By AbdulSalam  Muhammad

With only one local government election conducted in about ten years, the governors of Kano and their people have adjusted, and even accepted, the absurdity of appointed bureaucrats as local government administrators.

Kwankwaso

In Kano, apart from 1999-2002 that the 44 local Government councils enjoyed a semblance of democracy, subsequent attempt in 2007 by the former Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau to bequeath true autonomy to the third tier of Government ended up in bloodbath as no fewer than 9 souls were reportedly lost in the post election violence, while10 local Government secretariats were torched in an exercise many considered as more of an “in house selection than a competitive exercise”.

Perhaps,  this explained why Malam Ibrahim Shekarau refused to conduct any other local government election till he left office in 2011.

Rather, he like many other governors in his time adopted the illegal system of caretaker council executives styled as Interim Management Officers (IMOs).

The incumbent governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso who inherited the IMOs is still working with the interim management officers.

Understandably, there is little financial autonomy at the grassroots level across the 44 councils in the state.

Though, Shekarau floated a policy that allows the councils to have access  to their monthly subventions  from the federation account, this was however rendered a nullity by the several joint projects initiated by the regime that  were in most cases, even though of secondary importance to them, they could hardly have the muscle to resist.

IMOs as they are commonly referred to in Kano, are mere puppets of the sitting governor and are generally consider as paymasters, in that fund release to them are essentially made to settle the wage bill and running cost of the councils.

The IMOs are mainly career civil servants who because they do not want any dents on their civil service files turn into errand boys of the state executive.

Remarkably, the IMOs are also under pressure from the locals who desire the council to carry out its statutory functions and where not, also desire patronage. So given the pressure from both the state executive and the locals, many IMOs understandably shy away from appearing at the council secretariat. Some do not go to the office more than twice in a month.

Unwholesome practice
Despite the clear aberration, opposition parties appear to be comfortable with the unwholesome practice, perhaps waiting for when it would be their own turn to milk the local governments.

When just after about six months in office, Kwankwanso had shown some inclination towards conducting local government elections when he proposed a seven member State Independent Electoral Commission, (SIEC) to the Kano State House of Assembly for ratification.

This effort was truncated by the protest of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC on the composition of the nominees forcing the governor to withdraw the nominations.

Despite the hitch, Governor Kwankwaso recently announced his readiness to conduct the poll during an interaction with stakeholders in the state.

Several months after that heroic pronouncement by the governor, there is however, no indication of preparations towards that end.

Indeed, the SIEC is not in place and doubts have been compounded by the security challenges in the state.

Government officials are, however, quick to say that the election will hold soon in line with laid down rules, though they often shy away from putting a date to their projections.

Mr. Bala Salihu Dawakin-Kudu, the Director of Press to the Deputy Governor, whose boss also doubles as the Commissioner in charge of Local Government, revealed that the Government is certainly not in a haste to conduct the exercise to avoid the mistakes of the past.

According to him, “what is worth doing is worth doing well and that is why Governor Kwankwaso is treading cautiously to get it right and I want to assure you that names of credible individuals are being considered as nominees into the seven member electoral committee”

Remarkably, while the government dilly-dallies, the opposition as if under a spell is largely reticent.