access to opportunities and inclusiveness, and to increase our chances for socio-economic development and political representation. To also put a halt to the deliberate and systematic denigration of the Kurama people to second class status on their land, and also to break the shackles of political and cultural subjugation.

It is in deciding our fate that the true representatives of the Kurama people have unanimously endorsed our aspirations of belonging to Gurara state; they include some of our political office-holders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community elders, ethnic associations and the youth (whose future is at stake). This gripping desire is evident in the intimate romance that had flourished between the Kurama people and their brothers in the area that make up the proposed Gurara state, especially in the activities in the struggle for the creation of Gurara state by the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU). This can probably be attributed to years of being subjected to the same fate of subjugation, discrimination, marginalization and ridicule in the present Kaduna state.

In conclusion, in view of the reality that there exist some pockets of divergent school of thought running contrary to the popular will of the good people of Kurama nation in pitching their tent with their brothers in the Gurara area, we recognize and respect the legitimate right of the minority (in terms of number and inclusiveness) to have their say, but we insist that the majority should have their way.

That is why the moral burden for the actualization of the hopes and aspirations of the peace loving people of Kurama nation lies with all the stakeholders saddled with the responsibility for the creation of Gurara state. They should remember that history and posterity would always be there to place a verdict on their actions.

LEARN TO MANAGE STRESS IN THE OFFICE by Skigo Fitnezz

The stress from office follows many home! There are reports which say 28% of managers bring stress home, but 57% say they rarely bring home tension to the office. At the same time studies indicated that stress in the home is often greater than stress at the working place.

Secretaries often pay the price for their bosses stress. Wives pay for their husbands stress, children pay for their parents stress and students pay for their teachers.

Do not bring home to the family the fear of getting fired from work. You should remember two things: it would only cause things to grow more stressful at home and if the firing actually occurs you will be free to seek for a job which better fulfills your needs and aspiration. You should be patient and persevere in labor in order to be punctual, efficient and a high achiever, in order to avoid entertaining the fear of being sacked from office.

Once you have a job, make yourself indispensable by learning everything there is to know about the job and business. Become an indispensable worker and watch on the job stress decline in your life. Keep your attitude positive and you will face far less stress on the job.

Occupational therapy is the term now used by psychiatry when work is prescribed as though it was a medicine for worry. Any psychiatrist will tell you that work keeping is one of the best anesthetic ever known for sick nerves.

The mind can only think of one thing at a particular time. The remedy for worry is to get completely occupied doing something constructive. You have to be busy both mentally and physical every hour of the day.

MANAGING THE STRESS

a.      A moderate level of tension is necessary to maintain an active and productive lifestyle.

b.      Excess tension causes stress and prevents people from enjoying life.

c.       Stress in this century’s illness: it affects men, women, children and adolescents.

d.      We may not be able to avoid it but we can certainly learn to manage it and thus avoid anxiety and depression.

e.      Stress is a major factor in causing diseases.

f.        The aggressive factors called stress factors or agents come from four areas of life: physical, mental, social and spiritually.

g.      Stress is being subjected to external forces or pressures.

h.      We all have our limitations and we must learn to understand them and not to abuse them over long periods of time. This self analysis is vital if we wish to improve both the length and quality of our lives.

i.        Everyone has a limit to everything in life. When we go beyond our limit “we break”.  It is important then that we each learn to recognize our limits and our limitations and how to deal with the both of them.

Contacts:

Coach Solo (Skigo Fitnezz)

Call: 0703 217 4254

E-mail: sologoj@yahoo.com