Why I want to succeed Shema in Katsina – Senator Idah

Senator Ibrahim Idah is a gubernatorial hopeful in Katsina State. Ahead of the PDP governorship primary, he says he is the candidate to beat for the party governorship ticket.

He flaunts his numerous achievements in the civil service, where he retired as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence and in the Senate where he served as Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence as his unique selling points.


In this interview with TAIWO AMODU in Abuja, he enunciates his vision for Katsina State, praising Governor Ibrahim Shema for laying a solid foundation for the development of the state.
How has your experience been in the Senate?
Serving in the Senate is a collective work in the sense that as a Senator, you are part of 109 people and you have a clearly defined constitutional responsibility which is to work towards realising good governance for the country and you also have a collective responsibility in overseeing the disbursement and use of public funds and you also have a role to ensure that governance is performed in such a manner that the electorate will get the dividends of democracy and leadership gets the right environment to govern.
You as an individual, you also have your own role. I was Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence and Army and I don’t think that was accidental because when I was in public service, I was permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence, that means I was already familiar with the environment. So, when I became Chairman on Defence, it was not difficult to appreciate the problems in Defence establishment at that time and to work towards finding a solution.
As a legislator, your role in terms of promoting interest of various arms of government is to make case for their budgets, if there is need for more funding for them, and you also have responsibility to ensure that whatever is appropriated for them is also used for that purpose. As an individual, you can sponsor a bill on any issue, it does not necessarily have to be related to the issue of the committee you are overseeing or of which you are a member. So, I was fortunate enough to champion bills and motions that have direct bearing on Nigerians. I will give you an example. I sponsored a bill on the establishment of infrastructure to check encroachment. I also sponsored a bill that provides proper management of financial system. These are just the few ones, and we also have motions. Motions are just statements you make, you raise in the chamber ultimately leading to a decision, the decision is not binding as law but it is advisory. It is a pointer to government or any other party concerned. If there is need to focus on a specific issue, what you will do in the motion is to have prayers, it is in the prayers that you will make specific requests that you want government to do.
Once the issue is debated and resolutions are taken one by one and adopted, then the motion will be passed. Then, the appropriate agency will take it up. Although, not legally binding, it is always respected and invariably implemented.
Also, as a senator, you have constituency projects, here it is interesting, people think when you mention constituency project, people think senators are given money, no it is contained in the appropriation. The only thing is that you as a legislator, you have a figure mentioned; it is left for you to apply those figures to the projects that have direct bearing on your constituents. You have no involvement in the actual execution of the project, nor do you have any involvement in the disbursement of the funds but you have the responsibility of ensuring that the amount is used for something beneficial to your constituency, and here, I did a lot of boreholes, primary health care, rural roads, employments, skill acquisition centres and then you also have influence of scouting around for employments and here it may not necessarily be your constituency alone because as a senator, you meet people from many places other than your own constituency.
In the area of employment, I will say that I was instrumental in the recruitment of over 1800 people into public service especially military agencies. Now, I grab that as one of my achievements, because till date when I walk around, I see many people come to greet me, in the end, they salute and tell me that I was instrumental in their joining the service.
What is your vision for Katsina State?
First of all, I said I have been in public and private sectors, so I know precisely what local problems are. These are problems of poverty, illiteracy, very poor health condition especially in respect of women, so definitely, I have a very clear vision of the problem. I want a government that is caring, making basic needs of life not only available but affordable to all. That is my vision and I think I wish to translate it into eight-point agenda. We also find out that the problem affecting Nigerians is insecurity. And I believe that apart from the Federal Government that is in control of the military and other security agencies, I think within the purview of the Constitution, there is a provision that gives a lot of powers to local authorities in maintaining laws and order, that is why the state governors are chief security officers, in conjunction with already existing institutions, especially the traditional institution. I intend to ensure that Katsina remains a peaceful place, the current government is doing a marvellous job in maintaining security of lives and property. Somehow Katsina has been peaceful, not by accident but by hard work. Now on the issue of employment, poverty comes where people are idle or they are not optimally utilized, we have teeming youths that are unemployed who have finished their education but they are idle.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I think people need to reflect after retirement on what they have done that is good and what they have done that is bad, weighing both of them. Please, make sure that good things outweigh bad ones. So, I am driven by sense of service and loyalty and by sense of commitment to make this world a better place. I want to leave a legacy of service. I want people to miss me when I leave the service. I want them to look for people that are like me or better than me, I don’t want them to be eager to get rid of me. And finally, the best way to serve is to serve with sincerity.