Adamu Waziri and Yobe State governorship race

Yobe, which was created on the 27th of August, 1991, became a state before its neighbour, Gombe State. However, Gombe has overtaken Yobe in all facets of development. The opportunity to develop the state was frittered away during the “Reign of the Locusts” between 1999 and 2007 and till now the state has failed to […]

Yobe, which was created on the 27th of August, 1991, became a state before its neighbour, Gombe State. However, Gombe has overtaken Yobe in all facets of development.

The opportunity to develop the state was frittered away during the “Reign of the Locusts” between 1999 and 2007 and till now the state has failed to get its footings or, better still, priorities, right.

It was during that period that the state saw a lot of motion without movement. Quite alright, Yobe, as any state of the federation, got its monthly state and Local Government Grant, Ecological Stabilization Funds, Excess Crude Oil Funds, etc, yet the “Locusts” never allowed these monies to be used for the benefit of the people.

The “Locusts” had gripped the then governor by the “balls” and the state treasury by the “vice”. They went by nicknames and aliases such as “Director Liquid Cash” or “Rainbow”. The implications were that just as you see the rainbow you know that the rains are gone, so it is that once these rainbows descend on the state (they come once a month, after the Federal Allocation Committee distributions), the state funds, too, disappear. While one can safely say those who denied Yobe its funds to develop, who are now struggling to come back, have been on leash since 2007, the state needs to move rapidly and catch up with those that left us behind.

These are some of the things now being considered by the people of Yobe. They have now come to realize and accept the fact that Adamu Maina Waziri faces the challenge of putting the state of the track of development.

Adamu Maina Waziri, who was at the vanguard of the state’s creation, is not only qualified, educationally and intellectually, but has the requisite experience for the job at hand. He has the burning desire to take Yobe out of the woods.

A Masters Degree holder and a one-time lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he has never got involved in any scandal nor was he ever found wanting where ever he worked.

Adamu Maina Waziri has had the opportunity and privilege to have held “lucrative” positions (by Nigerian parlance and language of the “Locusts”) but he has always left them with his integrity intact and come seeking to lead his people to the “Promised Land”.

He was at one time the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and controlled funds more than any state governor in Nigeria but he left it for Yobe.

He was, just of recent, the Minister of Police Affairs, a very senior ministerial appointment.

His desire is to better the lives of the people of Yobe, a state after his heart.

Hence the historic gathering of December 26th when he went home resolved to go and mobilize for a change in Yobe.

Hassan Gimba, Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Adamu Maina Waziri Campaign Organisation [email protected]