Unspoken issues: Kaduna State BBC Hausa debate

The BBC Hausa Kaduna governorship debate was keenly competitive by the three candidates of the forefront political parties in the state. The candidates are: Uba Sani of the ruling party (APC), Isah Ashiru of the main opposition party (PDP), and Suleiman Hunkuyi of NNPP.

The debate, which held at Kaduna State University auditorium, witnessed a large turnout of supporters of the political parties, stakeholders and NGOs. The three candidates came well prepared and ‘armed to the teeth’ with relevant information, facts and figures that will enable them sell their candidature and manifesto to the people of Kaduna State.

It was also quite impressive, particularly to a non-partisan observer on how the candidates answered questions ranging from insecurity, economy, education, agriculture, economy and healthcare. Although, there were some variations in the presentation of facts and figures between the figures quoted by Sen. Uba Sani and that of his counterpart Hon. Isa Ashiru. While Uba Sani put the total number of medical doctors in the employment of Kaduna State Government at more than 400, Isa Ashiru of PDP insisted that they were only about 200. 

The debate as we all know was anchored by a polished and pedantic BBC Hausa presenter; Badariyya Kalarawi. The debate was a confab between the candidate of the ruling party, Sen. Uba Sani and the main opposition candidate Hon. Isa Ashiru of PDP, assisted by Suleiman Hunkuyi of NNPP. 

In 2019, Kaduna State development plan reported that Kaduna state has the highest female school dropout in the state. They estimated that about 37 per cent of pupils drop out in primary six has females having the highest non-completion rate of 24.8 per cent compared to males with 20.7 per cent. This was not discussed by the candidates. It is also imperative to note that none of the candidates talked about the welfare of staff, particularly primary and secondary school teachers. 

In the end, BBC Hausa did an exceptional work for organising such a debate. As this has given us the opportunity to have insight into the direction of each of the three candidates. The destiny of citizens is in their hands to vote the right candidate that will pilot the affairs of the state to the promised land.

Abdulazeez Alhassan is the President of Universal Writers and Authors (UWA).