Habibu Muhammad
It was a long silence that constituents of Katsina South Senatorial district have not heard or seen the red chamber representative in public event despite the nation’s predicaments and peoples plights in terms of challenges faced by the constituents.
It is notable that the zone suffered most banditry attacks one of the highly security challenges bedeviling the nation that had displaced thousands from their communities taking shelter in places unknown to them nor plan for relocation.
The displacement led numerous citizens to abandoned thier farmlands depriving them on the historic and profitable business of farming that provided them subsistence living and materialistic livelihood needs.
From the farming business most families sponsored thier children to school at all levels, shoulder their routine responsibilities such as marriages, daily upkeep and other social engagements besides using the farming proceeds as business venture all year round.
All the representatives especially senators whom thier constituency affected by the ugly incidents of insecurity where echoing different songs to authorities, especially through their respective Chambers to find resolutions and attract the attention of higher responsible Federal Government to direct it’s wings to address the alarming situations.
The above could be seen through lawmakers visitations, support with vehicles or other logistics to law enforcement agencies as well as communities collaborating individuals and groups in the affected areas.
Moreover, most lawmakers designed tangible empowerment support for the displaced individuals, livelihood economic programmes, healthcare and nutritional supports as well as education to mentioned few.
I can vividly mentioned example of that Sokoto East senatorial district where the represented provided logistic to security personnel, scholarship to students and economic empowerment support to tune of billions of naira.
It was published that over 2,000 students benefited with N50,000 each as support for tuition fees while about 400 women affected by banditry got N200,000 support each to start small scale business.
In the case of Katsina south Senatorial district where the incumbent senator Muntari Dandutse who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Education represents, we did hear nothing yet in terms of proactive legislative member support to address the situation of security challenges and programmes to alleviate the citizens faced difficulties.
It was so disturbed to found the medium a good channel to communicate to the lawmaker along with his associates such as party deputy chairman, party’s zonal vice chairman along with many others from the zone.
Although at so many occasions themselves, associates and family members benefited with lawmakers largesse such transportation to holy land for both lesser and ritual Hajj exercise to Saudi Arabia, monetary and vehicles and Sallah gifts as part of reciprocation on thier political supports of primary and secondary elections efforts.
To be sincere even law level politicians, groups and individual well to do persons indigenes of Katsina south Senatorial district that comprised 11 local government areas of Bakori, Danja, Dandume, Faskari, Funtua ,Kankara, Kafur, Matazu, Malumfashi, Musawa and Sabuwa have differently initiated move to support citizens education, healthcare services and business empowerments.
The reader need to be aquianted with what I mentioned for the sake of clarity, in Musawa, politician provided free JAMB forms, scholarship bursaries, student uniforms and others to students to support long term future of young ones in addition to clothing, food items support and small business grants.
Similar gesture was witnessed in Malumfashi by different personalities where a sponsor added Almajiri pupils on feeding, clothing and feeding supports beside regular formal education supports.
Such gestures have been showered in Funtua, Faskari, Bakori, Danja and others which the space could allow me to list, however, important note was to showcase long and medium terms emancipation of indigines from the shackle of poverty and underdevelopment.
On Sunday March 10, 2024 Sen. Dandutse could only to heard by constituents through the traditional Ramadan fasting supports which he mastered during his days in House of Representatives, representing Funtua/Dandume federal constituency.
In the concluded programmes held on Sunday March 10, 2024 in Funtua, Sen. Dandutse and his cohorts listed food items and N10 million donations to be distributed to party officials, party loyalists and residents including aides where N10,000 were each was allocated to individuals.
Reflecting on the present economic hardships, one could wonder what N10,000 meant to family members with cost of maize N2,000 per measure, more importantly the outline modalities of share distribution listed by party’s deputy chairman was largely for political party leaders, loyalists and associates.
My reaction and appeal to Sen. Dandutse is that the zone need more than the tradition Ramadan, Sallah packages, he should concentrate in finding lasting solutions to lingering security challenges bedeviling the area, fine-tune basic educational support programmes for the displaced persons children and livelihood empowerment programmes.
Moreover, Sen. Dandutse should realized that tertiary institutions tuition fees have been increased across the country and many indigent students could not afford to pay school fees and besides difficulties in feeding, most of the students were contemplate withdrawal on the ground challenges they face.
We are looking forward for more robust initiatives that would ensure recruitment of eligible constituents in the employment of federal and state services, private and corporate entities, agricultural transformation opportunities such dams and irrigation platforms, education supports, healthcare services and others as we observed some senators undertaken.
Constituents also expect transformation of people lives, infrastructural developments and formidable supports for youths empowerment and other socio economic pathways in the constituents.
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