One of the cardinal principles of Leadership is empathy andsympathy to the poor. The essence of public treasury is to pool a commonwealth
where the society can witness even distribution of resources for the maximumbenefit of all.It is equally a virtue for a leader to have the personalfeelings and concern to the plights of the weak in the society. History is fullof lessons. For example, the great “daulat-al-Islamiyya” did notthrive because of the might of its leaders, but due their empathy . It is reportedthat Umar, the third Caliph of Islamic Empire used to go round the town in thenight listening and watching so that he identifies the weak and supports them.
Against this backdrop, His Excellency, Governor BelloMuhammad, not oblivious of the plight of the weak, began to identify theextremely weak and needy in the society for direct support. One may quickly saythe Governor is already doing well in the area of poverty alleviation.
Yes, he is of course, doing well in the area of povertyalleviation because not a single state in Nigeria probably has a programme ofdirect grant of N20,000 to 1800 Women monthly to create a trade or boost anexisting trade. Not many states have a social intervention programme whichkick-started with a whopping figure of over 8,000 Youth with a monthly stipendof N10,000 to N50,000.
Despite these initiatives, the Governor this week began avery unique initiative where the poor among the poor are identified for him topersonally visit them at home and directly impact on their personal lives.Beneficiaries of this, executive visit are Malama Saudatu Bello, Malam BelloMusa and Malam Audu, all in the suburbs of Gusau metropolis
Malama Saudatu is an aged widow with six children andworking hard to put body and soul together. Malam Audu is an aged man with alot of dependants. While Malam Bello Musa is a poor man with a lot ofdependants as well.
Malam Bello’s case was interesting as he seized theopportunity to complain to the Governor when the latter came visiting in hishouse, that he was marrying out five girls in his household and has no means ofdoing it. Instantly, the Governor took up the fatherly responsibility ofmarrying out these children. Bello blurted into tears for this unexpectedoffer.
More interesting is the case of Malama Saudatu. She was inthe house treating the sparsely scattered wheat being treated, probably forsale when the Governor came calling. She received him with both arms opened.She began to shower a rain of prayers upon His Excellency even before heoffered her a handsome cash donation to boost her paltry wheat trade.
As for Malam Audu, he didn’t allow the Governor to leave hisHouse until he called everyone in the Household to come and greet as well asappreciate His Excellency.
Matawalle seems to be saying, aloud, that as a Governor, it is good to deal with a Cabinet and civil servants to address the problems of the society. But it is even more spicy in leadership to personally deal with the weak and address their immediate worries and needs in a simplistic and humane manner. This is the new vision of Matawalle which, unfortunately , seems to be alien to modern leaders of our age.
Zailani Bappa is a media aide to Zamfara state governor.
