The eldest surviving son of Late Gen. Murtala Ramat Mohammed, Abba Risqua, in a display of political courage has formally declared his intention to contest the seat of governor in Kano state, northern Nigeria.
In a report by the Nigerian Guardian, he was quoted “as a result of my conviction, I Abba Risqua Murtala Ramat Muhammad, hereby, declares my intention to seek the highest political office in Kano State, as governor, under the platform of our great party, the People Democratic Party.”
He said: “I have taken time to critically examine the development of the democratic ideals in our beloved state, the positive achievements of numerous governments to date, as well as the political institutions present with a view towards contributing my part to the development of democracy in Nigeria for the benefit of the people of Kano State.”
He promised to make agriculture a major source of livelihood for the people of the state, with mechanised farming a major revenue source. He said Kano would become a continental hub for production, processing and export of agricultural produce.
In what looks like the unbundling of his blueprint, the aspirant vowed to adopt the agricultural policy of his late father. He said: “We must develop agriculture to the level where we are able to feed Nigeria and bring back the good old days of ‘Operation Feed the Nation’, but this time in Kano State.”
Risqua said: “We will cooperate with other Northern states in conjunction with the Federal Government to create enabling environment for the generation of electricity in the region.”
On rural communities, he promised that he would invest heavily in laboratories and health centres in every local government area of the state.
He added: “We must enable our educational institutions to function properly thereby becoming centres of excellence that will give our children the opportunity to achieve the most they can in life, by being able to compete with others from any part of the world in terms of education, exposure and analytical skills.
“We must equip our hospitals to cater for the health of our huge population and provide an alternative to the hardship being faced by our people and huge resources being spent on healthcare in foreign lands. We must provide jobs for our people to be able to cater for themselves and their families.”
