Gombe state and the prospect of change

Gombe, is by no means, rural. It used to be, at least at its teething stages. But the emergence of Alhaji Muhammed Danjuma Goje as Governor in 2003 and the gargantuan efforts he put in, in the provision of critical infrastructure through strategic and deliberate developmental vision that have extricated Gombe state from the ignominy […]

Gombe, is by no means, rural. It used to be, at least at its teething stages. But the emergence of Alhaji Muhammed Danjuma Goje as Governor in 2003 and the gargantuan efforts he put in, in the provision of critical infrastructure through strategic and deliberate developmental vision that have extricated Gombe state from the ignominy of underdevelopment have launched the state into the club of the big boys. In his eight years in office, Goje had succeeded in placing the state on a pedestal that was the envy of many. There is no gainsaying the fact that since then, Gombe state has progressed beyond the expectations of many people. I come from Kebbi which has predated Gombe but I can say without mincing words that even with far less allocation, my state will not come anywhere near, in terms of modernity and dividends of democracy.

The basis of my comparison is based on the fact that having married from Gombe, I found myself traversing the Kebbi/Gombe route frequently and armed with a journalist’s nose for news, I cannot help but interrogate the basis of the huge disparity and gulf between my state of origin and the state of my in-laws. I agree, that even though Gombe was not without its challenges and leadership deficits along the way, one cannot but admit that when put on a scale, Gombe can be said to have had a better leadership turnover, over the years than many states. During my past visits to Gombe, I have had reasons to question the intractable water shortage to Gombe Metropolis in particular. Gombe state is one of nature’s gifts to Nigeria and as the jewel in the savannah it has the potential to become the undisputable food basket of the nation. It is therefore sad that more effort was not put into giving agriculture the priority that would galvanize the state into achieving its full potentials.

It is thus a thing of joy when I heard Governor Inua Yahaya, while on a visit to President Myuhammadu Buhari in Abuja recently reeling out the areas he has given attention to, since assumption of office barely a month ago. I have also personally noticed a shift from some unpopular practices of the past, to a new order of being mindful of the need to be circumspect in the way scarce resources are applied and managed. Answering questions from state house correspondents shortly after the visit, Governor Yahaya explained that agriculture will receive top priority attention, in recognition of Gombe’s enormous potentials and endowments. In this regard, he further said, a total of 114 trucks of 30 tons each of fertilizer have been distributed to all the wards of the state. My take on this, is that this action, coming at this tight and pressing juncture but graciously when the rainy season was just starting has underscored the seriousness of the Governor on the matter and has given a glimmer of what to expect in the coming years.

On the issue of inadequate water supply and the need to find a lasting solution to it, the Governor stated that his government will work hard until a permanent solution is found. In the meantime, he emphasized, some hiccups associated with the intractable nature of the problem have, in the interim, been dealt with. A total of forty million liters of water, the Governor told journalists, are currently being pumped into Gombe city, a situation that has brought succor to inhabitants. Another impressive action of the Governor was his decision to dispense with expending millions on aircraft charter, for his movement outside his state. It has, very sadly been the practice of many Governors to engage in the expensive venture of hiring aircrafts to airlift them to mostly Abuja, even when commercial airlines run daily airlifts from their state capitals into the capital city. The huge expenditure this practice leaves on such states can only be imagined. It is even worse if such states are in the same dire economic situations as Gombe.

The sum total of these actions of Governor Inua Yahaya among many other populist decisions, coming at this time of the ‘’change’’ mantra, holds justifiable hope for the people of Gombe state to look into the future to celebrate this man, that has severally vied to become Governor in the past and to be optimistic that the change they have gallantly fought for, will pay the desired dividends in the short term and in the long run, provided that the new Governor lived true to his outlook and actions. I admit that it is rather early in the day for initial actions of new governors to give proper insights into their future behavior. In any case, many have shown promises as soon as they come in, only for power to intoxicate them into becoming too arrogant and deficient. But as I have pointed out at the onset, Gombe has got the benefit of a head-start of stellar performance as laid down by ex-Governor Danjuma Goje. It is therefore safe to hazard that even with the glaring inadequacies in the recent past, a product of the Danjuma Goje’s legacy cannot help but up the ante of development in the state.

If states that have been left far behind due partly to the bad choices they make can still harbor hope of a better tomorrow even when the structures for that to be actualized are just not on ground, a Gombe that has had the benefit of a strong developmental foundation laid by a visionary leadership anchored on growth, can build justifiable hope in the future of a state governed by an Inua Yahaya that has demonstrated, a month into office, invaluable biases and notorious inclination towards adding value and leading Gombe out of the quagmire of the very shenanigans that have stalled progress and plagued many states in Nigeria.

Ahmed-BK wrote from Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State 09096287707