Clear Vision, Passion for the People behind Success of My Government - Gov. Yari

Recently, the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulazeez Yari, was the host of the Nigerian Union of Journalists Good Governance Team. The aim of the visit was to interface with the governor, on how his seven years in power has impacted on the life of inhabitants of the state.

The NUJteam, which was led by its President, Abdulwahid Odushile, rounded off the project tour with an interactive session with Governor Yari at his country home in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of the state. Innocent Imoh was there.

It’s been seven years since the journey began. How has it been?

Like I have always emphasized, there is every need for those who seek political offices to have a 'clear vision’ of what they intend to do with it. Another thing is, those who seek position of authority must also have passion for the people. It is these factors that drive success in leadership endeavour. It is impossible to tackle problems that you don’t have full grasp of.

What I am saying in summary is that, before you seek to go into governance, study the localities.

Study the local people and their needs, especially, during campaign. You may not make so many bogus promises but let the problems you have identified became a burden for you to solve. No leader succeeds in his or her leadership engagement without passion for the people. It makes you restless in pursuance of your set target until you have achieved it. I must tellyou, sincerely; these factors are the secrets behind my success as governor of Zamfara State. In the last two days, you have gone round the state and have seen things for yourself. But I bet you,  those feats you see, wouldn't have been possible, if I had no clearer vision before seeking office as governor of Zamfara State.

In specific terms, what is the policy thrust of your government?

My government is based on equity, justice and fairness. All parts of the state are treated equally. My administration made this avowed commitment, when I took office in 2011, to construct 25 kilometers of road in each of the 14 local government areas in the state. That
commitment has helped us to spread development evenly across the state without marginalization. Because the primary focus of his government is to wipe tears off the faces of our people without discrimination.

When I was campaigning round the state in 2010, my team visited every nook and cranny. This gave me a firsthand understanding of the extent of infrastructural decay in the state. I know what my campaign team went through to travel round the state on campaign. All the roads thatwere herculean for my campaign team to drive through in 2010 are today, the smooth roads on which you driven, since you arrive the state is an eloquent testimony to what my government has done in the last seven years.

Why so much energy on road infrastructures?

Zamfara State has very difficult terrains and they are no facilities like airports for our people to travel, this necessitates that we construct good network of roads to make life meaningful for ourpeople. This difficult terrain is responsible for the intractable security challenges the state is facing. Added to difficult terrain is, we don’t have sophisticated equipment like helicopter to be able trace these bandits to their hidings. I am telling you today that there is no helicopter for rapid response. In the absence of these equipment and facilities that I have mentioned, we have made good roads available for our people. There was no community my campaign visited during the 2010 campaign that did not request for roads, and we visited well over 106 communities round the state. Don’t forget that our people are no longer analogue, there are supersonic, which means, there is more and more demand for accountability now than it used to be.

For instance, if you make XYZ promises during campaign and you fail to fulfill it, during your re-election campaign, somebody will say, excuse me, you promised to do so and so, you failed to do it. During 2010/2011 campaign, I never climbed the podium to promise any community road,because I know, roads projects are capital intensive. And I know that, if I promise and fail, it will affect my credibility.

However, two federal roads were of utmost concern to me. Despite my administration inherited 55 billion naira debt in 2011, to God be the glory, we were able to turn the tide around because we made prudent management of resources our watchword. We ensured that, no new projects are initiated, until the resources are on ground. This principle has helped us a lot to achieve the much we have achieved'.

In record time, we were able to construct the 46 kilometers KauraNamoda-GidanJaja and the 143.5 kilometers Mayanchi-Anka-Daki Tawas-Gummi road. Those were the two roads I had in mind, to the extent that, I planned that, even if Zamfara State allocation finishes on the two projects; it is worth it, because the people has suffered.

Before this administration came to office, if you are going from Zurumi to Gusau, it is supposed to be a distance of about an hour. But it takes seven hours. The hoodlums are there to make life miserable for the people, because you cannot speed more than 20 kilometers per hour. So, it was easier for hoodlums on motor bikes to dispose our people of their belongings. So, we have to pass through Sokoto-Tambuwal back to Zurumi. That takes about six hours. A journeythat should ordinary takes an hour.

God in his infinite mercy, after building KauraNamoda-GidanJaja, completed Gausau-KasuwanDaji, The only road project in the state being handled by an indigenous contractor; a 16 kilometers Kwambarawa-Lamba-Kumburu road is near completion. Jibia-KauraNamoda Road, a 54-kilometer Federal government road but been rehabilitated by the Zamfara State government.

Another Flagship project is the 75km road, which cut across three local governments of
Boko-Colony-Zurumi-Maradun and Bakura. This particular road remained a jinx since the colonial era before my government broke it. Today, farmers can now produce sweet potatoes, onions and beans etc, and easily transport them to market because the road is now good.

Despite some of these roads were federal roads, the state rehabilitated them for the economic benefit of our people. It is the same economic consideration of our people that made us built road to connect Bakolori Dam. When we began most of these ambitious road projects,cynics never really give us a chance to succeed but as you can see now, the rest is history.

Which of the projects you have executed will leave lasting memory with you?

I will tell you without mincing word that KauraNamoda-GidanJaja and Gausau-KasuwanDaji.

We have inspected so many completed and ongoing health facilities around the state, how do you hope equip and the appropriate manpower to man the facilities?

In the health sector, my government has left no stone unturned to ensure easy access to quality health care services for the people of Zamfara State.

Our aim is to upgrade all the general hospitals in the state to modern standards to ensure effective provision of health care delivery to the people of the state. Our policy on health is to improve the standard of all health care centres, including the general hospitals, primary health centres by providing standard structures and equipment as well as the required health personnel. Our administration from 2011 to date, had upgraded various primary health care centres to general hospitals, we established the modern YarimanBakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau., Among many others, the health facilities we working on are; rehabilitation and total overhaul of the 120 bed Moriki General Hospital. The facility used to offer skeletal service before my administration converted it to a General Hospital. Another hospital is the 120-bed BrininMagaji General Hospital, currently at the advanced stage of completion. We have also made efforts to bring information and the world closer to our people by the rehabilitation and equipping of the Zamfara State Radio and Television.

I have said times without number that, what helped me to succeed as governor of Zamfara State is my experience at the National Assembly. When I became the governor, the budget of the state was 70-30% in favour of recurrent expenditures. I ordered that, it should be the other way round. They asked me, how can it be done, and I said, do it the way you like. But if you can’t do it, I will do it for you. All I want is 70% capital and 30% recurrent. So, the budget people get to work and got me what I wanted. That is what we have maintained up till now. The policy of my government is that, before we start any project, we must have at least, 80% of the funds required. With the 80% capital requirement, I know the project is a done deal because it is only 20% that is left.

When I was at the national Assembly, I looked at issues critically, and came to a conclusion that, if we are to go by the budget book, I don’t think in the next 50 years, we can take Nigeria to where we want it to be! It is either government devises another means of executing infrastructural development or we remain where we are.

Let me tell you my reasons; during President Yar’adua’s time, he raised concern about the recurrent expenditure. At that time recurrent expenditure was 75 percent. Yar’Adua said no, the National Assembly should take another look at it. It was after then that we started budgeting 700 billion for capital projects in a country like Nigeria, it is not enough. Even the one or two trillion we are budgeting now, seems not to be enough. Each and every one of the senators or Reps members wants a federal project for his or her constituency, so that, it can be used for campaign.

The Nigeria development should go beyond that. We should look at critical infrastructures like railways, waterways. In our budgeting system, the National Assembly should always endeavor to make budgetary provision for projects, on consistence basis. For instance, if a completion period of a budget is three years, the National Assembly should budget for the project every year, until the project is completed.

Let me give you example of Kaura-Namoda-GidanJajaRoad. It was initially awarded in two phases by the PTF. Phase one was for the construction of the bridges and phases two, the main road. Phase one and bridges was completed and they started the phase two; they came to GidanJaja and stopped there. When Obasanjo took over, he reviewed the contract and re-awarded it to Dantata and Sawoe at the cost of 4.3 billion naira. As at that time, some of the amount was paid. What was remaining to be paid to the contractor was 3.2 billion naira. There was a year that only 50 million naira was budgeted for the road. Up till 2011, the road remained the way it was. When we took over, we agreed with the contractor that, they should construct the road in line with what was negotiated with the federal government. I gave them six months to complete the project and I paid them 3.2 billion naira.

The contractor kept to the terms of the contract and the state government kept theirs, by so doing, the road was completed and commissioned in 2012. The option left for us is for the federal government to borrow massively to invest infrastructures because that is what is being done in America and elsewhere. The way things stand today, everything is on federal government; roads, waterway, railways, universities etc.

When an American (Indiana) entrepreneur, Carl G. Fisher conceived the idea of building a transcontinental ‘LINCOLN HIGHWAY’ in 1912, critics says he was mad. But by 1913, the project was commissioned. In 1948 or thereabout, the road was again, expanded to six lanes on both sides.

QUOTE: "Similarly, no leader can succeed in his or her leadership engagement without passion for the people. It makes you restless in pursuance of your set target until you have achieved it "