By Maiwada Dammallam
To say the first month in office of the newly sworn-in Governor of Katsina State, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, has been a very busy month is to say the obvious. Not only has Governor Radda hit the ground running, he hit it running in the right direction and with as much dedication and energy required to unlock the foreseeable advantages of his mandate to the agrarian Katsina State: Governor Radda, an agriculturalist cum politician, has a robust agenda covering all sectors. It is easy to say his heart lies with two major sectors — the inseparable Siamese twins of security and agriculture.
It’s neither accidental nor coincidental that agriculture and security top the list of Governor Radda’s priorities. First, he’s an agriculturalist with 3 degrees in agriculture to his credit, hence, assuming the governorship of a fertile agrarian state like Katsina is akin to having a vast agricultural laboratory to practicalize decades of knowledge acquired from the hands of renowned and reputable professionals which climaxed with a doctorate degree in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology.
Governor Radda’s quest for perfection in the agricultural sector began from Kafanchan College of Education from 1986–1990, where he earned a Nigeria Certificate in Education, NCE. He proceeded to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi from 1992–1996, where he completed his B-Tech. Agric Economics and Extension (Hons) studies. He proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria between 1998 and 2004 where he acquired M.Sc. in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, 2004. He returned to ABU Zaria in 2005 to obtain a Master's degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy. He completed his Ph.D in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology in 2015. With a seemingly insatiable passion for agriculture and rural development, the mantle for managing the affairs of a richly endowed agrarian state like Katsina State couldn’t have fallen into a better hand.
Perhaps, this may explain why former President Buhari, in his quest to breathe life into the nearly comatose agricultural sector and exact maximum benefits out of the sector’s value chain, zeroed in on Malam Dikko Umar Radda as his choice for the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDEN). Governor Radda fully utilized the opportunity and put SMEDEN on a very conspicuous spot on the developmental map of Nigeria. His impact was felt across Nigeria with numerous interventions in agriculture and small and medium scale businesses. His background as a banker came in handy when he was serving Nigeria as DG, SMEDEN. Professionalism was the hallmark of his tenure in SMEDEN and it still attests to the purity and success of his administration. Indeed, with a background in agriculture and rural sociology honed by a pristine career in banking, one wouldn’t expect less. To Katsina State, Governor Radda is a combined recipe of competence, commitment, experience and opportunity to serve.
Secondly, Governor Radda’s concern about security is experience based. Having suffered the trauma of having a loved one in the hands of bandits, held for ransom and losing a sibling to the menace of banditry, he’s on the list of Nigerians who felt the pain and trauma of banditry directly, many scales above those reading it only on newspapers and social media handles. Perhaps, this may explain why he insisted on visiting each ward of the 34 LGAs of Katsina State to see for himself and assure citizens of the state of his commitment to tackle their problems and bring back normalcy into their lives.
Then it’s understandable why Governor Radda’s first month in office as Governor of Katsina State has been busy and eventful beside describing the energy and determination of his administration to make a difference even when only working with few officials while painstakingly sifting through tons of CVs seeking for potential appointees to fulfill his non-negotiable criteria of competence to build his cabinet. Thankfully, Governor Radda is not new to the pressure of public office.
In the last four weeks, Governor Radda has been going round the state for on the spot assessment of the situational position of the state for better planning and or action. He was at different places in different parts of the state either inspecting ongoing or stalled projects with a view to factoring such projects into his next fiscal budget. Being the agriculturalist he is, he was at the multi-billion Naira Songhai Farm in Dutsinma to assess how best to fund and jumpstart the Katsina Songhai Initiative. This is an initiative agreed and entered into with Songhai Farms (Benin Republic) to improve agriculture and exploit its value-chain to the fullest to enhance the economic viability of the agrarian State.
Governor Radda’s interaction with stakeholders and relevant government agencies is not limited to the borders of Katsina State. He’s at various times in FCT Abuja, engaging different stakeholders for the purpose of fast tracking the development of Katsina State. With security being the topmost problem stifling the development of Katsina State, Governor Radda has met with all the Service Chiefs and other security agencies to seek for their support and cooperation to tackle insecurity in the state. He was also at the National Institute for Security Studies seeking for collaboration and support to end insecurity in Katsina State by developing a new, more effective template
Back at home in Katsina, he’s promptly at every theater of unfortunate event. He’s simply everywhere building confidence and support. Few days ago he’s in Jibia border town in an effort to resolve a lingering conflict between communities in the area and members of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). He was also in an enlarged security meeting with relevant stakeholders from across the state to rub minds on the issue of insecurity for the purpose of developing local solutions to the lingering problem. The meeting, consisting of all the frontline local government chairmen, state assembly members, security chiefs, traditional and religious leaders in the state, brainstormed on various options to tackle the incessant insecurity in the state. At the meeting, Governor Radda informed the forum his plan to establish a ‘Katsina Community Watch’ that would recruit locals who would be provided with rigorous training, equipped with weapons and all instruments that would be used to protect the lives and properties and reintroduce peace and tranquility in the lives of citizens of the state.
In another promising development, the Director-General, International NGO’s forum, Mrs. Camilla Corradin, has already paid Governor Radda a courtesy visit in Katsina Government House where she pledged the support of the forum to assit him fast-track the development of Katsina State.
In line with his effort to ensure the implementation and sustainability of policies and agendas, Governor Radda has also pledged to improve the revenue base of Katsina. No gainsaying every administration is only as effective as its wallet hence the need to broaden the revenue base of Katsina State. It’s in this regard that Governor Radda, while being briefed by officials of Katsina State Revenue Board, disclosed his intention to restructure the agency to enhance its functionality as part of his drive to diversify and re-energize the state and make it more self-reliant. Ditto, the new administration is still receiving briefs from all MDAs for the purpose of assessing their functionality for possible improvements where necessary to conform with his developmental agenda.
This explains his drive to employ competence assessment test for civil servants to ascertain their competence and suitability to deliver given responsibilities. Much as the recent directives posting out all Permanent Secretaries back to the office of the Head of Service sent tongues wagging, the directive is not punitive as erroneously being misconstrued. It’s part of the administration’s agenda to reform the public sector by injecting competence and professionalism as promised during campaigns. Being the engine room of the government, the competence, professionalism and suitability of civil servants cannot be overemphasized. As a first shot, all Directors, including the Permanent Secretaries recently redeployed to the office of the Head of Service, have already had competency test which result will determine who gets posted where.
All said, this is quite commendable. It’s obvious Katsina State is in excellent hands with prospects of very good days ahead.
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