By
Anas Sani Anka
(Personal Opinion)
It may not be out of point to say that all is not well in Zamfara and now for any rational human being who has the interest of Zamfara State at heart must agree that, Zamfara “is burning”.
The circumstance at hand is telling all of us, including those in the position of authority that “nobody is safe”in Zamfara State regardless of the location he leaves.
What happened to us at Wanzamai on Wednesday is a clear indicator that the bandits who can come to the highway and open fire on vehicles plying the road knew nobody who is coming and do not mince your position or status everyone and at any point can fall a victim (Allah ya kare).
You can be a commissioner, legislature, government officials or technocrat, the bandits do not bother who you are or what political party you belong to.
This alone is enough to bring us back to our senses that we should come together to look at this issue beyond political party affiliation.
We have to be sincere to tell those in the position of authority including the Governor and his aides that “Zamfara is crashing” and without apology if the government did not seat well and come up with the right measures to face this challenge head-on we should all forget it.
The recent measures taken by the Governor are no doubt apt and timely, but government need to keep “politics” and “blame game” aside and bring everybody together to chat the way forward for the state.
For Governor Matawalle or any of his political associates to be talking of the past government or be blaming Yari or his government for not doing (A) or (B) to me is out of rational reasoning.
Two years in to the government, we cannot accept excuses of hiding under the mistakes of the past government of Yari to allow the bloodshed to continue in Zamfara.
We are not saying Yari does not make mistakes or took wrong decisions while he was in charge but that should be between him and his creator to account and ours now is to join hand with the government in power to chat the way out of this mess.
Governor Bello Matawalle should understand that he alone has sworn to the holy Quran to protect the lives and properties of the people of Zamfara State without fear or favor, and he alone would stand before Allah to account for his deeds.
So, this alone should tell the Governor that those blocking him from seeing the truth and acting truthfully because of their positions or political appointment they are holding are his real enemies and those who do not wish him well.
People are very much ready to comply with the right measures taken by the government of Zamfara if only their deadly suffering can be brought to an end,, but the government should be honest and sincere in ending this bloodshed so that life can return to normalcy in the state.
But if government shuts down markets, filing stations, schools and enforce restriction of movement without the bloodshed stopping or minimizing to the bearest minimum level, then government should expect resistance from people if their hard conditions persist.
I want to make this boldly clear to the principal actors in the government of Bello Matawalle, especially his appointees that there is no problem with being loyal to the Governor who appointed you if you so much believe in that philosophy, but there is need for them to be softer in their utterances to the people who are vulnerable and helpless to the present situation.
Government like we used to say is born out of social contract one, for those in authority to do the right thing by protecting lives and properties and by discharging their social corporate responsibilities and two for the citizens to be law-abiding.
You cannot expect loyalty as a leader where you fail to secure people and make life better for your subjects.
I am not so much concern about the political behavior of those in government now because the majority of them do not understand that “loyalty is to the people” not “Governor” because Governor is a servant of the people.
In Zamfara the reverse is always the case because those in the position of authority consider “Governor” as the most “supreme” over “the people”. For it is a political ignorance, and cannot be erased easily in the mindset of Zamfara politicians.
But what is important is for the government to be apt and civil in its engagement with the citizens during this trying period.
Pensioners are yet to be paid their August 2021 pension in Zamfara, businessmen are forced to remain indoor hence markets are closed, those who went into menial trading on the daily basis, especially at night, are push out of the streets because of the curfew, so there is need for the government, and its agents to be more civil in their utterances so that people should not feel as if they are under the rule of dictatorship.
As loyal citizens of Zamfara State I said with emphasis we should be ready to support every step taken by the government aimed at ending this bloodshed in Zamfara but government need to be sincere and remove away politics in this issue in the interest of the state.
Borno was under this type of bloodshed situation for years but Zulum is facing the crises with all sense of inclusiveness without mincing those in the opposition and this is what we want in Zamfara not Governor or any of his associates coming on the media to be pointing at politicians or those in the opposition.
I think if the Governor has any intelligence regarding anybody he knew what to do not necessarily coming to the media to be pointing names, it is completely out of corporate reasoning.
May Allah secure Zamfara people and return peace back.
