Open letter to Governor Uba Sani

My felicitations on your swearing-in as Governor of Kaduna State. The state has found itself again in the clutches of your party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a hard-won victory.

Though, it was an open secret that the poll would stand as a greasy pole to climb, however, given the nature of our politics, it was demonstrable that the inherent power of a ruling party will provide a robust crutch. 

The election that produced you was a cliff-hanger which should ordinarily jolt your party to the reality of the existence of a groundswell of disenchantment against it and your predecessor in particular. So, it should provide you with a reason to agonize over how to govern better in bringing the party to a level of the 2015 election cycle when its support base was mammoth. And, you also need to really chart a new course for the development and unity of the state which would significantly task your experience, exposure, resolve and character.

Undoubtedly, you’re brilliant – your sojourn in the National Assembly betrayed your worth and capacity. Let me paint a sketchy portrait of your predecessor and benefactor. It’s well known that what he lost in height he gained in having a high amount of chutzpah and intelligence – that’s undeniable and no doubt, he commands huge admirers just as haters. He had it all to make your entry grand and seamless but he lost the plot on not a few grounds.

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So much has been pointed as the fruits of his foresightedness and work ethic from the urban renewal endeavour to improvement in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) but all came as a massive trade-off of the people’s lives and livelihood to a large extent. 

Again, not a few were worried when you shouted from the rooftop that you were going to perpetuate the policy of your predecessor. You need to be your own guy! Be something refreshingly different. So, you need to weigh your predecessor and his performance dispassionately. People are important. Before long, another election cycle will come beckoning.

Regardless of what you will do, empathy should be at the forefront. You need to betray a high amount of emotional intelligence – being tough with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) isn’t enough. 

Again, you must be your man in bringing the state to normalcy. Ensuring unity and justice in a heterogeneous society like Kaduna State will require that your administration takes the nature of the state into cognizance.

Remember, that power taste like nectar with an irresistible capacity to lull its holder into a false sense of forever – it shuts out the thought of its impermanence before it touches off selfishness, impulsiveness and arrogance and effectively  forcing one to forget that “ when the game is over, the king and the pawns go back into the same box.”

I wish your administration so much wisdom to succeed in developing the state and stitching its every part together in peace, justice and unity.

Abachi Ungbo wrote via [email protected]