Ahmed Abdulkadir
Excerpt from my Memoir
I didn't just clash with the Secretary to the Katsina State Government during my time as the General Manager of Katsina State Television (KTTV). I had several altercations with other senior civil servants of lesser stature as well.
There were some senior civil servants who believed they could assert dominance over me and tried to intimidate me simply based on their seniority in the service or age. Others attempted to leverage their connections with commissioners and permanent secretaries to serve their own selfish motives. But all of them faced resistance.
When I assumed my position, I discovered that the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) had appointed a friend as an artiste in the drama group and was paying him exorbitant allowances far surpassing the regular artiste fees. It even exceeded the salaries of some senior staff members. I only learned about this when complaints started pouring in from both the artistes and some of our staff. I immediately put a stop to it.
The former CEO came to me and claimed that the arrangement was approved by the commissioner of information, late Alhaji Abdu Haro Mashi, but I stood my ground, refusing to yield. I went directly to the commissioner, who denied any knowledge of such an arrangement.
Another incident unfolded when the ministries in Katsina were instructed to move to the newly completed State Secretariat Complex. The Ministry of Information, our governing ministry, was not exempted. The kind-hearted Commissioner, late Alhaji Abdu Haro Mashi, informed us that we could take their generator since they wouldn't need it at the secretariat. He knew that we required an additional backup generator. One of the directors was entrusted with delivering this message to us. However, he decided to take advantage of the situation. After conveying the message, he added that the commissioner demanded Fifty Thousand Naira and transportation costs before we could obtain the generator. I adamantly refused, stating that if we had to pay for it, we didn't want the generator at all. After all, we hadn't begged them for it.
Still unsatisfied, I contacted the commissioner personally and informed him that we didn't desire the generator if we had to pay for it. He expressed surprise upon learning that the director claimed the money was requested by him. Without hesitation, the commissioner stated that we shouldn't spend a penny on the generator. He expressed disgust at the actions of the director.
Yet another incident occurred during the staff promotion exercise. Since there was no active board at the time, the Ministry of Information played a significant role in our staff promotions as well as those of the radio station.
A date was set for the exercise, and we were instructed to accompany our eligible staff to the ministry. Prior to the date, one of the ministry directors visited my office and informed me that the permanent secretary, late Alhaji Garba Ɗan'Ali, had sent him to collect money for entertainment during the exercise. I firmly stated that I would not pay for entertainment at an event hosted outside of my organization. I promptly informed the GM Radio, late Ibrahim Murnai Saulawa, and he agreed with me. I also called the permanent secretary who denied sending the director to collect the money. He said I did the right thing by refusing to give the money.
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