Governor Turaki : Operating Blurred Jeremiads.

[Nuruddeen]

Gov. Turaki: Operating Blurred Jeremiads

By

Jibo Nura
E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com


Plato in his ?Diagnosis of the Athenian societies? identified four basic problems: poverty, greed, ignorance, and disease, which are the major cause of societal decay, misery, and ill-equipped political somnambulism. He later prescribed only one broad-spectrum antidote as cure i.e. EDUCATION.
Plato lived his life and died centuries ago but what made me to remember this gentleman was because of the shameful fact that why is it only in Jigawa that these debilities are very much pronounced than in any of the states in Nigeria? Why is our state so backward, why are we unable to attain true development like every other state in the country? Why has the present political leadership continued to be defective and unsuccessful? Why is our educational system faulty in all of its ramifications, and so difficult to undertake?
The answers to these questions would remain hard to get as long as the power that be- keeps on operating on blurred Jeremiads. These questions will even be more elusive to tackle, especially when viewed from the fact that the present Government of Jigawa is the most traveled in the country and due to the fact that the state, being the most widely seen on the colorful pages of several newspapers, always claiming to be the most universal in information technology, the most socially infrastructured, and educationally rapid in terms of development. These and many more are always the claims of the Government of Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, which is indeed a hoax!
I will therefore first and foremost talk on the last aspect (Education), which is the most crucial before coming to analyse the other aspects that are nonetheless secondary on the scale of contemporary developmental priorities.
It is true that education is the bedrock of any development - be it in agrarian, industrialised, and/or contemporary societies. It is that which produces a sound mind in a sound body. Education holds the key to physical and spiritual emancipation. It is the only teacher of self-reliance; it opens the people?s eyes and minds to the need to maintain and make the best use of social and economic infrastructure; it is also a cure and soothing balm to people?s ignorance because it makes them easy to govern, though extremely difficult to dominate. Education imbues the people with culture of orderliness and observance of the rule of law, says Tunji Ade in 1999.

It therefore implies that no meaningful achievements can be attained without proper and sound education and educational policies and plans. And if the majority of the people in a society are uneducated, then that society is no doubt suffering from chronic ailment which has no  cure, but only that it would continue to be consumed by its own ignorance and illiteracies.
Jigawa state being largely rural and bearing it in mind that more than 90% of her populace are uneducated, one would have expected that one of the essential steps to be taken in this kind of situation, is for the state?s government to first of all engage in massive and vigorous campaign towards educating, at least half majority of the people of the state so as to exonerate them from educational doldrums. For once you give somebody education, then you have empowered him/her economically, socially, politically, spiritually and otherwise. All what is needed is to give a society a sound and proper education it deserves. Every other thing will just happen naturally. It is in the light of this that one of the Jigawa past military administrators ( Lt.Col Shekoni) invited educationists and technocrats from the university academia to come and investigate into the educational  affairs of  the state. And their invitation was not unconnected with massive failure of students in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and U.M.E in 1996.
What I am trying to get at is that those investigating committee, which comprised of Dr. Rabi?u Moh?d Zarruk from Institute of Education, A.B.U, Late Dr. Adamu Kafin-Hausa from faculty of Arts, A.B.U, Dr. Jahun from faculty of Education and a host of others were the team that made to Jigawa state. These people were  the  given assignments of going round to all the schools in the state and they were able to come up with a thorough appraisal of the existing situations as at that time. The visitors finally put forward to the Governor (Lt. Col. Shekoni) a blueprint for educational revival at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Shekoni immediately started implementing the blue-print but unfortunately his Government short lived because  there was eventual change in government. And Lt. Col. Sadeeq Maimalari took over from where Shekoni stopped. He too continued implementing the blueprint but due to the agitation for democracy, Maimalari had to give way after some months whereby the democratic government of Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki came into being. With the emergence of Turaki?s government, almost everybody was jubilating because we thought it?s going to be a turning point for educational rejuvenation in our young state. In fact, the assumptions amongst us was that the long awaited messiah has come to turn our dream true but just to find that the much deeply entrenched hope in us could only be dashed into quandary and pre-mature perdition of hopelessness. Let?s examine carefully some of the state?s educational policies and programmes that have been completely altered from the inception of government of Turaki in 1999 to date. Though the posture of the government of Jigawa state towards the general welfare of its students both at primary, secondary and tertiary level has revealed clearly the total isolation and neglect of the students by the current regime. It is sad to hear that the 2002 Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (J.S.S.C.E) could not hold due to the governor?s inability to stay home and release funds for the conduct of such examination.  It is also mind boggling to note with dismay that the Students of tertiary institutions in the state have not received their outstanding two years scholarships, albeit the government complaints that the money was released but eventually hijacked by armed robbers on their way to submit to the scholarship board. What balderdash!

The point here is that it is only when you aid these students that they would be able to cope with their educational expenses. And it has always been the tradition in Jigawa state that even before the inception of this government, students? bursaries are paid on time and arrears given in advance. Therefore, one might wonder that despite the government?s brilliant ideas on paper that it has set aside huge amount of money for the payment of bursaries and that the Jigawa state students are among the well-paid in the country, is just a praise singing of the political bickerers who have no concern for the progress of students.
Statistically, Jigawa is the worst state in terms of Educational development in Nigeria. The U.M.E applications/admissions statistics from 1996 to 2004 indicates a woeful performance of Jigawa students. For example, in 1996, only 298 candidates applied for University Matriculation Examination (U.M.E), i.e. 184 male applicants and 114 females out of 375,896 applicants of the entire country, which represents 0.08%, and this figure is by far less than 1%.
In 1998, however, only 518 applicants were able to sit for U.M.E out of which less than 200 students (0.16%) out of the grand national total, got admitted into Nigerian universities, whereas in year 2000 only 639 candidates sat for the U.M.E and only 105 were able to secure admissions, garnering 0.14% of the National total. In a nutshell, the U.M.E statistics/ performance  from 1996 t0 2004 stands at an average projected figure of 0.5% (See JAMB Online 2004). And if care is not taken this figure will remain the way it is up to the next five years.
Alas, when we try to expose these ills, we are always considered as theoreticians and ?enemies of progress? who have no respect for Turaki?s government. But the cardinal question here is that: where does the amplified claim of the students? gross performance in National Examination Council (NECO) when they cannot make it in the JAMB?
Now back to the issue of primary schools. Here I would like the whole world and most especially the government of Jigawa to know that the decision to stop administering Common Entrance Examinations for the pupils in the state, is quite inimical and highly unconstitutional. For it counteracts the National policy on Education, which stipulates that at the end of every session, pupils and students should be examined and assessed before being promoted to the next class. And besides, what rational and justification has the government to convince the parents that what it did is good? The issue is that if this unwholesome policy is allowed to happen, people of Jigawa have no choice than to seek for Allah?s intervention because it?s going to be foolhardy for one to send his child to school for good six years without being examined! For goodness sake how can these pupils get qualitative education if they are to be assessed based on continuous assessment only?
Finally, I want the ?right eyed? people of Jigawa to know that in any holistic approach towards educational reorientation and rejuvenation, we have to go beyond the banalities of converting SDP and/or NRC secretariat to school of informatics, all in exhilarating attempt for information technology. We have to go back to the basics so that those Diploma students who are said to have been awarded ?Cambridge Certificates in Information Technology, would one day be given Jigawa- National Certificate and National Universities Certificates of Education and Information Technology. The ?open-eyed? people of Jigawa should also know that our people could enjoy no amount of Information and Technological ?Broad Band? access network without having  the rudimentary educational requirements to operate it. Until and unless there is genuine and complete educational overhaul of the state?s present volte-face, the people of Jigawa would continue to be deceived and dominated by foreigners and their affiliates.

Jibo Nura

[mlbash]

Gov. Turaki: Operating Blurred Jeremiads

By

Jibo Nura
E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com


Plato in his ?Diagnosis of the Athenian societies? identified four basic problems: poverty, greed, ignorance, and disease, which are the major cause of societal decay, misery, and ill-equipped political somnambulism. He later prescribed only one broad-spectrum antidote as cure i.e. EDUCATION.
Plato lived his life and died centuries ago but what made me to remember this gentleman was because of the shameful fact that why is it only in Jigawa that these debilities are very much pronounced than in any of the states in Nigeria? Why is our state so backward, why are we unable to attain true development like every other state in the country? Why has the present political leadership continued to be defective and unsuccessful? Why is our educational system faulty in all of its ramifications, and so difficult to undertake?
The answers to these questions would remain had to get to get as long as the power that be keeps on operating on blurred Jeremiads. These questions will even be more elusive to tackle, especially when viewed from the fact that the present Government of Jigawa is the most traveled in the country and due to the fact that the state, being the most widely seen on the colorful pages of several newspapers, always claiming to be the most universal in information technology, the most socially infrastructured, and educationally rapid in terms of development. These and many more are always the claims of the Government of Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, which is indeed a hoax!
I will therefore first and foremost talk on the last aspect (Education), which is the most crucial before coming to analyse the other aspects that are nonetheless secondary on the scale of contemporary developmental priorities.
It is true that education is the bedrock of any development - be it in agrarian, industrialised, and/or contemporary societies. It is that which produces a sound mind in a sound body. Education holds the key to physical and spiritual emancipation. It is the only teacher of self-reliance; it opens the people?s eyes and minds to the need to maintain and make the best use of social and economic infrastructure; it is also a cure and soothing balm to people?s ignorance because it makes them easy to govern, though extremely difficult to dominate. Education imbues the people with culture of orderliness and observance of the rule of law, says Tunji Ade in 1999.

It therefore implies that no meaningful achievements can be attained without proper and sound education and educational policies and plans. And if the majority of the people in a society are uneducated, then that society is no doubt suffering from chronic ailment which has no  cure, but only that it would continue to be consumed by its own ignorance and illiteracies.
Jigawa state being largely rural and bearing it in mind that more than 90% of her populace are uneducated, one would have expected that one of the essential steps to be taken in this kind of situation, is for the state?s government to first of all engage in massive and vigorous campaign towards educating of, at least half majority of the people of the state so as to exonerate them from educational doldrums. For once you give somebody education, then you have empowered him/her economically, socially, politically, spiritually and otherwise. All what is needed is to give a society a sound and proper education it deserves. Every other thing will just happen naturally. It is in the light of this that one of the Jigawa past military administrators ( Lt.Col Shekoni) invited educationists and technocrats from the university academia to come and investigate into the educational  affairs of  the state. And their invitation was not unconnected with massive failure of students in the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and U.M.E in 1996.
What I am trying to get at is that those investigating committee, which comprised of Dr. Rabi?u Moh?d Zarruk from Institute of Education, A.B.U, Late Dr. Adamu Kafin-Hausa from faculty of Arts, A.B.U, Dr. Jahun from faculty of Education and a host of others were the team that made to Jigawa state. These people were  the  given assignments of going round to all the schools in the state and they were able to come up with a thorough appraisal of the existing situations as at that time. The visitors finally put forward to the Governor (Lt. Col. Shekoni) a blueprint for educational revival at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Shekoni immediately started implementing the blue-print but unfortunately his Government short lived because  there was eventual change in government. And Lt. Col. Sadeeq Maimalari took over from where Shekoni stopped. He too continued implementing the blueprint but due to the agitation for democracy, Maimalari had to give way after some months whereby the democratic government of Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki came into being. With the emergence of Turaki?s government, almost everybody was jubilating because we thought it?s going to be a turning point for educational rejuvenation in our young state. In fact, the assumptions amongst us was that the long awaited messiah has come to turn our dream true but just to find that the much deeply entrenched hope in us could only be dashed into quandary and pre-mature perdition of hopelessness. Let?s examine carefully some of the state?s educational policies and programmes that have been completely altered from the inception of government of Turaki in 1999 to date. Though the posture of the government of Jigawa state towards the general welfare of its students both at primary, secondary and tertiary level has revealed clearly the total isolation and neglect of the students by the current regime. It is sad to hear that the 2002 Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (J.S.S.C.E) could not hold due to the governor?s inability to stay home and release funds for the conduct of such examination.  It is also mind boggling to note with dismay that the Students of tertiary institutions in the state have not received their outstanding two years scholarships, albeit the government complaints that the money was released but eventually hijacked by armed robbers on their way to submit to the scholarship board. What balderdash!

The point here is that it is only when you aid these students that they would be able to cope with their educational expenses. And it has always been the tradition in Jigawa state that even before the inception of this government, students? bursaries are paid on time and arrears given in advance. Therefore, one might wonder that despite the government?s brilliant ideas on paper that it has set aside huge amount of money for the payment of bursaries and that the Jigawa state students are among the well-paid in the country, is just a praise singing of the political bickerers who have no concern for the progress of students.
Statistically, Jigawa is the worst state in terms of Educational development in Nigeria. The U.M.E applications/admissions statistics from 1996 to 2004 indicates a woeful performance of Jigawa students. For example, in 1996, only 298 candidates applied for University Matriculation Examination (U.M.E), i.e. 184 male applicants and 114 females out of 375,896 applicants of the entire country, which represents 0.08%, and this figure is by far less than 1%.
In 1998, however, only 518 applicants were able to sit for U.M.E out of which less than 200 students (0.16%) out of the grand national total, got admitted into Nigerian universities, whereas in year 2000 only 639 candidates sat for the U.M.E and only 105 were able to secure admissions, garnering 0.14% of the National total. In a nutshell, the U.M.E statistics/ performance  from 1996 t0 2004 stands at an average projected figure of 0.5% (See JAMB Online 2004). And if care is not taken this figure will remain the way it is up to the next five years.
Alas, when we try to expose these ills, we are always considered as theoreticians and ?enemies of progress? who have no respect for Turaki?s government. But the cardinal question here is that: where does the amplified claim of the students? gross performance in National Examination Council (NECO) when they cannot make it in the JAMB?
Now back to the issue of primary schools. Here I would like the whole world and most especially the government of Jigawa to know that the decision to stop administering Common Entrance Examinations for the pupils in the state, is quite inimical and highly unconstitutional. For it counteracts the National policy on Education, which stipulates that at the end of every session, pupils and students should be examined and assessed before being promoted to the next class. And besides, what rational and justification has the government to convince the parents that what it did is good? The issue is that if this unwholesome policy is allowed to happen, people of Jigawa have no choice than to seek for Allah?s intervention because it?s going to be foolhardy for one to send his child to school for good six years without being examined! For goodness sake how can these pupils get qualitative education if they are to be assessed based on continuous assessment only?
Finally, I want the ?right eyed? people of Jigawa to know that in any holistic approach towards educational reorientation and rejuvenation, we have to go beyond the banalities of converting SDP and/or NRC secretariat to school of informatics, all in exhilarating attempt for information technology. We have to go back to the basics so that those Diploma students who are said to have been awarded ?Cambridge Certificates in Information Technology, would one day be given Jigawa- National Certificate and National Universities Certificates of Education and Information Technology. The ?open-eyed? people of Jigawa should also know that our people could enjoy no amount of Information and Technological ?Broad Band? access network without having  the rudimentary educational requirements to operate it. Until and unless there is genuine and complete educational overhaul of the state?s present volte-face, the people of Jigawa would continue to be deceived and dominated by foreigners and their affiliates.

Jibo Nura

THAT WAS VERY SENSITIVE AND HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL POST, MR JIBO.
BUT I WAS MADE TO REALISED THAT THERE WAS NEVER A TIME IN THE HISTORY OF JIGAWA STATE, WHEN THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES WITH 5 CREDITS AND ABOVE, EVER REACH THE ONE OBTAINED ABOUT 2 YEARS BACK. ALSO I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IN THE WHOLE OF NIGERIA, JIGAWA STATE SECONDARY TEACHERS ARE THE HIGHEST PAID. SO WHAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM? DON'T YOU THINK THE PROBLEM IS MORE OF BOTTLE NECK SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE? :?:

[mlbash]

THE REASONS WHY JIGAWA NEEDS PRAYERS


THE ISSUE OF SECTIONALISM;  The classical example of  sectionalism within equal tribes is in Jigawa State. We are all Hausa/Fulani, all others put together are less than 5%. Over 90% of us are muslims, at least. But the issue of sectionalism is so pronounced that, it is manifestations go beyond the state politics and civil service, it spread even to various tertiary institutions unionism of the state?s students.

DEVELOPMENT; I was opportune to be in most of the Northern States Capital, especially the most recent ones comparing; Gombe, Gusau, Damaturu on one side and Dutse on the other side, one can tell what a development is! I?m not complaining of the decentralization of ministries by the present regime, but if at all we are serious, the level of development in Jigawa State would have exceed the present state by more than five fold at least!

ADMINISTRATION AND CIVIL SERVICE; There is no doubt about the non chalant attitude of the senior Administrators and the Civil Servant of the state. The reason for this is; I don?t know how any State can develop without dedication, honesty and motivation from the afore mentioned personnel. For instance, most of the Commissioners reside in Kano, likewise the permanent Secretaries, Directors and other Senior Civil Servants. Only few of these personnel spent the complete working days in the State. Most of them carry their official cars on daily basis to the State and come back to pass the night in Kano.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL; I wonder if we have any legislators in Jigawa State. Because not for once I ever heard any positive and reasonable bill being passed by the House of Assembly for any sound project, addendum, credendum or corundum. Therefore what can we say is the possible explanation for this? Are they educated enough to be there anyway?  

THE GOVERNMENT;  Though they said the Governor is very sharp and work very fast, that he covers the work of one week just within a day, but I think that is not the best. The chief executive of a State  should be very much available to observe and supervise project and assignments delegated. Had it been the Government is very serious about the sound and foresight projects being implemented in State so far, must of the work would have been completed by now and fruitful results would have been obtained. For instance, what happened to the sugar plantation that was implemented few years back? How far with State?s industries like Kazaure Tomato Processing Company, Hadejia Atafi Rice Processing, Birnin Kudu Dairy Processing  and others?
I can not blame the Governor alone, rather the Legislative council, the Judiciary, the Civil Service, the Emirate Council and the State?s ? BIG SHOTS ? Why all these people? Because one single person should not be that brainy and ruthless enough so as to manipulates, silences and monopolizes the whole State and reduces everyone to puppets, without those people 100% support! Therefore ours NA PRAYERS!      

[Nuruddeen]

Jibo Nura[/color][/quote]

THAT WAS VERY SENSITIVE AND HIGHLY INTELLECTUAL POST, MR JIBO.
BUT I WAS MADE TO REALISED THAT THERE WAS NEVER A TIME IN THE HISTORY OF JIGAWA STATE, WHEN THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES WITH 5 CREDITS AND ABOVE, EVER REACH THE ONE OBTAINED ABOUT 2 YEARS BACK. ALSO I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IN THE WHOLE OF NIGERIA, JIGAWA STATE SECONDARY TEACHERS ARE THE HIGHEST PAID. SO WHAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM? DON'T YOU THINK THE PROBLEM IS MORE OF BOTTLE NECK SOMEHOW, SOMEWHERE? :?:[/quote]

ML Bash, you are dead wrong in this regard. I would like to know where you obtained this statistics. I just dunno but are u trying to tell me that all of us that schooled  under the famous science schools have not gotten five credits more than those that passed NECO in 2002 and 2003????

Remember that we people sat for S.S.C.E not NECO and If you do not forget when the issue of NECO came in 2002 some universities had to reject it from the on set bcos of its lack of merit. In fact, A.B.U refused them registration from d beginning until there was intervention from the federal govt. And as a matter of correction, let me tell you that in 1993and1994 students from Jigawa science schools performed better than in any of the existing schools. Then, science schools were schools in actual sense. So where did you drive your own analogy????

Again, when you increase the salaries of teachers and the students have no minimum qualifications to get admitted to higher institutions what have you done for god sake????
Mind you we are not saying that The  present government have done nothing. In fact if we say that we are not fair to Turaki. but the issue is: Why are we in romance with long term projects when we have problems at stake????? You should know that there was a time I personally paid visit to School of Basic  and Remedial StudiesFuntua(SBRS). The Deputy director of the school was lamenting to me that there was no single candidate from Jigawa. He even talked and sent for Jigawa  Students but not a single candidate turned up from the state.(See the statistics of massive failure above)

Therefore, I strongly believe that the issue of developing Jigawa is a collective resonsibility upon all of us. And I am not greatful with the present crop of personalities who are not telling the government the truth.

Finally, you shuold know that I am not happy with all those people in Turaki's govt. They are not helping matters at all. "Kuma mun kasa gane cewar wai wane ne ke da babban laifi ne acikinsu? Kasan ance ba'a mugun sarki sai mugun bafade"