2023: Kano’s search for governorship and Senator Barau’s match for the plum job

The highly populated Kano State in the North West is not only a commercial nerve centre State in Nigeria, West Africa, but in sub-sahara Africa as well as its political disposition was strategic to strengthening democractic norms and values.

Though, Nigeria fully attained its democracy in 1999 which has been running full blown, it’s not without its challenges as a Republic with teething problems at the State levels – of course, the 36 States of the Federation including the Federal Capital Territory. The challenges are political, socio-cultural, ethnical, economic, but one of the biggest challenges that stunts development of the State is that of ‘leadership’. A good leader sees problems as challenges, a reason that everybody may not be leaders, but somebody else is.

In the 21st century, it isn’t difficult to discover a tested and trusted leader because of the information technology revolution where a search engine would prop up one’s antecedents in nanoseconds.

Kano State is equal to nought when it comes to its strategic place in driving the political economy of Nigeria, thus, every rational thinking Nigerian would be interested in Kano’s political leadership which the 2023 general election offers opportunity for another governor to be elected.

Senator Jibrin Barau representing Kano North Senatorial District is a tested and trusted bureaucrat who has parliamentary experience well enough to galvanize political, material and human resources of Kano State. Having been elected into the House of Representatives to represent Tarauni Federal Constituency of Kano State for the first time in 1999, he was the House Committee Chairman on Appropriations and a member of House Committee on Power at that time.

At the lower legislative Chamber, Barau was the rallying point of all his colleagues, Constituents and non-constituents alike as a result of his highly urbane nature. His openness, transparency and accounting endeared him to many Nigerians who daily thronged his office for assistances.

It is no wonder that after a while, he bounced back to the upper legislative Chamber in 2015 as Senator representing Kano North Senatorial District on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and since then, the lawmaker’s dossier of performance was the pride of his constituents.

He was first appointed Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) by the Dr Olubukola Saraki-led Senate in 2015 and later became the Chairman of the Committee. Because of his forthrightness, he was reassigned to Chair Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund. These are sensitive Committees which are highly sought after by lawmakers in parliamentary settings.

He is the incumbent Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriations, a privilege afforded him by the 9th Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan as a result of Senator Barau’s patriotism when it comes to contributing his quota to the national development of the nation.

Senator Barau-led Committee on Appropriations worked to revert the nation’s budgetary year to start running from January to December, in line with the vision of the 9th Senate. This is a feat that was impossible in the past administrations and today the nation is fairing better in term of project execution by Ministries, Agencies and Departments of government.

Appropriation Committee is only Committee out of many that oversee budget of over 900 agencies of government and make sure that expenditures of government are accountable and projections realistic.

It’s interested to know that some lawmakers who headed Appropriations Committee have ran into credibility crisis especially in the House of Representatives where they alledgedly got involved in bribe that has now ruined their political career.

Today, Senator Barau’s strength of character stands him out anywhere and anyway. A highly detribalised man who never take his constituents for granted, but focused on his saddled responsibilities. A deep-thinker of how governance should be fully people’s oriented since democratic powers comes from the people. As an accountant, not only that he brings accountability to bear in his acts, but he is highly educated with creative and critical thinking.

His contributions to legislative debates on the floor during plenaries are not only deep-thought, but astute and defines the outcome of resolutions.

A bill he sponsored in 2019 on the Federal Polytechnic, Kabo in Kano among many others was widely celebrated.

A naturally ‘very calm’ person, he understand the political chemistry of Kano State perfectly to an extent of what is the priority of the people in terms of Infrastructure and other social amenities.

Barau’s loyalty to party leadership and political leaders and the people is an advantage to having him in the mainstream of State governance at this time, and in particular to strengthen the volatile party as a result of in-fighting. In this way, he stands a change to unite former leaders and party chieftains who have been at each other’s jugular for political reasons in other to move Kano State to its land of Eldorado.

Kano people may spare themselves of the enormity of looking for a man who possess leadership qualities to govern the State and settle for Senator Jibrin Barau.

Atekojo Samson Usman is a journalist and writes from Abuja. He can be reached on: ateko2007@gmail.com