Zubairu Turaki, a Civil Servant, a farmer, an administrator, a politician wants to be the next governor of Kebbi State. In this Interview, Turaki who is the Wazirin Dabai bares his mind on his plans for the state, the nation’s politics, among others. Excerpts:
By Henry Umoru
Can you give an insight into yourself?
Zubairu Turaki is 49 years old. I was born on the 7th of December, 1965 in the ancient town of Zuru in Zuru Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Education took me to the seat of the Caliphate. That was where I had my primary education, in what is now called the Cement Company of Nigeria, (CCNN), Primary School. It was then known as Model Primary School. That was in 1972. Still in Sokoto, I attended famous Government College Sokoto, (now, Nagarta College) for my secondary education, which I completed in 1983. I did my undergraduate at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, where I studied Agriculture.
I them moved to the University of Ibadan in 1990 for my Master’s degree in Agriculture. I Came back home to serve and began my Civil Service career with the Kebbi State Ministry of Agriculture in 1989 as Produce Officer II. I became the Farm manager in College of Agriculture and was eventually appointed Director, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Kebbi State Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KARDA). After several years of service on State level, in December 2003, I moved to the Federal Government. I was appointed Head of Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of NAPEP SCC Office in Kebbi State.
Zubairu Turaki
Zubairu Turaki
I was transferred to the Zamfara State NAPEP SCC Office in December 2004. I served in that capacity until March 2006. I was again transferred to the NAPEP National headquarters in Abuja in March 2006 to serve as Programme Desk Officer in charge of Social Safety Nets. I rose to the rank of Deputy Director and the Desk Officer, Social Safety Net Unit and Deputy Head Conditional Grant Scheme in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs)until my recent resignation to serve my people.
In the course of my career, I have developed a strong aversion to poverty and vulnerability risks that people face and this has encouraged me to come up with programmes aimed at poverty reduction as an individual, which I have implemented over the last few years. That is the much I can say about myself for now.
You resigned to contest for the governorship position of your State, what makes you think that you are good and qualified for the office?
(Laugh), even you, you are qualified. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very specific on the requisite qualification of a gubernatorial aspirant. However, to be honest it takes more than qualification to serve the people as a governor.
Just because one meets the required qualification does not mean one should just jump into politics and simply aspire for the exalted seat in the State.
The qualification of serving the people can only be given by the people. The people sought me and I accepted to serve them. As I stated earlier, in the course of my career, I have developed a strong aversion to poverty and vulnerability risks, common features of what our people face and this has encouraged me to come up with programmes aimed at poverty reduction in my personal capacity. I have seen the impact of the results of my modest contribution. This is what I want to see in a statewide service to my people. My goal is to replicate this service to my people on a large scale.
Over the years, I have amongst other activities, worked with the Federal Government towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria. I have been confronted the task of creating solutions to the problem of poverty, to poor quality education, the dilemma of out-of-school children, and to poor healthcare across Nigeria. I would humbly say my experience as a field office, a seasoned administrator, a farmer, a trained social scientist and an astute technocrat, has given me, the wherewithal to move Kebbi State to the next level.
Your foray into the gubernatorial aspiration has caused a lot of strong currents in the ranks of other aspirants of your party. How is this affecting you as a person and how are you managing the situation?
I already told you that my becoming a gubernatorial aspirant wasn’t born out of an ambition to be in power but was in response to the yearnings of my people. I would say, am one of the very few aspirants who was thrust into campaigning and with all humility, I had to accept and run the race, on behalf of the people. The campaign structure and relationship I enjoy with our people was not hurriedly built. As always, having accepted to run, careful planning and machinery were put in place, so all I am doing is facing the task ahead. Whatever currents my opponents are feeling or may have felt, I hardly notice because I am focused on the task of serving the people, that is all I think of – service and love for the people.
You have been referred to as an Abuja politician, with no grass root influence?
Cuts in, (Laughs again) What they mean by Abuja politician I do not understand, but if they mean, one who uses his influence at the Federal level for the betterment of his people, then I agree with them. But if they mean one who is completely unconnected with his people, then let me state for the records, that I have been implementing a give-back programme to my people over the past years with verifiable results.
With all sense of humility, I have initiated, supported, and supervised the implementation of over 33 boreholes, repaired about 22 broken boreholes, organized seminars for youths on self-reliance and empowerment schemes and assisted different women groups. I have gotten employment for over thirty-five of our people who were qualified but had no jobs in different fields. These things are what make you a grass root politician, not one who comes only during election period to throw money about, hoping that their money would win votes for them. I am here in Abuja but deeply rooted with my people at home.
You seem to be amongst the youngest and the primaries are coming up, what do you think are your chances?
Your have asked two questions, one is, I may be the youngest aspirant amongst the aspirants and the other is, what my chances are, in the upcoming primaries. Yes, I may be the youngest but with the vitality of youth; I’ll be bringing, a wealth of experience, freshness of ideas and a clear purpose of improving the State from its present level of success to the next level.
As regards my chances in the primaries, the delegates would decide who they want to represent them. The people of Kebbi are wiser, they are taking their time to ask questions, they are looking for a credible candidate that will continue and consolidate on the gains of the past few years and this is what we are offering them. I would also say, we are on ground as you can see, consolidating all our efforts. I have offices in over eighteen (18) of the twenty-one (21) local governments of the State, through which we have been in direct contact with our people. I can say for a fact that our chances are very bright and God willing we shall prevail.
There are insinuations that you have the backing of the presidency.
(Grins) I don’t know what they mean by backing of the presidency, but if they mean, because of my loyalty and dedication to my work and previous employers, they are reciprocating their support to my aspiration, yes of course. Every loyal employee is always rewarded and if this is my reward, then so be it. However, be rest assured that the Presidency would not win votes for anyone, rather, your good work and relationship with your people will.
Why do you want to be the Governor of Kebbi State?”
I will start by saying I was born and bred in Kebbi State; I have an emotional attachment for Kebbians. I want to see Kebbi State develop as one of the leading States in Nigeria. I believe Augie, Bagudu, Bunza, Dandi, Koko/Besse, Maiyama, and Shanga should have better sources of drinking water. It is possible to reduce the number of Kebbi girls who are out of school. We can empower our women to contribute actively to the development of Kebbi State.
I believe we can be one of the top 10 investment destinations in Africa because we have about 70,000 Fadama land and over 200,000 hectares of areable land underutilized and we currently produce over 50,000 tons of fishes annually. Our farmers should not be only subsistence farmers but large-scale producers of food for our country using state of the art technology. My leadership will be truly committed to economic reforms and empowerment; we will encourage the development of stronger State institutions and create socially stable, business friendly environment that will attract both indigenes & foreigners to seek wealth and thus create opportunities in Kebbi State.
What is your appraisal of the present Government as an aspirant?
What do you mean by this question? Governance is a continuous process. And in the present dispensation, no one can be thinking of laying a foundation. We in Kebbi State we are lucky so to say, because we had an uninterrupted government for almost 16 years. Adamu Aliero was succeeded by the administration of Dakingari. I told you I had the privilege of working with the MDGs, so, I know the development indices of the State. Believe me, a lot had been put in place. You can only appreciate this if you know where the State was and I know. I am deeply concerned about the progress of Kebbi State as an individual and I must say I admire the good work of our incumbent Governor Alhaji Usman Saidu Dakingari. I believe there is the need for continuity and it is time to take the baton from a great runner and run even more greatly.
