Moments With Aminu Masari, Former Governor of Katsina State -By Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia

Rt. Honourable Aminu Masari is a person who wore many caps. As a civil servant, he was in charge of water supply in Katsina State. As a politician, he was a member representing Kafur/Malumfashi in the house of reps where he was elected the speaker. He was also a two-term Governor of Katsina state.

Our fates crossed when Masari was the Governor. As some of the early victims of banditry in Katsina, we were unhappy with the handling of banditry by both the state and federal governments.

For the eight years Masari spent as the Governor, there was no peace in many local governments including mine. Everyone was using what was at their disposal to stay safe. On the side of the masses, vigilante groups were organized, many migrated to the cities where the level of security was higher and many others left everything to fate. Some of us took our pens and began writing. We wrote to criticize the Government, we also begged it, we cursed and we supported just so that we could have peace.

The peace did not come. Some of the steps taken by Government were heavily criticised. One of them was negotiating with bandits. It took some time for many of us to know that the decision to negotiate with the criminals was a federal one and each Governor had to either accept it or suffer continued attacks on his people. Masari accepted it and did not mince words in publicly telling the bandits that negotiating with them was a Presidential directive.

If you met Governor Masari during those trying moments you would agree that the then Executive Governor of Katsina state was a forthrightly blunt person. This explains why when the bandits reneged in the peace agreement he sealed with them he dissociated his Government from it and asked the people of Katsina state to arm and defend themselves against the criminals.

After the period of eight years, Aminu Masari left Government. On his way out, he promised to never vie for any political office and he kept his word.

Masari did not just keep his word. He took the role a respected elder statesman. For example, although Masari played a big role in electing his successor, it is well known that he does no interfere in the governance of Katsina state. This is very much unlike what we see in a neighbouring state where the immediate past Governor serves as the de facto Governor with the incumbent serving the role of an appointee.

My latest meeting with Masari was after he left office. In one of those visits to Abuja, I requested a friend who was also his aide to accompany me to see the great politician of Katsina. I was not expecting any mercy from the former Governor because I was not merciful in my comments about his Government, especially as it affected the insecurity in Katsina state.

The reception was unexpected. The all-smiles septuagenarian vividly bears no resentment against anyone. For a politician like Masari, one would expect him to talk of only politics and politicians. However, I was surprised when he began to ask me about Jibia people who are not in politics. This is also another lesson in leadership. To successfully lead a state like Katsina, one should be conversant with all its 34 local government areas and have as many friends in each as possible.

Partisan animosity is for the masses. For leaders like Masari what matters are the people and how much each can contribute to the forward movement of his people.

Although I have no ambition of becoming a politician in my remaining days on earth, I believe politicians are not necessarily bad people like many believe. I also believe that former Governors and other statesmen have a lot to learn from Rt honourable Aminu Bello Masari, may Allah give him good health and prolonged life of service to humanity.

Abdussamad Umar Jibia