Inauguration Of Kano State Societal Reorientation Programme [A Daidaita Sahu]

ADDRESS OF HIS EXCELLENCY MALLAM IBRAFIIM SHEKARAU, GOVERNOR OF KANO STATE, AT THE INAUGURATION OF KANO STATE SOCIETAL REORIENTATION PROGRAMME, A DAIDAITA SAHU

SATURDAY RAJAB 26, 1425; SEPTEMBER 11, 2004

AT THE SANI ABACHA STADIUM, KANO.

Fellow citizens, today I would like to talk to you about one of the most difficult challenges of our time, the challenge to re-orient our society so that our traditional values, the fulcrum upon which our wellbeing and happiness depends, can be restored.

Since the inception of this administration, our people everywhere have repeatedly heard the Government talking about societal re-orientation and are with varied emotions waiting to discover what it would mean to their personal and working lives.

For many years now, with our sense of moral values severely damaged by corruption, rule of behavior, civility and decency, which the people of Kano were renowned for, are on the decline. And indiscipline in our society is so pervasive that many people have concluded that it is impossible to get rid of. But as a community of believers who are taught by Muhammad (peace be upon him) to equate faith with good manners, indiscipline cannot be allowed to continue on the account of its enormity. We therefore, have a duty to Allah and to ourselves to turnaround Kano State so that our morals and etiquettes can be restored.

I know that sometimes you get impatient and wish that could take some actions that would immediately restore orderliness aid I respectfulness which were the hallmark of our people. But there is no easy way out to our predicament. Behavioral changes require your cooperation and perseverance in order to take root.

The Societal Re-orientation Program of this Administration is conceived to be an ongoing and community targeted program in which the entire citizenry of the State is aligned and actively involved.

Government shall therefore consult and challenge widely on the agenda of societal re-orientation. We shall consult the ulama and other learned men in our society, we shall contact the traditional rulers; we shall contact our urban and rural communities; we shall consult elders and philanthropists; we shall contact heads of public and private schools; we shall contact the trading and manufacturing communities; we shall contact our fadama and upland farmers; we shall contact women and youth groups we shall contact the Christian community; we shall contact NGOs and CBOs. InshaAllah we shall make every effort to ensure that everyone in the State is mobilized toward building a sustainable God-fearing, enterprising and respectful society.

This step is important because firmly believe that the people are in the best position to identify the problems affecting their community or group. And once a community accepts the need for a change on matters affecting its well-being and more or less agree on what needs to be done, that community is on its way to putting in place a lasting solution to its problems. I urge you all, therefore, to join your community- based organizations and to participate actively in its societal re-orientation initiatives.

We must all realize that our State operates in a challenging environment. I do not mean challenging only in terms of inadequate funding, broken infrastructure, long neglected school system, dwindling trade, and closed factories. But, trying times in the sense that together we chose to implement the sharia. And Sharia by its nature is integrative, it is undivided and unbroken he means a novel way of doing things, it means restoring confidence in government, it means emphasizing the importance of community protecting the dignity of the common man, and so on. This is another’ reason why, as a first step, we need to reorient the people.

Our societal re-orientation plan is built around the ideas of uprightness, good manners, patriotism, and respect for law and order. Good manners because they are the flywheel of society in the sense that they keep the whole society within the bounds of order.

Patriotism needs to be encouraged because for long, while much of the citizenry is passionately engaged in pursuing its own personal interests, taking voluntary initiatives to make their State great is not part of their thoughts. We must learn to really love our State. We must put not our interest foremost, but that of our Stale,, We must all arise and make Kano State great.

Conduct in civil society such as observance of traffic regulations, payment of dues and taking a turn to get a service are becoming alien in our daily lives. The result obviously is frustration, pain and incalculable waste of time. This must never be allowed to continue. In order to restore order, self-respect, and enjoy civil liberties, we must all learn to be disciplined and law abiding.

Fellow citizens, I am sure you will agree with me that on matters requiring behavioral adjustments like this your cooperation is critical for success, I know that some of you would say that people are not ready to change their ways and. because of that the program will not work out. Others would point out that the extorts they had put to be forthright in the past only led to disappointment.

Surely, these observations constitute impediments, hut they are no reasons for despair. I therefore appeal to all those who harbor misgivings about societal re-orientation to be optimistic and to change their ways, so that through the momentum of their good actions, other people will eventually re-orient themselves.

I urge you to always do the right thing and never to be discouraged. I invite you all to always remember that as Muslims we are a people of action; irrespective of the colour of the outcome. We are commanded in the Holy Quran:

Do as you will for Allah will see your deeds and (so will) His

Messenger and the believers. And you will be returned to the

Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, and He will inform you

of what (the merit or otherwise) you used to do.

(Chapter 9 Verse 105)

Societal Reorientation being an embryonic and a priority program, and in our determination to get optimal results, Government has decided to set a State Council on Societal Reorientation. The Council will be responsible for formulating policy and setting the general direction ‘for the societal reorientation program. State committees will be formed to handle sectors that are’ vested with specific aspects of the program. There will be Local Government Committees to implement the program at their level. At the grassroots, the Zauren Shawara will be the forum for community-based activities geared towards the objectives of societal reorientation. A Director General on Societal Reorientation has already been appointed to coordinate the diverse and varied activities the Government and the various sectors of society will singly and jointly proffer.

For this Administration, societal reorientation is yet another step towards realizing our goal for Shari’a implementation, which the Shari’a Commission, the Zakkat Commission and the Hisbah Board are busy pursuing. Therefore appeal to all public officials and institutions to work diligently for the success of this important program.

Fellow citizens, as I have pointed out in the beginning of my address, our purpose on societal reorientation is for our citizens to all be mobilized and committed, each in his or her own way, to the building of a God-fearing and better society where everyone can pursue his interests without trampling on the interests of others and without forgetting his responsibilities to his community. This is the kind of society we want to live in as well as future generations.

As I launch the Societal Reorientation program, I urge you all to be part of this history and imperative step we have taken to change our society for the better. I  also implore us all to put our trust in Allah and to presently. Pray for the successor of the program on His acceptance of our deeds in this and other endeavor.