Amid prevailing leadership instability and insecurity in Katsina State, Francis Sardauna writes that Governor DikkoRaddahas  proceeded on a three-week medical leave.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State who has been away from Nigeria after a road accident along Daura-Katsina highway, has transmitted power to the State Deputy Governor, Hon. FarukLawal to pilot the affairs of the state in an acting capacity for three weeks.

Recall that the governor alongside his Chief of Staff, Abdulkadir Nasir; District Head of Kuraye, Alhaji Usman Darda’u, and the state Public Relations Officer of All Progressives Congress, ShamsuSule, were involved in an accident along the Daura-Katsina road in July.

Described by Radda’s media handlers as minor with no serious injuries, the head-on collision accident left Nasir and Darda’u with fractures while passengers of the affected commercial vehicle sustained varying degrees of injuries.

A few days after the incident, the governor who was reported to have been receiving treatment at a hospital in Abuja with his Chief of Staff and SarkinKuraye, was flown to Germany, leaving the duo behind in the unnamed private hospital.

Since he left the country, Governor Radda has been chairing State Executive Council Meetings and other key functions virtually until August 13 where he announced a three-week medical leave of absence that is sparking controversy in the state.

Radda, in a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Dr. BalaSalisu-Zango, said he will be proceeding on the 21-day medical leave beginning from August 18, 2025 to an undisclosed foreign country to enable him to focus on his health.

The statement quoted the governor as saying “I want to thank everyone for their kind words and ongoing support. Taking the necessary steps to prioritize my health is essential.

“So I can continue to serve effectively and make the best decisions for our state. I look forward to returning to my duties as soon as I finish my medical check up.

“To ensure seamless governance and continued leadership, the state Deputy Governor Malam FarukLawal, (SarkinFulaninJobe) has been designated to assume the responsibilities of the governor during my absence in an acting capacity.”

In the statement, Governor Radda remained mute on his health condition that warrant the three-week medical leave, but it appears to be in connection with the Daura-Katsina road accident.

But his leave comes amid growing public concern over the rising trend of Nigerian political leaders seeking medical care overseas, a development pundits say underscores the tenacious neglect of the nation’s health sector.

Despite billions of naira being allocated for the country’s health sector yearly, invariably, to avert medical tourism, Katsina people and other Nigerians are stuck with decrepit, ill-equipped, underfunded and ill-staffed government health facilities.

This, perhaps, could be the reason why Governor Radda had abandoned the nation’s hospitals built with taxpayers’ resources to seek medical care abroad, leaving his Chief of Staff and the SarkinKuraye in the hands of Nigerian doctors.

Although Radda is not the first Nigerian Governor or political leader to seek health care overseas, this phenomenon is not only draining public funds but also signals a lack of confidence in the Nigeria-own healthcare system.

For citizens of Katsina state who are grappling with prevailing security challenges, the governor’s medical leave is a wretched reminder of the widening gap between political elites and rural dwellers who rely on deteriorating public health facilities for survival after hoodlums attacks.

One of the citizens and Public Relations Officer of the state People’s Democratic Party (PDP), LawaliYar’Adua, accused Governor Radda of prioritizing his health more than the worsening security challenges bedevilling communities in some parts of the state.

While wondering how the governor would embark on medical leave when residents of Funtua, Faskari, Dandume, Sabuwa, Malumfashi and Danja are faced with persistent insecurity, the PDP spokesman urged him to focus on addressing the state’s challenges rather than personal interests.

According to him: “It’s right to seek medical care when you are sick, but if your people are being killed in their own homes, what kind of right is it to travel for health when you claim you already have that health?

“We prayed for him during the accident and we were happy when he told the public he was in good health. What we think is that since he has recovered, he should turn his attention back to the state before doing anything else.

“In my view, instead of going to the hospital since he is already better — as he once said during his campaign that he could even enter the forests — what would stop him from, instead of travelling abroad for medical care.”

However, the state Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Ali, has refuted Yar’adua’s claims of wobbling security challenges, adding that Radda’s medical leave was within the purview of the nation’s constitution.

He dismissed what he termed false and politically motivated claims by the opposition that the governor has squandered millions of naira on travel expenses in the last two years.

He stated that the governor has constitutional rights to proceed on medical leave. “And I see no reason why someone should complain. He has significantly improved security and restored peace in most parts of the state”, he added.

Aside security, he said, Governor Radda has transformed the state’s health, education, agriculture, economic sectors, and wooed foreign investors into the state through his ‘Building Your Future’ blueprint.

The APC chairman said the governor has built, renovated and equipped hospitals in 361 wards across the 34 local government areas of state.

“Even the opposition parties can testify to what the governor has done and is still doing in the state”, he said.

Ali punctured criticism that Governor Radda has been junketing around the world unnecessarily without recourse to administering the state, saying the trips were necessary and beneficial to the state.

Meanwhile, Deputy Governor FarukLawal, may have the administrative experience and track records to spearhead the affairs of the state, but political analysts are of the opinion that Radda’s continued absence negates the principles of good governance.

Describing the deputy governor as weak and indecisive in the absence of the governor, the analysts said Radda’s absence would create an atmosphere for underground power struggle and machination that could at any moment be aggravated.

As the Chief Security Officer of Katsina state who hardly spent two weeks in the state since his inauguration on May 29, 2023,  analysts argued that Radda’s medical leave will further truncate his administration’s quest of rescuing the state from the grips of bandits.

The situation has also led to public outcry and complaints, particularly by the opposition politicians who say they can not imagine that the governor whose state is ravaged by insecurity will be travelling out, leaving residents to their fate.

They said Radda is not supposed to leave the state in Lawal’s hands for more than two weeks because he is the chief security officer, adding that the deputy governor will not implement programmes and policies without the governor’s approval.

A chieftain of an opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the state, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, has also accused the governor of being insensitive to the plight of Katsina citizens with his constant foreign travels amid the myriad of security and economic challenges facing the state.

Inuwa urged eligible voters to join forces with the ADC to wrest power from Radda in 2027.

The former Secretary to the State Government said: “The governor and his deputy are supposed to be serving the people of Katsina, but they seem to be prioritising their personal needs over governance.”

However, Radda and other Nigerian public officials’ penchant for foreign medical care is both a symptom and  cause of the country’s health woes.

It signals to the public that those in power do not trust the system. It also drains resources and political will that could otherwise be used to upgrade domestic health facilities to global standards.

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