16-8-2025.

 

That there is an overwhelming poverty in Nigeria at the moment is not debatable, but that malnutrition in Katsina state has killed more children than are killed by the Israeli soldiers in Gaza is definitely debatable.

All the same, the decision by Katsina State Governor, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, PhD, to constitute a committee to find out the veracity of the allegation, and advise the government on the ways to address the issue, as well as find a solution to ensure the non recurrence of the unfortunate incident, is very commendable, to say the least.

The decision is very commendable for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that:

(1) The Committee shows the seriousness with which the governor takes the claim, as opposed to the government’s attack dogs, who outrightly asserted that the claim of children’s death in the state as a result of malnutrition was never made, and if it was ever made, it was not true.

 (2) The appointment of Dr. AbdulLahi Filin Samji as chairman of the committee furthers proves the sincerity of the governor, for the simple reason that Dr. AbdulLahi is not the kind of person one connives with to make illegal money from the government, no matter the position one holds, or the amount of money involved.

(3) Dr. AbdulLahi will tell one the truth no matter whose ox is gored. He will report the truth or otherwise of the claim, and suggests the way forward.

unnecessary expenditure taken by the committee to perform the assignment.

(4) The government will not spend unnecessary expenditure to the committee, and whatever money is left from what was given will definitely be returned to the coper’s of the government. It is his wont.

Now, all the reasons outlined above suggest that the choice of the person to lead the committee as it carries out its onerous assignment is well made by the governor. And if the government would stick to the pious Islamic scholar, it is bound to get many more supporters in the state, as there is going to be a feeling that ‘we are sure the right thing will be done all the time’.

The vote  of confidence on Dr. AbdulLahi Filin Samji is not coming from yours sincerely, it is the conclusion of most of the people who happen to have one dealing or another with the man, who is an Arabic language lecturer at Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU), Katsina.

A insight into why majority of the citizens of Nigeria suffer and wallow in poverty is provided by Alhaji Akko Dangote who alleged that the state governors, “choose to waste money. They choose not to plan. They choose to ignore the poor.

“The Kaduna example shows it clearly: with ₦42 billion a month, the governor has no excuse. He could build world-class hospitals, fix every school, and create thousands of jobs. But will he? Probably not.

The richest black person in the world urged Nigerians to “stop blaming only the president. The real problem is right at home—in your state governor’s office. If your life is hard, don’t just look to Abuja. Look to your governor too. Ask what he’s doing with the billions he receives every month. Hold ur Governor Accountable.”

While in 1980, Nigerians blamed Ghanaians living and doing legitimate businesses as the reason of economic collapse facing the country, and insisted that “Ghana Must Go”, an adage that the Ghanaians must depart Nigeria for the country to overcome its adversity.

Now fast forward to 2025, a reversal of fate between the two countries has occurred to make the citizens of the more economically viable Ghana to insist that ‘Nigerians Must Leave’. Rampant cases of burglary, theft and cultism in the sister African country is blamed on Nigerians, who are in Ghana in their millions, many of whom have not obtained the host country’s permission to stay.

There is the saying that ‘politics is too serious a business to be left in the hands of politicians’, or something to that effect. For this, and many other reasons, the thousands of people in Katsina state who have similar attributes as Dr. AbdulLahi Filin Samji, such as Barrister Mainasara Umar Kogo, NEED to join partisan politics so as to rescue the state and its people from falling into the bottomless abyss it is drifting towards.

In Nigeria tell power the truth, be arrested. But be a sycophant, and get an  appointment. If only every governor would act very quickly at the start of every negative rumour against him and or administration like Dr. Dikko did, a lot of positive mileage would have been covered in the state. The attack dogs must not be advertently provided with the chance to bare their fangs, before the right thing is done. They often make more damage than correction.

Some of us are constantly campaigning for a better Nigeria NOT for myself, but for ‘tomorrow’, where the next generation will be very proud of being Nigerians. The good people NEEDED to blaze the trail today are the Dr. AbdulLahis, the Barrister Mainasaras, and many others like them.

At the national level, the country won’t regret to have them, and the likes of Major Hamza Al Mustafa, Governor Babagana Zulum, Senator Ali Ndume, in the driver’s seat piloting the affairs of the country.

May God give Nigeria many more Dr. AbdulLahi Filin Samji, and many others like him, so that a better tomorrow for Nigeria will not remain a nightmare dream, but a reality that most of the citizens keep wishing for.

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.