ON THE PROMOTION OF LOCAL EDUCATION OFFICERS. BY: MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

ON THE PROMOTION OF LOCAL EDUCATION OFFICERS.

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

NTA ZARIA

mudassiray@gmail.com

Education is recognized internationally as key to human, social and economic development. It is the backbone for societal transformation, that is why Education should be given special attention as a prerequisite of positive future of all societies. In Nigeria the management of  Education falls under concurrent legislative list where all tiers of Government are mandated to supervise the provision and quality assurance of Education. Federal Ministry of Education, State Ministry of Education and Local Education Authority (LEA) are deliberately established to provide and enhance qualitative Education at all level. In most cases Primary schools are mainly supervised by Local Government with Education Secretary as a head, Secondary schools by State government with Commissioner of Education as Officer in charge, while Minister is a general overseer of the federal ministry of education which is mainly concern with tertiary institutions and universities respectively.

Conventionally, Local Education Authority is purposely created to supervise the activities of Primary Schools as well as proper control and smooth running of the affairs of teachers which include appointment, promotion and discipline; payment of remunerations (salary and allowances); overall management of primary education, quality control and executing primary educational plans.

It is obvious that the promotion of Primary School teachers has been experiencing serious setback in many States of the federation. In Kano the delay has became hindrance to the prosperity and carrier success of primary school teachers. It is revealed that for long many teachers and non teaching staff of Local education Authority were unable to be promoted to the next grade level, the previous promotions of primary school teachers in Kano as captured by many newspapers took place in 2007 and 2013, this clearly proved that all Local Education Officers are ought to attain two or three level higher than their present grade level if the promotion would have been actually and promptly taking place in view of three years interval as laid down by civil service rules. It is also interesting to note that in Kano for long majority of  primary school teachers are hanging on the same grade level receiving the same salary and allowances (if any) despite the series of economic fluctuations and social changes that happened within the stipulated period. For e.g from 2007 to date the petroleum pump price per litre was N65 then rose to N97, dropped to N87 and now the price is N145. The Naira/Dollar exchange rate volatility has also deepened the welfare crisis facing by the masses especially lower income earners. Apart from this we all know the prices of food stuffs and other necessity commodities have considerably skyrocketed, but Government is still paying same salary to workers particularly Primary School teachers who are always at the receiving end.

In respond to the above, Kano State Government set a committee to look into the matter and directed the State Universal Primary Education Board (SUBEB) to carry out promotion exercise in order to advance all the stagnated Officers that are due for promotion for the period onwards, huge amount of money is given by the state government for the exercise. Quite rightly the board responded immediately but unfortunately the exercise is full of anomalies and irregularities to the extent that some that are suppose to be promoted are  either mistakenly omitted or deliberately neglected. The situation is highly worrisome especially when it was exposed that some teachers are forced to give out money as bribe to induce those at the hemp of the promotion affairs to put their names in the promotion list. It is also revealed that some stakeholders in Primary Board are collecting money from teachers to include and capture them in the payroll after they (teachers) were privileged to be promoted. It is obvious in my Local Government (1 out of 44 LG), over 100 Education Officers that are due and suppose to be promoted base on merit but were completely excluded from the promotion exercise for the flimsy reason of been omitted, but the reality was that many of them were deliberately ignored because of their failure give out money or to do some kind of underground movement as an inducement which I am sure the appropriate authorities (especially the Governor who committed huge amount of money for the exercise) are not aware about all this blunder.

I suggest that special task force should be set by the State Government to look deeply into this matter so that the exercise and conduct of promotion  in Local education will be accurate and acceptable.  It will be better if the process of evaluating the performance and functioning of workers should be adopted to find out staff worthy for promotion, this could be done through writing exams and interviews in the course of promoting teachers the way some Federal institutions are doing. With this I am optimistic that the principle of fair play, transparency, justice and impartiality will reign in our Educational sector particularly in Primary Schools.

MUDASSIR write from NTA Zaria.

POLITICS OF god- FATHERISM AND THE WAY IT CRUMBLES IN KANO

 POLITICS OF god- FATHERISM AND THE WAY IT CRUMBLES IN KANO

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

It is often said  'No permanent friend and no permanent enemy in politics'. This is really true considering how political coalitions, alliances, god fatherism used to fall apart particularly in Kano. In Democratic system, election, appointment or selection is what determine the power of politician, a successful politician is the one who either won election or secure political appointment, and sometimes for someone to win or acquire appointment one has to be anointed by somebody who is powerful within the political circle, either a President, a Governor, party chairman or any other influential person who posseses high political sagacity and whose political decision and wisdom to some extend became always respected and unquestionable by the community.

For long the politics of god fatherism became order of the day in Nigeria, Kano not an exception. This type of politics in Kano can be traced back to the time of second republic when Mallam Aminu Kano was the overall political father who dominated the political scenery of Kano with massive support from talakawa, at that time most of the elected or appointed political office holders are loyalists  of Malam Aminu mainly from NEPU down to PRP. In 1979 Abubakar Rimi, the first civilian Governor of kano who won under the platform of PRP was unilaterally picked by Mallam Aminu Kano when he (Rimi) was busy vying for the seat of legislature not a Governor after Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) disqualified Salihi Iliyasu and Ibrahim Wazirin Gumel governorship ticket. Later in 1983 Alh Sabo Bakin Zuwo became elected Governor after he was equally annointed by Mallam Aminu Kano. Kwankwaso the 4th civilian Governor of Kano secured governorship ticket by the political forces of Musa Gwadabe and Rimi in 1999.  Mallam Shekarau was equally pinpointed by Buhari in 2003. Recently in 2015 Kwankwaso annointed  Ganduje to be his successor under APC.

Looking at the political history, PRP, SDP and PDP have dominated the political scene in Kano, during their respective periods and they were composed with the State’s most prominent and renowned political figures, they also registered massive grass root support in almost all the local Governments in the State, they were also seen as replica of NEPU because  their members are mainly associates within the political bandwagon of Mallam Aminu Kano,  nevertheless in 1991 with all the strength and substantive support of SDP, the party lost to NRC in Governorship election. In 1999, there were three political parties(AD, APP & PDP) PDP composed almost all political key players in Kano, which made  their primary election more complicated. It was purely fused with political strength between Late Rimi and Musa gwadabe, both have different candidates for the party guber ticket. At that time a kind of cold and peaceful political war took place which was  amicably settled within the party. Mallam Musa Gwadabe produced a Governor and the deputy came from Abubakar Rimi's faction. Both supported the ticket which eventually won 1999 polls.

It was the same story in 2003 to the opposition ANPP, when General Muhammadu Buhari decided to join politics and contested in the party, his nation wide directives to vote ANPP SAK saw many of incompetent people and some with low political caliber to emerged victorious, and we can say most of those that won 2003 election under the flat form of ANPP in kano and beyond were as a result of political order (SAK) by Buhari. It is pertinent to note that only in 2007 and 2011 political transition came with differences. In 2007 the incumbent Governor Mallam Shekarau won the election on two consecutive terms which is the first in the history of Kano State. Likewise in 2011 the incumbency strength was again broke by Kwankwaso who suffered election bitterness in 2003.

With 2007 and 2011 elections,it was believed by many that the politics of god fatherism and anointment is no more in Kano, but it resurfaced in 2015 under APC, the out going Governor anointed his deputy who succeeded in winning the election as against the case of 2011.

However, it is obvious that all the political alliances made in the history of Kano politics failed  to deliver fruitful outcomes as a result of some disputes that always happens between god fathers and their boys. We all know what happened in PRP during 1983 election which led to the failure of the serving Governor; The political dispute of selecting the appropriate running mate was the clear reason for the failure of SDP in 1991 Governorship poll. Likewise in 2003 the powerful Governor with all the supports and backup from the then President was forced to vacate Kano government house with no arrangement, which was allegedly believed to happened as a result of bitterness and disintegration  among the stakeholders in the ruling party (PDP) in the State.

However, the Present political hullabaloo that is happening between the Governor and his predecessor is a clear manifestation of how the political alliances used to turn offside down in a game of politics.

Therefore, the only way forward is for the people of Kano to desist from voting any politician who happened to have powerful god father and or annointed by Governor or President considering how it crumbles untimely with little or no gain. It also brought serious setback to the development of the people and the government in the State. It is obvious that political annointment have been hindering and stagnating certain development as a result of some personal whims and caprices from the part of either the annointed leader or his god father. It is rather to have strong opposition from other political parties than to have antagonistic relationship within the party itself. The intra party crises is mostly surfaces as a result of certain cracks among the caucus of the same party. I consider the action as a great drawback to the socioeconomic and political development of people and government of Kano State.

Fellow Kanawa, let us say no to politics of god fatherism and strive to vote for credibility, competency and reliability.

Mudassir write from NTA Zaria.

CORRUPTION WITHIN THE ANTI CORRUPTION GOVERNMENT

CORRUPTION WITHIN THE ANTI CORRUPTION GOVERNMENT

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

It is clearly understood that for long, corruption is the biggest problem that retard the development of Nigeria. The level of corruption in the country is high and the frequency is persisting every day and in almost every sector and institution of the country. Nowadays the intense of corruption spreaded to some informal sector, even in market places there is every possibility of observing corrupt practices when critically examined.

By definition corruption is any act of dishonesty or fraudulent conduct typically involving bribery by those in power or the custodian vested with the authority of controlling public offices in both governmental and non governmental organizations. It involves illegitimate use of power to benefit private or personal idiosyncratic interest (Morris 1991).

In Nigeria Corruption surfaces in many ways peculiar to the perceived interests  and motives of different individuals e.g. giving out  bribe to lawyers/judges or any person so that the truth will not be told is a corruption, embezzlement of public money is a corruption, siphoning of public funds into personal pocket for personal use is a corruption; bribing security agents on the roads is a number one corruption; nepotism in recruitment, appointment and promotion in public offices are also corruption of the highest order; election irregularities/ malpractices or any other manipulation that favours one and victimized others are all corruption. All of the above plus other minor illegal practices manifested in our institutions and organizations which brought serious setback to the country.

 The fight against corruption has became widely known with the establishment of EFCC in 2003 to respond and addresses the precarious financial fraud and other corruption related cases. There are several number of corruption scams  that are treated by the agency right from its inception up to this time, but the anti graft war of APC government is highly different because of the sincerity of purpose and the zeal of wiping out corruption to the minimal level by the tested and trusted President. However, the anti corruption crusade is ought to be more popular particularly with over publicization of the subject matter by the current government, but with the unfolding issues, the action is allegedly seen similar to that of PDP government and it has seemingly  became a replica following the selective and partial treatment  some active members of this government are recieving despite the clear evidence provided by  the Senate committee led Comrade Shehu Sani in a report that indicted, caught and proved guilty the scam  done by  the Secretary to the Government of Federation on IDPs and the indictment of President's Chief of Staff on MTN scam but the Presidency and the government has taken the issue lightly, this has became contrary to the public expectations attached to APC government considering the intense commitment by Mr President who is always lamenting his strong  dismay on corruption which is among the three principal reason why people voted him just to provide lasting solution to this menace that has been bedeviling the progress of Nigeria; but surprisingly Mr President is relenting and paying less attention to the scams. Is it because the scandals happened to came from his trustees or what else? Does that mean any person entrust by  President is also a clean and trusted like the President himself?

Certainly the President should apply sincerity of action in dealing with anybody whosoever found guilty in corruption charges even if it happens among his allies/aides within and outside the government circle. He should apply zero tolerance to corruption in it full capacity and do away with selective justice so far he want to justify his statement of "I belongs to every body and I belongs to nobody". Therefore, the President as a matter of urgency should respond quickly to the proved assertion and corruption charges on SGF. This will surely solidify the popular and most publicized fight against corruption the government is always claiming to be among their cardinal objectives. Openness and transparency is what Nigerians are waiting from this matter which was proved by senate report against the SGF.

Finally my advice to the government is that there is need to strengthen and intensify its low deterrent and the punitive measures for corrupt practices among the politicians and government officials, Justice and fair play in dealing with corruption cases is what will definitely make the President's anti graft war successful, commendable and sustainable.

MUDASSIR write from NTA Zaria

NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS.

NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY AND

 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS.

BY:

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

     Democracy is a political system of government in which people of a nation or a country are rule base on any form they choose to establish through drafting constitution that is guiding the conduct of the society. Abraham Lincoln defines democracy as “the government of the people by the people for the people”. Therefore democracy has to do with popular sovereignty in respect to the provision of law, order, welfare and security to the citizens. Among the features of democracy election is the most important that is why any political system without election will never be considered as a pure democracy. By definition, election is a legal way of choosing or selecting a leader through casting of votes by people or group of delegates vested with the power and authority to put in place and legitimizes somebody as a leader in a governmental or non governmental organizations. It is also a procedure that allow members of an organization or community to choose somebody who will hold a position of authority to command and effect positive change within it. Election serves as a way of evaluating and assessing the viability of political leaders and or the activities of government by the citizens/electorates. The system of direct election is recognized and adopted in Nigeria where eligible people are allowed to conduct elections through casting of votes directly to a particular individual holding flag of a registered party who is vying for a given political office. And on the other hand anybody who met the criteria and requirement is allowed to contest in as much as he or she is a bonafide citizen.

     Nigeria adopted federal system of government where there are 3 tiers of government i.e Federal State and Local governments. Local government is the third tier of government that engages in some appropriate services and other developmental projects. The United Nation office for public administration defines Local government “as a political sub division of a nation or state which is constituted by law and has substantive control of local affairs including the power to impose taxes or to extract labour for prescribed purposes, the governing body of Local government is either elected or selected.”

     Nigeria practice democracy as its political system where election used to take place periodically but this I can say is only applicable to federal and state entities, but in the case of local government, election became voluntary as the task to conduct polls  into the council is fully control by state governors (code, conduct, exercise and final result). This is purely unacceptable and against the provision of constitution. The 1976 Local government reform provided that the essence of local government is to facilitate the exercise of democratic self governance close to the grass root in order to encourage initiative and leadership potentials; to mobolise human material resources through the involvement of members of the public in their local affairs for self development; and also to provide the channel of communication between local communities and government (both federal and state). This entails bringing people closer to the government and allowing them to participate fully in their own affairs.

     However, considering the initial rules that back the reform of the local government as well as the provisions of constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, local government should be fully democratized with elected officials to govern the council in most appropriete manner. Another unconstitutional treatment done to the local government is that all their activities has been single handedly hijacked by the state government where the governors appoint whoever they wish to oversee the affairs of local government, and in many cases those appointed are just care takers mere with little or no portfolio and power to endorse and carry out some developmental projects. Likewise, even where local government polls holds it is usually fused with so many irregularities with rigging, thugs, imposition of candidate and the use of power to intimidate voters has became order of the day mostly in favour of the ruling party in the state, in some states opposition parties are not allow to secure or win even a single councillorship seat (2014 Local govt elections in Kano and Jiwaga are typical example), this justify lack of free, fair and credible election in our society especially at local level where masses are in majority. It is important to note that at times even their aids and grants from the federal government is control by the state government, where they are just receiving some meager  amount of money mostly for their recurrent expenditures like payment of salaries/wages; miscellaneous and other overhead expenses.

     Therefore, to be honest this will not allow the masses at the grassroot to enjoy the benefit and the dividends of democracy which are the only political profit ought to be gained by the electorates. I suggest that the conduct and exercise of local government polls should be single handedly  carried out by INEC with zero interference of state governments. I m sure this will improve the level of credibility and the commitments attached to the third tier of government which in essence will provide social security, political fair play and economic well being.

Mudassir write from NTA Zaria.