How far can Atiku Bagudu go in Kebbi? (3)

There is nothing that stops Bagudu from drawing up an eight or ten-year programme for the development of Kebbi, irrespective of whether he spends one or two terms. He can take an audit of all critical sectors and see where we are currently and plot his vision of where we should be by 2023. How […]

There is nothing that stops Bagudu from drawing up an eight or ten-year programme for the development of Kebbi, irrespective of whether he spends one or two terms. He can take an audit of all critical sectors and see where we are currently and plot his vision of where we should be by 2023. How many schools do we have and how many do we need? How many of our students are males and how many are female? How many students are in humanities, how many are in science, etc? How many classes do we have and what is the ratio of teachers to students? How many teachers are there and how many should we have?
The governor may well do the same in the health sector. How many hospitals have we and how many should we have? How many hospital beds do we have and how many more do we need? How many doctors are there and how many do we require, etc? He should then dedicate his programme to bridge all possible gaps.
The Kebbi state government (KBSG) also needs to take advantage of our proximity to Niger and Benin Republic to bring economic benefits to our people. God couldn’t have tucked Kebbi in that part of the globe for nothing, there must be some progressive reason we may not have discovered. We need to establish secure border markets for the exchange of goods and services and promote social interaction and harmony among our people. Since we are condemned to live with French-speaking neighbours, the government of Kebbi may have to reintroduce the learning of French as it was done up to the 1980s in our secondary schools? Can we find place for our students in the Kano/Niger Republic Bilingual College built in Niamey by former Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso or do we obtain French teachers from Niger and Benin Republic to come here and teach our students? Undoubtedly, acquiring an additional international language like French can improve the competitiveness of our young ones in commerce, diplomacy and international relations.
If Bagudu must retain the support of the most critical demographic group of voters – the youths – now is the time, using good education. Also, if he can open just one mine or facilitate the establishment of just one factory, it would be of tremendous help. In the days ahead, whoever loses the support of the young voters will lose his electoral deposit; the key to retention of office is employment for the youths.
As for power shortage, Governor Bagudu should explore the possibility of working together with his colleagues from Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara States, etc to establish electricity plants and improve supply. Nigerians cannot continue to wait for the federal government to supply non-existent electricity; the states will have to help themselves – and please spare me from recounting the economic, political and social benefits of regular power supply. By the same token, the new governor of Kebbi should secure the cooperation of Niger state and the federal government to ensure the reconstruction of the nightmare called Birnin Kebbi – Kontagora highway. Over the last few years, the depressing state of the road has militated against economic and social exchange between the neighbouring people and also made it a new haven for armed robbers.
In keeping with the tradition of excellent scholar-ship bequeathed to us by our forefathers, the KBSG might wish to institute the Sheikh Abdullahi Ibn Fodio Annual Lecture (SAIFAL) and invite scholars to discuss everything under the sun, particularly as it affects our people. Like the Argungu Fishing Festival that puts the state in the limelight, an intellectual forum like this can promote the exchange of ideas and serve as an attention-grabber for the state and put it on the map of ‘happening’ places that people can look forward to every season.
There may be no end to the public relations value of this kind of venture for our state. The government may wish to take advantage of the lecture to build appropriate infrastructure for it, like a town hall and access roads in Birnin Kebbi as part of urban renewal; why, the government can even build a five-storey “Kebbi Investment House’ or its own “World Trade Centre”, complete with an elevator to savour our determined march to the periphery of the dependent capitalism of the largest economy in Africa.
Change must not be cosmetic; there has to be change in all ramifications. Bagudu must remain himself – accessible, humble, tolerant, cultured and compassionate. Citizens of Kebbi are on the lookout for the difference between him and cavalier character called Dakingari, between APC and PDP. Governor Bagudu should search for and appoint competent, resourceful and problem-solving individuals to help him clean the messy table left by Dakingari.
Fortunately, Governor Bagudu is well connected and exposed. He can approach a few friendly countries like Canada and United Kingdom to assist KBSG by delivering one or two development projects. There are also global foundations he can tap to help our people address one problem or the other. There is tremendous goodwill for the new administration in Kebbi and so much is expected from Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. He cannot afford to fail.