[VIEWPOINT] Investing for the future: Sokoto state of my dream

Investing for the future: Sokoto state of my dream – As the administration of Sokoto State under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto is now presumably devoid of any distraction sequel to the conclusion of election litigation in his favour at the nation’s apex court, I am not oblivious of the fact that His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto is now in a stable frame of mind to face the business of governance before him. Even though the sole purpose of this piece is not to lecture His Excellency on governance, it is however, highly imperative at this juncture of his journey into the provision of democratic dividends in line with his campaign promises, to remind him of what is expected of him in providing good governance within the realm and perspective of the main social indicators of development namely: education, health, employment rates and gender equality.

 By Nasiru Yahaya Isa

From the perspective of this write-up, I will align with the definition of good governance as “legitimate, accountable, and effective ways of obtaining and using public power and resources in the pursuit of widely accepted social goals”. This definition, therefore, not only links good governance with the rule of law, transparency, and accountability, but goes ahead to embody partnerships between the state and society, and among citizens. For good governance to be achieved in Sokoto state, given the above definition, the government should therefore, be able to guarantee efficient utilization of the state resources which should be free from corrupt tendencies and practices, the outcome of which is the provision of food, shelter, security and the protection of human rights of the generality of the people of Sokoto state. Investing for the future of Sokoto.

It has always been my desire for Sokoto State to be blessed with a visionary leader who will lay a foundation for achieving sustainable development that will usher in an economically independent state. In as much as I do recognize and appreciate the numerous projects executed and infrastructures bequeathed to the state by the past democratic administrations, it is quite regrettable to observe that, some of these projects were merely white elephant projects and not addressing the basic needs of the electorates. They are thus, regarded by many as a misplacement of priorities considering the economic status of the people in which many live below the poverty line. It has unfortunately become the order of the day for elected officeholders to emphasize eye-catching infrastructures paying little attention to service delivery and viable projects that will shortly or long run impact positively and change the negative narrative of our worrisome poverty index in the state. It is high time, therefore, for this administration under the leadership of Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto to embrace a paradigm shift and change the narrative for the attainment of sustainable development in Sokoto state.

This piece focuses on some abandoned viable economic investments and endeavors that should be revisited and embarked upon by the administration of Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto which could contribute towards making Sokoto State economically sustainable and independent. It is an incontrovertible fact that other indicators of development ranging from education, health, and employment rates to gender equality are all predicated on a sound economy which is the product of good governance. The earlier, we realize the danger it portends for the state to solely rely on monthly FAAC revenue, the better. Even though I do recognize the fact that the state is being bedeviled with security challenges as a result of banditry, Sokoto state is bestowed with vast arable and fertile land for rainy season farming as well as dams for irrigation farming activities. We are also blessed with abundant mineral resources that, investing in them, and being tapped and exploited by the state government, will ensure and boost the fortunes of the state. If other states could partner with investors to establish viable investments, I strongly believe that, is not a bad idea to borrow a leaf from them by the administration of Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto.

The Sokoto Independent Power Project (IPP) started by former Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko was abandoned after a colossal amount of money had been expended into the project. Just recently, I have come across the news about the Aba Independent Power Project (IPP) being the first independent and integrated power utility in Nigeria which is an embedded electricity facility designed to generate and distribute its electricity. The Project is presently owned by the Project Developer/Sponsor: Geometric Power Limited, Aba Power Limited, and other investors including the state government. The Sokoto State government should not allow the huge investment made in the state IPP to go down the drain. That waste of resources is uncalled for, at this critical time when the state can leverage such investment. I call on the present administration to as a matter of importance revisit the Sokoto IPP and call for an expression of interest from partners that are reliable and possess the expertise to partner with the state and invest towards reviving the state IPP.

In the area of agriculture, investors including Dangote Group have indicated interest in establishing Rice and Sugar factories in Kware and Goronyo Local Government Areas (LGAs). The construction of such factories had started and for years now, such projects are yet to see the light of the day, because it is regrettably moving at a languid pace. I wish the governor of Sokoto State would emulate the government of Kwara State under the administration of former Governor Bukola Saraki who established the Shonga Farm in 2004 where some white farmers were brought from Zimbabwe. Even though insecurity is currently our major challenge, we should, however, not give up completely not to start planning towards sustainable development in our dear state. The Kwara State government invested in the project through infrastructure for the farms and its communities such as roads, electricity, water, and security infrastructure towards creating an enabling environment for farming activities at Shonga farm and the surrounding communities. Creating an enabling environment through the provision of security and basic infrastructures in Kware Goronyo and other parts of the state can boost the farming activities of even our own local commercial and peasant farmers to produce enough rice and sugarcane for the ongoing Dangote rice and sugar factories in Kware and Goronyo LGAs.

One could also recall with nostalgia, how the Sokoto State Government initiated a regional cattle ranch in Rabah LGA which had also been jettisoned. The N3 billion project that was to initially cover 1000 hectares with the capacity to cater for 10,000 cattle will improve the low milk of the Sokoto Gudali breed and also have for sale cattle embryos and semen with the capacity to turn around the quality of animal husbandry in Sokoto state as well as neighbouring West African countries. The ranch has milk-yielding breeds from Brazil as well as the beef-yielding species from Argentina. The project also aims at realizing N2bn annually and will raise the state IGR. A lot of capital and human investments were made in this project which was divided into three phases and one of the critical sections is the first one being the technical transfer, which has to do with the training of staff that will maintain the project. Six local technicians were sent for foreign training in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were trained in genetics and breeding, embryo transfer, and artificial insemination. If one may ask, is the administration of Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto going to allow this huge investment to also go down the drain?

I could also recall that in November 2015, barely 5 months into his administration, the immediate past governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal paid a working visit to the Erisco Foods Limited factory in Lagos. The Founder and President of Erisco Foods Limited, Chief Eris Umeofia who had once lived in Sokoto and holds the people of Sokoto state in high regard, had pledged to invest $250m in food processing plants in Sokoto State. According to him, about 6,000 jobs are targeted in one and a half years to boost the social well-being of the people of the state. He said Erisco will partner with the local farmers to increase their capacity for national economic growth. This proposed project for reasons I cannot say, had also gone into thin air. There is also the need for His Excellency to revisit this economically viable investment that will benefit the state because, at that time, a technical committee for the actualization of the processing plants was even set up by the government of the day under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

As an indigene of Sokoto State, I feel so bad for my dear state when I see the dividends of investment accruing to BUA Group after taking over the ownership and management of the defunct Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) founded by Sir Ahmadu Bello of blessed memory and in which Sokoto State could be counted among the shareholders that had the largest shares in the CCNN then. Today, Sokoto State has lost its shares and has no say in the management of the Sokoto BUA cement company but is relegated rather to such an entity that only benefits from the magnanimous corporate responsibilities of the BUA Group. The question that has been ringing in my head is whether, it is not realistic for the Sokoto state to co-own its cement and fertilizer companies through the PPP arrangement considering the availability of abundant raw materials in Wamakko, Kware, Gada, and other parts of the state?

If one may ask, what happened to the already established Sokoto Organic Fertiliser Production Plant at Kware Local Government which we were told was about to commence production? The project worth N250m, which was a partnership between the state government and IML Company and capable of producing 15,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer annually as well as providing over 20,000 jobs, we were informed, has been completed during the tenure of the previous administration. The plant which is a PPP between Sokoto State Government and IML Company, which has constructed the plant had carried out the test run process successfully and was ready for full operation, we were made to believe. The state cannot afford to abandon this investment either.

In a bid to redeem his campaign promises to boost economic activities and industrial development in Sokoto State, the State Government should partner with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and other development banks to secure and disburse loans to small, medium, and large-scale entrepreneurs. The BOI and other development banks should contribute a matching fund while the state government commits counterpart funds and serve as guarantors to the prospective loan beneficiaries who will only repay the principal over an agreed period while the state takes up the responsibility of paying off the interest making it interest-free to the beneficiaries. The state government must come up with workable modalities and stiff measures towards the repayment and recovery of the loan so that politicians should not in their usual manners, regard and treat these economic empowerment endeavors of the governor as another political largesse.

I could recall that the Sokoto State government under the administration of Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko has established three agricultural skills acquisition centers in each of its three senatorial zones in a bid to improve livestock production in the state. I strongly believe that the strengthening of these centers at Bankanu in Kware, Milgoma in Bodinga, and Rimawa` in Goronyo LGAs will go a long way in imparting skills in animal husbandry and poultry farming towards boosting the economic activities of our rural communities. The Sokoto State Government should take advantage of these existing skills acquisition centers and leverage them by taking them out of the streets and enrolling the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to empower them to meet their immediate needs and become self-reliant.

There’s no doubt that Sokoto state is sitting on a gold mine. The time for the governor to exploit these investment and economic empowerment potentials is now. The governor should take the bull by the horns and pursue economically viable investments that will bring about the mobilization of resources for sustainable development in Sokoto state. Doing so will not only create more jobs and improve the standard of living of the people, it will also ultimately secure the future of the next generations, yet unborn.

Before I conclude this piece, I would like to give my opinion on the ongoing projects within the Sokoto metropolitan city particularly, the construction of Sokoto township roads, beautification of the capital city with solar street lights, traffic lights, street wire fencing as well as gates and bars on all access roads leading to government house, Sokoto similar to what obtains at roads leading to Kano state government house. Many of the residents not only see the ongoing street beautification projects as unnecessary but regard them as a misplacement of priorities given the current hardship biting hard on residents. Some public commentators in the state have come out through various radio stations in the state to castigate the governor for this beautification project as according to them, the governor should have instead, provided palliatives or initiated social intervention and economic empowerment programs to alleviate poverty in a state that has been once ranked by the National Bureau of Statistics Multi-dimensional Poverty Index as the poorest state in the country. They accused the governor of misalignment between his campaign promises and the execution of these ongoing beautification projects within the state capital.

Even though, I do not only recognize, but also fully support the need for the governor to have before now, initiated economic empowerment programs that will cushion the effect of the hardship being faced in the state, I do not however, wish to accept hook, line, and sinker, the position of those who see the on-going Sokoto city beautification projects as waste of resources on the condition that, His Excellency, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto shall emulate the “Kaduna Urban Renewal Program” implemented in Kaduna and other major urban towns during former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure. In my opinion, it is worthwhile having a “Sokoto Urban Renewal Agenda” that will confer on the Sokoto city and other urban towns across the three senatorial zones new and befitting looks, while also ingrained in the renewal program, construction of facilities that will bolster the state economy towards improving the wellbeing of the people. For me, as long as the main urban dual carriageways at Sultan Abubakar (III) road, Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki road, Sheikh Al-Sudais road, Kano road, Maiduguri road, Kaduna road, Western to Eastern-bye pass roads and a lot of others, will be redesigned and reconstructed with adjoining good concrete gutters, pedestrian overpasses, appropriate road traffic signs and cemented or interlocked walk ways that will give befitting looks to mention but a few, similar to what is done on Yakubu Gowon way, Isah Kaita road, Wharf road, New Kawo road, Alkali and Rabah roads, in Kaduna city; as long as the Shehu Kangiwa Square will be transformed into business hub housing on that auspicious space plazas, supermarkets and eateries, modern and state of the art indoor sporting facilities, and a befitting conference halls and event centers like the Murtala Square in Kaduna; and as long as our satellite markets and motor parks will be rebuilt through PPP to bring more IGR into the coffers of the state like Kasuwar Bacchi, Kakuri and Unguwar Rimi markets or the Lagos Garage remodeled motor park along Mando road; then I will not be in a haste to criticize or condemn the governor’s on-going beautification project in the state capital. 

The Sokoto state Governor should however, note that anything short of the people’s expectation of the envisaged “Sokoto urban renewal program” in meeting the standard of the Kaduna urban renewal program, will invariably justify the criticisms and condemnation of the ongoing Sokoto beautification project as not only unnecessary and half-baked, it may also be recorded for posterity as another white elephant project.

Isa ((M.Sc, MBA, MDS, FMLSCN, FAMLSN), a Retired Permanent Secretary of the Sokoto State Civil Service writes from Sokoto and can be reached @ nasiruyahayaisa@gmail.com