OPINION BY SAMAILA SULEIMAN – Foreign Loan For Kaduna State: When Restoration Group Misfired

By; SAMAILA SULEIMAN

By now,  it has become abundantly clear to discerning minds, that the Kaduna Restoration Group (KRG) is a band of self-righteous,  self-appointed politicians whose  love  for democratic dividends  defies categorisation.  In more recent times,  the group has become synonymous with combative politics and worrisome naivety.

A case in point was their recent treatise  on the $350 million loan for Kaduna State and their  empty  rhetorical campaign that the National Assembly should not approve of it. They  even  ridiculously proceeded to call for  a special public hearing at both chambers of the Far Assembly.

As I painstakingly struggled to make sense of their treatise, I came across plenty of legal jargons that defeated their desperate bid  to sway the tide of public opinion on the $350 million loan. This submission by the KRG was typical of a group that  represents a false claim to decent democratic struggle, by crossing the red line.

I came to understand that the  KRG has remained a real political nuisance for Kaduna State and a misadventure in opposition politics.  Sometimes, one tends to wonder  what  precisely  is their mission. But from their combative  style of politics and the latest much ado about a foreign loan,  it should not be difficult to understand that  they have, as usual,  misfired.

I cannot fathom  why   the self-styled group  has  remained anything but catalyst for change. One wonders  how on earth they expect to be seen as the voice of the voiceless.

I have also figured out that they have so far failed to win the  sympathy of the masses of our people,  who still see  them  as political  elite  that provide nuisance value for the era of change. The false flag of the KRG and its co-travellers in a futile revisionism has been an eye-opener for the people of Kaduna State on pedestrian style of opposition .

It is evident that  the KRG is a good example of an assemblage of very reactionary characters, who would prefer all  the democratic goodies of Kaduna State wiped clean and blacked out.  Driven by the absolute hunger for public attention,  the KRG has appointed itself the judge and the juror on anything  to do with the state. Unfortunately  for them,  they have not yet succeeded in hoodwinking the people of Kaduna State with their  questionable political antics.

I was not the least surprised to discover that  Major Shinko’s treatise  was more of a smokescreen  than a successful attempt to justify why Kaduna State is not deserving of the foreign loan. Like  the rest  of KRG members who probably assigned him to make  submission  on  their  behalf,  Major Shinko’s submission was a case  study in meaningless political tantrums. No  true lover of Kaduna State  would willingly align with such a submission, full of venom against popular beliefs about  securing  extra funding for socio-economic development. This also  explains why,  over the years, the KRG has failed woefully  to earn the much-desired political recognition and ended up squandering its goodwill by repeatedly taking unpopular stands on issues.

It is hard to say, with pinpoint accuracy, what the KRG is set to achieve because it has repeatedly shot itself on the foot. Those who erroneously thought  that  the KRG represents a catalyst for  change must have by now had a rethink. The group’s members have notoriety  for speaking from both sides of their mouth on developmental issues.

Like an old  weapon,  the KRG is rusting away due to its circle of spurious claims against  the true democrats of Kaduna politics under the change mantra. They have created  the general impression about their group as a platform for spreading misinformation or indulgence  with disinformation in the media.

Their ultimate goal of gaining easy political recognition in Kaduna State is still a work in progress. It is obvious that  for the remaining part of  the change era, the KRG would go down in history as a group of reactionary characters,  abusing the liberty of free speech by fabricating half truths in a desperate bid to politically overheat Kaduna.  And I dare say that given the reality on the ground,  theirs  is  a legendary political misadventure. The KRG is a baggage for democracy and it is something the good people  of Kaduna State have little or no need for at  this point in its political history.

Significantly, this  loan  is essential to  achieving a major milestone in  the execution of developmental projects in Kaduna State.  It  is  based  on this parameter that I urge the relevant lawmakers in the  National Assembly to stand solidly behind positive development by doing the needful. I don’t think  partisanship should blind any representative of the people from doing what is appropriate and at the appropriate time. A loan  as important as this, should take precedence over petty political differences. To the masses of our people,  politics should give way to projects after campaigns. We’re  no longer  in 2015 – the era of election.  Even the world has since moved on…