20 years of North-West state called Kebbi

Kebbi State derives its name from the 14th century Kebbi Kingdom which was a province of the erstwhile Songhai Empire in present-day Mali which was established by renowned warriors led by Muhammadu Kanta who was the army general before he rebelled and established his own kingdom, also called Kebbi Kingdom. After the Jihad of Danfodio, Kebbi Kingdom came under the western region of Sokoto Caliphate under the guidance of  Abdullahi Fodio with Gwandu (and  Birnin-Kebbi later) as its administrative headquarters.

Located in the extreme North West and of size 36,229 square Kilometers representing 3.92% of Nigeria’s total landmass, Kebbi shares borders with Niger Republic in the West; and the with states of Sokoto, Zamfara and Niger in the North, East and South  respectively. Kebbi State has a population of 3.3 million people spread across four Emirates: Gwandu, Argungu, Yauri, and Zuru.

The state has 21 local government areas. They are Aliero, Arewa, Argungu, Bagudo, Birnin-Kebbi, Bunza, Dandi, Danko-Wasagu, Fakai Gwandu, Jega, Kalgo, Koko-Besse, Maiyama, Ngaski, Sakaba, Suru, Yauri and Zuru.

It consists of diverse ethnic groups which include Hausa, Fulani, Kabawa, Dakarkari, Kambari, Gungawa, Dandawa, Dukawa, and Fakkawa. Significantly, these groups co-exist in a mutual and harmonious living, which is why the state is called Land of Equity.

RESOURCES YEARNING FOR UTILISATION

Like many Northern states, Kebbi is an agrarian state with 13,209 square Kilometres being cultivated, with 293 square Kilometres still crying to be harnessed for economic development. The fertile land is used to cultivate numerous agricultural products; including cereals, legume, fruits, livestock, poultry and fisheries which are useful for domestic and industrial purposes.

Available documents from the state Ministry of Commerce and Industries affirmed that mineral resources abound in the state for commercial uses. Kaolin, gold, limestone, phosphate, salt, quartz, silica, iron ore, manganese, literate, granite, and potash are some of the most abundant.

The Chairman, Kebbi Agricultural Development Committee, Professor Muhammad Danyaro Magaji, of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, told Sunday Trust that Kebbi has great investment opportunities in tanning and processing of hide and skins for both domestic and export markets. This is because a survey of livestock potential shows that Kebbi has a population of 13 million livestock which ranks it among the five states of the federation with highest quantities of cattle.

In tourism, the popular Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival, Uhola Festivals in Zuru and Girmach shrine in Zuru, Abdullahi Fodio’s tomb in Gwandu, Ganuwar Amina along Niger banks in Yauri Emirate are among the celebrated tourist attractions in the state.

KEBBI’S LINE OF CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF MILITARY AND CIVILIAN BACKGROUNDS

Kebbi State as it is today is a result of the combined efforts of military and civilian administrators. The pioneer military administrator was Colonel Patrick Newton Aziza who set the pace for the state from 27th August, 1991.  Aziza was succeeded by a democratically elected governor, Alhaji Abubakar Musa, in January 1992. Abubakar Musa initiated projects such as settlement of all state ministries in the state secretariat and development of the Gesse Housing Estate and DG’s quarters.

Following the military coup of November 17, 1993; Police Commissioner Hamma Misau took over as a transitional administrator. After two weeks, Misau handed power over to Colonel Salihu Tunde Bello. Bello contributed in establishing the state television, KBTV, and expanded urban roads, among other development efforts.

The military administrator who followed Bello was Colonel John Ikphebi Ubah who started work on 14th August, 1996. The last military administrator was Colonel Samuel Bitrus Chama (later christened Sama’ila Bature Chama) who took over the mantle of leadership on 20th August, 1998.

On May 29th 1999, the second civilian Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Aliero, emerged. Being the first to spend eight years in office, Aliero was able to execute a relatively higher number of projects. They include roads and the state university in his town, Aliero. Adamu Aliero was succeeded by the third civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Saidu Usman Dakingari, the incumbent governor. In his first four years, Dakingari was known for prudency and political transformation of the state.

THE JOURNEY SO FAR

In addition to roads, hospitals, a state university, a school of nursing and midwifery, a federal polytechnic, a school of health technology, a college of agriculture, and a school of basic and advanced studies; Kebbi can boast of a number of its villages connected to the national grid.

In the quest for alternative revenue, the state appears to have improved in recent years. The Chairman, Kebbi State Board of Internal Revenue, Alhaji Ibrahim Ato Abubakar, disclosed that in 2010 the state got internally generated revenue of N3, 807,200,812.63b as against N5, 093,876.58 million in 1999.

Commenting on the look of Kebbi State after 20 years, one Aminu Kano said, “Whenever states are created to solve political problems, the economic problems remain unsolved. And where a state is created to solve economic problems, the political problems will remain unsolved”.

A political analyst and Director of Youth, Kebbi State Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ahmad Bunza argued that Nigerian states are created using a “crude arithmetic” for distributing national cake and not addressing fundamentally economic, political and social issues of the time. He said this may have followed from how the military which created the states viewed state creation as a way of compensating certain communities which felt marginalized and sometimes chose revolt to drive their message home.  He said part of the problems of state creation were people complaining over choices of state capitals, including Hadeja people in Jigawa, Warri people in Delta, and Potiskum people in Yobe states who wanted their respective towns to be capitals of their new states and felt deeply disappointed that they did not have their way.

According to Bunza, Kebbi remains a rural state at 20. He added that the little improvement recorded is not worth celebrating.

He said, “We are happy that we have seen some desirable changes, but then I doubt very much if these changes are enough for anybody to begin to roll out the drums for celebration. We have seen some physical transformation, but the most useful method of development is human capacity enhancement. No matter the number of bridges, schools, hospitals or expressways executed by the state government to solve some problems the issue of human capital remains fundamental.”

Raising further issues of human development, Bunza asserted, “If you build the whole of Birnin-Kebbi such that all houses are air-conditioned, if the people who live in such houses remain poor; you have not started anything worthwhile. Human beings are the fundamental engine of development anywhere in the world.”

A public commentator, Alhaji Abubakar B. Kalgo, told Sunday Trust that Kebbi is perpetually backward with no functional sea or airport nor sound industry despite the presence of mineral resources; as well as low production of farm produce despite nature’s gift of vast arable lands.

On his part, a civil servant since the creation of the state from the old Sokoto who is now the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dakingari, Alhaji Abubakar Mu’azu, told Sunday Trust that the State has recorded remarkable successes in 20 years, especially in the area of providing residential and office accommodation to the civil servants of the state.

Mu’azu asserted that for the first time in 20 years, the state could boast of inter and intra-city roads, prompt payment of salaries, gratuity, death benefits, and pensions. He added that more business activities have received a boost and Kebbi is enjoying the peace which some states are battling to secure.