Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu said his administration has in the past seven years changed the mind-set of politicians in the state, which hitherto saw politics as a profession and an avenue for making money.
Aliyu spoke over the weekend in Abuja at an interactive session on seven years of his administration, which was organised by the Civil Society Alliance of Nigeria, CSAN.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Musa Ibeto, said, “We have been confronted with the challenge of attitudinal change especially among the political class”.
“We inherited a political class with a mind-set that saw politics as a profession and an avenue for making money. That attitude was retrogressive as it encouraged indolence, parasitic-tendencies (maula syndrome) and discouraged industry and productivity among the teeming youth.
“We have however been able to move away from that mind-set as every politician now has something to offer and add value to the development process”, he explained.
Importantly, the governor said, his administration had been able to tackle the challenges of dwindling revenues, both internal and external, through the prudent and innovative management of the state’s resources to meet its development aspirations.
Aliyu said, “We believe that lack of funds should not be an excuse for non-performance, what is important is commitment to service and fiscal discipline, which have remained our guiding principles since 2007”.
The governor explained that he considered himself as the servant and not master of the people since he became the governor only through the people’s mandate.
He informed that his choice of the “The Chief Servant” in place of “His Excellency” was aimed at promoting a change in leadership mind-set, “since leadership is essentially about service to humanity and not ‘Excellency which connotes perfection is an attribute of God.
“We are therefore very delighted to note that seven years into our administration, we have been able to take Niger State farther than we met it or could have been imagined”, the governor said.
Earlier, a renowned human right activist, Dr. Shehu Sani had explained that the interactive forum was meant to give the people of the state freedom to ask the leadership salient questions about the way they have been piloting the state affairs in the last seven years.
Sani noted that “opposition political parties in the state have been very consistent in bringing out issues to challenge the government, and that is part of democracy, because the government must be accountable to the people.
“If we must tell ourselves the truth, seven years is enough time to give stewardship account in office. What you have not done in seven years, you cannot do it within the next few months that remain for the present administration”, he said.
The activist said Nigeria’s democracy could no longer be described as nascent after 15 years, and urged political leaders to always play the game in accordance with the rule for the benefit of the country and the populace.
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