Kaduna APC’s Manifesto: A Review
By
Ibraheem A. Waziri
iawaziri@gmail.com
For a starter there is a field of study or professional practice called Project Management (PM). PM is one of the major specialties of Mal. Nasiru El-rufai as a practicing quantity surveyor before he joined the Federal Government as a Public Servant in 1999. El-rufai’s knowledge and ability to work with the tools afforded by modern PM helped him greatly in deliveries in all the assignments given to him. Here is a simple definition of what PM is: “process and activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals in scientific or daily problems.”
I have always seen it necessary for anybody who wants to have a meaningful achievement in this modern world, to have some fair appreciation of modern PM methods. In fact it is regrettable, that curricula in our tertiary institutions, have not been modified to include it as a compulsory module for all, regardless of their area of practice; since at the end they will have to work with plans, activities, performance indicators and targets. What is most often and unfortunate in this 21st century – otherwise known in project terms as a “projectized world” – is finding so-called visionaries, who do not see the necessity of working with the tools afforded by PM.
What is interesting here is Kaduna APC’s Manifesto, is packed full of the traces of knowledge and experience in PM. A 9 paged Microsoft word document. The manifesto was shared by El-rufa’i on his Facebook wall. Later, it was debated in the highly regarded Synopsis Facebook Group.
Maybe because I have never looked closely; maybe because there is currently no any public document from the incumbent PDP governor, Mukhtar Ramalam Yero, detailing plans for Kaduna State in the coming years. Maybe for the last 15 years there has never been a development plan as catchy and promising for Kaduna State as this one. Probably because the mind behind the implementation of the bits of the manifesto, that is, Mal. Nasiru El-Rufa’i, if elected to the seat of Kaduna State Governor come February 2015, is known to be true to his calling as an experienced and successful project manager who has always meant what he said or taken any job given to him seriously.
Apart from an introduction and a brief reflection about Kaduna State since independence, Kaduna APC‘s Manifesto is composed of major strategic goals centered on the following items:
- Investment in education, healthcare and social welfare
- Fostering security of lives and properties
- Responsive public service with zero tolerance for corruption
- Rebuilding and expansion of decaying infrastructure
- Promotion of agriculture and food security and reform of land administration
Each item comes with many other sub items which form the strategic objectives. It is upon these, I suppose, after victory, a host of activities, with timelines, key performance indices and impact assessment techniques will be developed and all relevant ministries engaged. I am also thinking software tools that track official tasks assigned to groups and individuals will be used by supervising principals to keep tabs and ensure the completion of all activities within stipulated durations.
However, my humble critique of the document begins on the section that reflects on Kaduna State and mentioned People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in a negative light. Though this is a party manifesto that promises to outdo the current administration if elected to power, I do not see the need for it to appeal to sentiment in its very official presentation that is supposed to lay emphasis on issues of governance.
On other items, I find the strategic goals as near perfect. My other expectation is since most of the communal crisis in the state are borne or colored of deep religious perspectives; there should be at least, one very clear item, under education or security that focuses on inculcating the appreciation of the state’s different religious composition. This, by way of developing a curriculum for the study of both Christianity and Islam and integrating it or possibly made a prerequisite of graduation for all students regardless of their faith affiliation. In all secondary schools and tertiary institutions located within the state!
I also expect an objective program that creates forums at various community levels that encourage the coming together, from time to time, of different religious faithfuls, to be discussing and appreciating the meaning and values of our different religions. There is also the aspect of hate speech or the use of ethnic slurs among different social groups in the state. This, subtly, is at the root of many serious religious and communal clashes in the state.
Another very important omission is the absence of a communication plan for the purpose of security. World over, a new field of study and professionalism is in the trends. Its purpose is curving insecurity and terrorism by ensuring synchrony between action and words of governments. It is called strategic communication; short for stratcomms, in American terms. There is no visible plan to ensure better communication among the government, its agencies and the teaming populace to ensure clarity of purpose and intention always.
I understand the strategic document is meant to serve about 5 years for now. In this other oversights can be overlooked; that we may not press for ideas whose times are not yet here. It is our hope that the document will be followed to detail when victory is secured. That Kaduna State maybe truly rescued!
Recent Comments