Zamfara: Rejoinder on absentee Governor, escalating security challenges

By Nuhu Salihu Anka

The attention of Zamfara state government has been drawn to a shameless and balderdash article written by a former information commissioner during the erratic administration of former governor Bello Mattawalle.

Infact, I did not intend to react to Ibrahim Dosara’s  misleading article because everyone knows that he is only ridiculing himself and his paymaster Bello Mattawalle who would forever be remembered by the people of the state as  the worst governor the state has ever had since its creation in 1996.

The people of the state and even those following the happenings in Zamfara state know that all what he (Dosara) foolishly stated in the article were exactly the true situation of things when Matawalle accidentally served as the governor of the state from 2019 to 2023.

Going by his first paragraph where he talked about good governance which he said is lacking in the present administration of governor Dauda Lawal, one would wonder if Dosara is not trying to expose the weaknesses of his paymaster Bello Mattawalle because everybody could bear me witness that, civil service rules and regulations suffered serious setback during the four-year tenure of Bello Mattawalle. During that time, there was complete disregard to rules and regulations in almost all sectors of the economy. There is no need for me to expatiate further because the people of the state were the living witnesses that government activities at that period were almost at the standstill. Nothing was moving fine.

Dosara also mentioned that, Governor Dauda Lawal hardly spends a week in the state. This is another blander because Dosara is also indirectly attacking the former Governor who accused his predecessor Abdul Aziz Yari of being out of the state at all times and swore that, he would not be like Abdul Aziz Yari Matawalle also swore that he would never travel by air throughout his tenure. But unfortunately, Matawalle did not keep to his promises and ended up moving frequently out of the state in chattered airplanes. He could also be described as the most travelled governor in the country.

Another funny allegation by Dosara is that and I quote, “Corruption, deception, and the adoption of unfair policies which are all examples of bad governance have characterized the government of Governor Dauda Lawal Dare”.  Everybody who knows what happened during the tenure of former governor Bello Matawalle will agree with me that, Dosara is just trying to remind us of the weaknesses of his former Boss.

Corruption, deception and adoption of unfair policies were some of the reasons why Matawalle could not secure his second term ambition. Contracts were awarded and the contract sums were highly inflated during the tenure of Bello Mattawalle, while due process was not followed in almost everything. To cover up his shoddy deals, Matawalle created a kangaroo Bureau for Public Procurement agency and appointed board members who ended up only receiving their allowances without doing anything.

Mattawalle’s corruptive tendencies led to the siphoning of billions of Naira from the government treasury without any work to backup the expenditure. We are all aware of how he skillfully withdrew over seven billion Naira for the Zamfara Cargo airport but the work is still at lintel stage. The issue of three Star hotel near the state’s JB Yakubu secretariat is still in our memory where money was borrowed from the African Development Bank but was diverted and the project was abandoned.

I want to draw the attention of Dosara and his likes that a former Governor who could not even settle for the WAEC and NECO for the innocent students of the poor parents has nothing to tell the people of the state.

Another baseless and childish accusation by Dosara is that, Governor Dauda Lawal is yet to bring the issue of security under control.

Dosara stated that and I quote, “From the time Dauda Lawal ascended the throne of Zamfara leadership to date, no fewer than 300 (three hundred) attacks, 139 kidnappings were carried out by the bandits, killing over two thousand innocent people across the state, leaving thousands others widows and orphans”.

If one should ask the former information commissioner to tell the world how many people were killed or kidnapped and how many villages were displaced during the hopeless tenure of his brother Bello Mattawalle, what will he say? Has he forgotten that, Governor Lawal has inherited the security challenges from the administration of former governor Bello Mattawalle? Has Dosara also forgotten what he told the journalists in Kaduna during a press conference where he mentioned that, Zamfara state was almost ungovernable due to persistent killings and kidnapping of innocent people of the state?

Let me quickly remind Dosara that, Bello Matawalle was responsible for the growing insecurity in the state because he almost legalized banditry during his tenure because of his love for the bandits whom he referred to as his tribesmen. During Matawalle’s tenure, bandits were given all necessary facilities including vehicles to enable them conduct their unlawful activities in the state.

Matawalle had even directed the people of the state to stop calling those killers and kidnappers as bandits but Yaran Daji (meaning forest settlers).

It was during the tenure of Matawalle that banditry reached its highest pick due to negligence and romancing with the bandits by his administration. It was also during his tenure that the bandits started to kidnap students. We all know the kidnapping of students of GGSS Jangeme, JSS Faru, College of Agricultural Science Bakura, College of Health Technology Tsafe to mention but a few. We also know that thousands of villages were displaced where thousands of people were also killed but Dosara is now shamelessly telling the world that Governor Dauda Lawal who is barely four months in office cannot end the banditry activities. What type of blind opposition is this?

What surprised me most in Dosara’s write-up is the issue of one Aminu Gusau who was arrested and detained during the administration of former governor Bello Mattawalle for alleged possession of human flesh. Dosara in his ungodly write-up is asking, “What  happened to Aminu Gusau, the man who was arrested for killing and eating human meat?

This question should have been directed to your Boss Matawalle because he was the one who ordered his arrest and finally directed the security agents to release him.

Finally I want to use this medium to draw the attention of the people of Zamfara state to ignore all the unconstructive criticisms coming from either the former Governor or his hired agents because, they understand that with the coming of governor Dauda Lawal on board, the state will in the near future be taken to a greater heights. The  opposition APC members are not comfortable with governor Dauda’s approach to critical issues as well as his desire to rescue the state from collapse that is why, they are planning to stop him from executing Developmental projects.

I am also calling on the people of the state to continue supporting the administration of governor Dauda Lawal in order to save the state which has been groping in the dark since its creation in 1996.

Nuhu Salihu Anka, Director General Media and Publicity Government House Gusau