Govenor Bello Matawalle has emerged as the new face of northern Nigeria we have been yearning for.
Since Nigeria abandoned the path of federalism for unitary rule, it has witnessed a virtual collapse of productivity as most people now live on handouts in a rental economy. As against the early years of independence when all sections of the country were involved in one productive activity or the other and generating, we have become the global headquarters of poverty as our economy is based virtually on commodities that we add no value to and return to us processed and we have to sweat to own.
This crisis has eaten up most of the country but is worst pronounced in the north where little or no serious economy activities are going on outside governments sharing money from federation account and be spending officers.
Even in the Southern part of the country, we have reached a point where young people now find idle life so attractive rather than a life of productivity.
This is one of the major issues in restructuring campaign which essentially is about resetting to federalism that once made all sections of Nigeria productive.
The debate has been so enervating and unfortunately those who assumed the best life in this unproductive arrangement have of late been mouthing “we don’t understand what restructuring means.”
It has pleased God to bring Governor Matawalle of Zamfara to shut off such insincerity and I am so proud that he is my friend I met long before he became governor through my brother Bashir Hadeja.
We would spend hours upon hours at the Abuja residence of the former House of Representatives member and discuss till late in the evening sometimes on various national issues.
Then in 2019, he threw his hat in the ring for the governorship of Zamfara state. Interestingly, a Prophet told him he was the next Governor of the state and he went for the election and he was declared the runner-up.
