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.
Comments
Post a Comment