By Abubakar Shekara
In Sokoto state, the requirements for genuine democracy are fulfilled: an Executive elected through the most contested polls in the history of the state, a Legislature that numerically gives the opposition the upper hand and a Judiciary that is equipped and free, while the Fourth Estate of the Realm functions without hindrance.
Yet, there’s harmony: a symbiosis inspired by cross cutting selfless desire to discharge mandates in the service of the people. And the masses are much the better for the state of affairs, as they reap one dividend of democracy to another.
Just yesterday, the Sokoto model once again, served the people in good stead, when the Sokoto State House of Assembly approved a N538 million virement request by governor Aminu Tambuwal, with the motion on the request moved by the Leader of the House, Alhaji Bello Ambarura of the APC during plenary.
Ambarura told the House that the request by the Governor was necessitated by his administration’s desire to address a number of development projects.
The remarkable aspect of all this is that while the Executive Arm that’s elected on the platform of PDP and Legislature that’s led by the APC have closed ranks for governance, on the political front, the two parties are locked in constant debate about projects and programs.
This situation affords Sokoto State the three benefits of the democratic order: effective checks and balance in the system, inclusion and transparency in the running of affairs, through freedom of expression, all of which lead to inclusion and unity of purpose in the discharge of the people’s mandate.
That the state is making rapid progress in all aspects of development is due to the discovery of this recipe. It’s a manual for advancement that the current administration is bequeathing to Sokoto State and a model of democracy for the nation at large.
Shekara is Special Adviser to Governor Tambuwal on Public Affairs
