Provision of infrastructure is a nightmare to most governors in the current dispensation. Roads and water supply are major issues that will demand much of his time as they are not in good shape despite the efforts made. Transportation is another of such issues. In the face of dwindling resources, more thoughts need to be spared on how to prioritize the expenditure of his government to be able to provide these basic needs.
Other towns and cities need to be covered if he hopes to embark on urban renewal in these critical areas of need. I want to believe that he must have come across requests bordering on infrastructure during the period of his campaigns and that should make him to have a plan to transform the sub-sector especially in getting roads repaired in such a way that they do not need to carry out repairs on them every now and then. With proper management of the finances of the state, all the roads that lead to the state capital can be dualised or given a much better look as their state tells a lot about the state and its governance. They can even encourage more interest of investors to come and invest in the state and that will complement the relative good ranking of the state in the ease of doing business to make Kwara a destination of choice for investment. Those who are already in the state may also be encouraged to stop toying with the idea of moving out of the state as good roads serve as a strong motivation for certain businesses.
Our educational sector is generating some concerns which I think the would-be governor should turn his attention to through sensitivity. More needs to be done to protect and preserve the future of the state. With the economy that is not yet buoyant, parents are already challenged to the point that succour needs to come their way. Consideration should therefore be given to completely free education in the state at least up to the senior secondary level.
With regards to higher education, two important decisions will be expected from him. Again, with a second look at the finances of the state, one strongly hold the view that a meaningful and competitive scholarship scheme can be re-launched to help indigent students whose parents may not be wealthy enough to foot the bills of their higher education as it was previously the case in the state.
The state government must inculcate the spirit of nationalism in our youths by always showing up during their hour of needs. Leaving them to fend for themselves may not augur well for our state in the long run. Also, the conditions of the state-owned higher institutions will require his interventions. The idea of not giving subventions to the schools is fraught with dangers. Two of which are falling standards and promotion of anti-academic culture.
Our economy is not as strong as that of Lagos and a few other states where higher institutions can charge exorbitant fees and the parents would pay. There is no much sense in calling the schools state-owned when they are not adequately being catered for. As far as our level of development is concerned, weaning-off the schools to cater for their recurrent and part of the capital projects seem not to be a wise decision. A review is therefore, necessary to return sanity to the schools. The next governor of the state will definitely be challenged to take appropriate decisions in returning all state-owned schools to be part of essential or social service that the state government must discharge to the citizens.
Unknown to our politicians, politics can be divisive but it can also be integrative. The choice of the next governor coming from Kwara central is inevitable in the current circumstance but everything must be done to assuage the feelings of the people in Kwara North after the election to give them the sense of belonging. I am aware of the tempting carrots that the two main political parties are dangling before our brothers and sisters in Kwara North in the ongoing campaigns. Yet, I argue that more needs to be done concretely by the next governor to give them more visibility in his administration.
All parts of the state must be carried along in the next dispensation to promote unity and cohesion. No part should be excluded in the dividends of democracy. Already, a sense of alienation is developing among the people of Kwara north senatorial district judging by their poor road networks and amenities. Whoever is elected by Kwarans in the 2019 election must accord top priority to reaching out to the political zone beyond the level of tokenism that has so far been seen in the area.
A closer look at the local government councils in the state would show some measure of derailment. They seem to be in a terrible state. Unlike in the past when they served as a vibrant tier of government in our country, they now play the opposite of the previous role that they used to play. Most times, their affairs are taken to the arena of the state government for mediation and succor to the extent that the younger generation as well as the older one do no longer remember that in the past, they had served to complement the efforts of the state government in the provision of essential services to the people.
Some people have held the phenomenon of joint account with the state and the manner of appointing and electing officials at the third tier of government as being responsible for the paralysis that now defines their current existence in the state. Some others have also held the usurpation of their constitutional powers and poor choices that successive chairmen have made especially on recruitment and finances as other contributory factors that account for the sorry state of affairs with the local administration.
Whatever is the cause of retardation and virtual disappearance of the councils, the new governor will do the state a lot of good by re-inventing them for the overall development of the state. Keen observers have only lamented their failure to pay salaries but their worries go beyond that. Any attempt to re-examine their existence must be guided by the constitution and traditions so that they can once again be a more veritable source of good governance. The security risk involved in their disorientation needs to be appreciated and concrete proposals for revitalization put forward to change the tide of things in the councils.
The angle of the civil service generally also deserves some attention as the engine room of administration. Its current mould and disorientation is a source of worry and an inhibiting reality that can impede the cause of good governance in Kwara state. The issues of competitive remuneration packages for the civil servants and their declining competencies must be addressed timeously coupled with the reality of consultants that have taken the shine off them also need to be considered to bring back the morale of civil servants.
In concluding this intervention, I congratulate all the governorship candidates that have emerged from their various parties’ primaries notwithstanding the low democratic contents of the primaries. The chosen candidates must stretch themselves in bringing back all the aggrieved persons into their folds by making concessions to the affected members. Kwara State, in the next dispensation, will need all hands to be on deck as the challenges on the ground are well beyond what one individual can surmount.
Even after winning the election, the lucky chap must be ready to reach out to Kwarans with value to add to his administration. The nature of the campaigns so far has been informed by old thinking that assumed wrongly, of course, that Kwarans are docile but the reality is that things have changed and so also will be the demands that will be made upon the assumption of office by the next governor.
The key to good outing for the governor will be how he tackles the economy of the state. Capable hands must be hired to tender the economy. Once the economy begins to look up again by cutting wastages and promoting the culture of prudence, most of the daunting problems will be solved and that will, once again, unlock the potential of the state for rapid development to the satisfaction of its people.
If I may speak for the electorates, their desire and prayer is that the next governor should be the person they can call their own; who understands their problems and is ready to reflect the strength of the economy in formulating and implementing his policies and programmes. Concepts like elephant projects, elitist policy conceptions and isolated programmes in place of crucial action-plans that are more impactful on the people are to be avoided. Based on my observations, they seem not too difficult to administer as their expectations from the state government are not extraordinary. All what they want is a governor that will be selfless in serving them. This, I hope, we will be able to get such a person after the election as the next governor of the state.
Concluded
*Saliu, Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, Ilorin.
