Quote me: he is the most useless governor in the history of Nigeria. This is a governor whose reaction to the killings in his state was to resign as the Chief Security Officer. He went on the record to say that he cannot be the Chief Security Officer.
Kadaria Ahmed, a veteran broadcast journalist and writer, says Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State is the most useless Governor in the history of Nigeria.
Ahmed stated this while addressing pressmen in Abuja, during a protest against the ineffectiveness of both Zamfara State government and the Federal Government on the incessant killings in the state.
When asked what she thought of the efforts of the state government in addressing the issue, she said: “As far as I am concerned, that Governor is the most useless governor in the history of Nigeria.
“Quote me: he is the most useless Governor in the history of Nigeria. This is a governor whose reaction to the killings in his state was to resign as the Chief Security Officer. He went on the record to say that he cannot be the Chief Security Officer. So, I don’t know what he is still doing in office; he doesn’t care.
“He only cares about the people of Zamfara when it comes to politics. The fact that they are getting killed does not concern him. He lives most of his time here in Abuja. How can you govern a state for eight years from Abuja? What sort of leadership is that? We are so happy he is on his way out.
“He is hopeless as a leader. He has not done well for our people. Under him, Zamfara has deteriorated.”
The veteran said she grew up in Zamfara State, stating that the state has lost the peace and prosperity she used to know.
She called on Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the state.
“We are calling in President Muhammadu Buhari to show the people of Zamfara the same regards they have shown him. For two elections, they have come out in large numbers to vote for him. Can he also show that he cares about them?” Ahmed asked.
Zamfara State has been under attack by bandits who kill and kidnap people, as well as burn down farms and houses.
Kadaria Ahmed has an M.A. in Television from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Bachelor’s from Bayero University Kano. She is also a Chevening Scholar.
She started her career at the BBC[4] where she was a senior producer working on award-winning programs, Focus on Africa and Network Africa. In that capacity, she helped shape the news agenda for those leading programs and reported from many parts of the world including South Africa, Eritrea and the United Nations.
Back in Nigeria, Ahmed served as the editor of Next (Nigeria), an award-winning publication. There, she supervised a newsroom of approximately 120 people and about 30 stringers and drove the editorial agenda for the organisation. The newspaper stopped publishing its print edition in September 2011.[5]
In 2011, she moderated Nigeria’s presidential election debate on live television.[6][7][8]
In 2014, she co-created, produced and presented Straight Talk, an interview programme designed to probe and confront Nigeria’s decision makers on matters of relevance.[2][9] The syndicated show grew to an audience of over 4 million viewers globally. Some of her notable interview subjects include Ibrahim Babangida,[2] Tonye Princewill,[10] Babatunde Fashola, Rotimi Amaechi, Ali Baba, Oby Ezekwesili, among many others.
In 2017, she launched a new show called The Core on Channels TV.[11][12][13] In July 2017, she interviewed Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)[14] who made news by declaring it’s “Biafra or death”.[15]
In the build up to the February 2019 general elections, she moderated the town hall meetings for presidential candidates and their deputies, specifically that of President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Professor Yemi Osibanjo.[16]
Ahmed is currently a member of the judging panel of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism[17] and sits on the Board of Trustees of Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism[18] and the Promasidor Quill awards. She is also a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Institute of Directors.
In 2017, she founded Daria Media Ltd, a company designed to promote public service journalism