In memory of Late Muhammadu Bello: Letter from a departed Etsu (II)

Culture and Tourism:

Not too long ago, it was announced to me by an admirer of our royal institution that durbar during Sallah and Bariki festivals are not as colorful as they used to be in my days. I am disappointed if this is actually true. Culture is one of the few ways through which every nation or a people could preserve their history and identity. A people’s culture including language is therefore their elegant pride.

Politics and Political Culture:

Man, as I used to hear, is a political animal. Therefore, it is inevitable for him be in politics, directly or by proxy. It is in the light of this that I wish to make some few remarks to awaken the people of Agaie Emirate on the need to give politics some sense of morality.

Political Under-Development:

My memory, if it still serves me accurately in death, reminds me that Agaie Emirate has a history of political relevance. During the Second Republic, a distinguished son of the soil, Alhaji Ndagi Mamudu, served as a Minister of Water Resources, and later for Police Affairs. In the general elections of 1983, Alhaji Umaru Nma Agaie also emerged as a Senator. I have confirmed that sons and daughters of the soil from the Emirate for some time now have not been able to emerge as senators or secure ministerial appointments. I want to believe that something must be wrong somewhere. Are you sure that some of you are not being too selfish? Are you also sure that there are sufficient and mutual consultations between all interest groups within the Emirate? Do the elite really show genuine interest in political matters of the Emirate including providing answers to the question of who becomes the chairman at the local government level?

Celebrating Failure:

It is amazing that failure instead of success is what people of your age prefer to celebrate. It is apparent that the effect of passing through long years of neglect, distress and socio-economic calamities, is prompting some of you to celebrate even what is due to them as a right. When a councilor does the job for which he was elected, he is applauded. If a local government chairman sinks a borehole with public funds, he is praised, hailed and celebrated. Anyway, my grandparents once told me that “Anyone who suffers great and protracted injustice considers and accepts a lesser one to be a favour”.

Health:

I am delighted that the Rural Hospital I left has been upgraded and expanded. I appeal to the Niger State Government to equip the new General Hospital with adequate number of health personnel and state-of-the-art facilities so that Agaie community would derive maximum benefits from the hospital.

Water:

Having lost all the opportunities in the past to provide Agaie with a sustainable source of water supply, I want to appeal to all of you, men and women, big and small, to come together and prioritize water on the list of problems deserving your utmost attention. Water, they say, is life. It was related to me that the intervention by various government agencies including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the concept of “Ward Development Project” initiated by the present administration in Niger state have reduced the annual scarcity experienced by the people of Agaie. In order to guarantee constant portable water supply, the local government is hereby urged to complement the efforts of the state government to improve the state of Agaie water works.

Baro Port:

This, to me, is obviously the most pleasant of all the news that came to me in recent years. We must not bring down the hands we raised in our prayers that brought this lofty dream to its present level of reality, until the port is finally commissioned and put to use. I beseech the immediate host community to give every necessary support to government and to the contractors handling the project for the timely completion of the job. I equally caution government at the local level to take precautionary measures that will assist in managing the attendant problems characteristic of the services at sea ports. Baro port is actually a dream long overdue for fulfillment. But what about the refinery project someone whispered to me about a year ago that the Niger state government through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiative was planning to build at Baro?

Youths:

The records I left behind, if they are still intact, would show you that the youths of my days indeed made me proud. I felt elevated when in 1976 at the speech and prize-giving ceremony of Bida Teachers’ College; one of our sons took the cake of the entire graduating class. I was prompted by the obvious joy in me to bring him in my car to his father at Agaie. I also remember that one of our grand-daughters made a first class degree from the University of Sokoto in 1986. There is another female achiever who is the first and (remains for now) the only female medical doctor from the Emirate. I understand she is now a Registrar with the Ahamdu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.

I also call on our youths to shun political thuggery. Do not allow yourself to be used as thugs by politicians. If anyone asks you to be a thug, ignore his offer no matter how stupendously rich you find him. Tell him you would be a thug only if he would allow his son to join you. Do not sit on the fence of despair. Get up and start moving upward on the ladder of success. You will make it to the top by the special grace of Allah. You are just too important to be used as thugs.

Entrepreneurship:

Skills acquisition and job creation initiatives are necessary tools for economic empowerment. I have been told that today’s youths of Agaie are faced with the problem of limited employment opportunities. You may wish to be reminded that, in the past, people in our traditional society did not rely solely on government for employment. They were determined enough to create employment opportunities not only for themselves but also for those who were willing to be productive. I want the youths of today to be inspired by the entrepreneurial initiatives of people who through hard work, determination and commitment became successful in life.

I subscribe to the theory which suggests that one of the greatest problems that stand against development in Agaie Emirate today is the lack of genuine consultations and mutual understanding among diverse interest groups within the Emirate. Some categories of people within the Emirate are seen by those who claim to have monopoly of power and politics as potential enemies of progress. Others are considered as not mature enough to be invited to discussion tables. Nothing drives people more easily in to this whimsical and odd mode of reasoning than crass materialism, greed and self-centeredness. This prompts me to observe that, most people who aspire to leadership positions in this community especially at the local level of governance are uninformed about positions of authority being equal in effect to millstones of responsibilities.

I wish to call on leaders, political and traditional, to strive to match their words with corresponding actions so that morality would find practical expression in their public and private lives. Hard work should be encouraged in the most deserving manner.

In spite of my disappointment over certain issues of development in the Emirate over the last two decades, it cannot be denied that some of you have actually in their own little ways contributed to keep Agaie as one indivisible community. I implore those whose names have not been mentioned for recognition in this correspondence not to take offence. After all, no act of good deed goes un-rewarded in the sight of Allah (SWT).

(Concluded)

Ndagi is of Department of Linguistics, University of Abuja. This article was excerpted from a paper delivered at the recently-held Late Etsu Muhammadu Bello Memorial Lecture.