Hon. Ibrahim Abdullahi Shiye, is the Executive Chairman, Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State. In this interview with OYEDAPO OYEWOLE, he speaks on his achievements as council boss and other national issues.
You have been council for about four years now, how has the journey been so far?
We thank God for everything because the journey, I can say, has been smooth and successful. We are doing our best and I believe God is on our side, guiding us on whatever we are doing.
Can you tell us some of the things you have been able to do?
A visit to the local government will reveal that we are doing fantastic things. First of all, I will say that we have issues in the area of education, health, security, youth empowerment, women empowerment, and getting jobs for our people. I can confidently say that we have addressed most of them.
Some people are of the view that rather than give autonomy to the local governments, they should be scrapped altogether. What is your take on this?
It is in the best interest of the country to give autonomy to local governments because they are closer to the people. If you look at my local government, for instance, it is one of the biggest and most populated in Kano State. It is the third most populated amongst the 44 local government areas in Kano State. One can say that my local government is a mini-West Africa, but on the issue of federal allocation, we are at the back. So if not because of Governor Umar Ganduje, who is helping us, our administration might not even be able to pay salaries to our workers because what we are getting cannot cater for the teachers that we have.
We have many schools, hospitals and so on to cater for in terms of payment of salaries. But with the support we get from the governor, we have been able to meet up with our responsibilities.
Thus, it is my view that the federal government needs to review what is happening at that tier by giving autonomy to the local governments.
What is your assessment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari?
I will rate him excellent because you know that the major problem we have in Nigeria is the issue of insecurity but at least the President is trying his best to put an end to it. If you look at his performance in the area of infrastructure, he has invested so much. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is ongoing while the second Niger Bridge is nearing completion. So we all need to support and cooperate with him to deliver on his promises.
Some people are agitating for a break-up of the country, as a Northerner, do you support this call?
This will not happen and it is my prayer that Nigeria will not be split by God’s grace. We are all one be it Hausa, Ibo or Yoruba and we have no other country to call our own. Like you see me as a Hausa man I came with the Oba Yoruba in Kano State with the directive of Governor Ganduje to accompany him to receive an award in Yorubaland.
That means our leaders, particularly the governor of Kano State, still want Nigeria to remain united despite the agitation for its break-up by some individuals. Every Nigerian wants the country to continue like that, we are not praying for war but what we want is peace. So I believe Nigeria will continue to remain one indivisible entity.
Recently, Governor Ganduje directed that any politician wishing to participate in the last APC State Congress in the state must undergo drug tests. How do you feel about this directive?
What the governor said was right. Look at the issue of COVID-19 which is a global issue, if you are travelling from Nigeria to other countries you must go for a medical checkup. So if at all one must do a medical check-up or COVID-19 test before being allowed to travel outside the country, what is wrong with doing a drug test before contesting an election? During our election, the governor told all of us that whoever wanted to contest must come for a drug test which we did. So this is a very nice idea that all of us must support. All the people that want to contest must go for a test to ascertain their mental status.
What is your advice for Nigerians as we approach the 2023 general elections?
My advice to Nigerians is that we should elect leaders that love Nigerians wholeheartedly and believe in serving the masses. APC as a party is doing its best while the governors elected under the party platform are doing their best. Nigerians should look for qualitative people to lead them, patriotic people, that will help to take Nigeria to the path of progress.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM RULERS’ WORLD
“We had some really good, quality time there,” Jeff Bezos said of travelling outside of Earth with his brother Mark. Our federal allocation not enough to pay even teachers Our federal allocation not enough to pay even teachers Our federal allocation not enough to pay even teachers Our federal allocation not enough to pay even teachers.
