Today I am Depressed: How Kaduna State’s SSG Fumbled

Today in Arewa House, Kaduna, we hosted the US ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley, to mark Martin Luther King day. The theme of the lecture was: Issues of Volunteering, Working Together and Helping Each Other.

It was not the lecture nor the question section that depressed me, but the speech delivered by the new Kaduna State’s SSG, Alh Hamza Ishaq Ɗanmahawayi. The man is terribly incompetent, inexperienced and unlettered. He could not read a simple speech, he fumbled at almost every sentence. In the opening lines he said, “I welcome the ambassador to Nigeria, United States.” Some of the words like ‘prerequisite’ could not be pronounced by him, and instead of saying patrol vehicles he said petrol vehicles. Some of the audience covered up their faces in shame while some could hardly hide their glee. Wannan kayan kunya har ina?

For the rest of the programme he lost his remaining composure and confidence, occasionally covering his face. When Muktar Ramalan Yero replaced Yakowa, I had started entertaining some hope about some changes, particularly the way the governor replaced the past SSG, Alh Sama’ila Yakawada with the current one. Because it had been the tradition of the state since Makarfi time whenever the governor is a Muslim both the deputy and the SSG are Christians. Thus I thought Yero would be more assertive than his Muslim predecessors. But the appointment of this SSG whose highest position was the chairmanship of a rural LGA show that the Administration would be moribund, since this post is the engine room of every government.

I doubt if this guy could compose a simple memo. When we were complaining during the lunchtime an elderly academic consoled us with the fact that what do we expect when the Administration is pocketed by Namadi. The unfortunate fact is that Zazzau lack powerful interest groups like their counterpart in Southern Kaduna to check this. Ina amfanin samun damar da ba zaku iya cin gajiyarta ba.

Rabiu Isah Hassan (posted on facebook originally)