Thankless job of the Chief Servant

Despite the discouraging lukewarm attitudes and foot dragging by some member states on certain policy decisions for the development of the region, the vision brought into the administration of the forum and the tenacity of the man on the saddle of the unwilling horse has no doubt led to progress in some key areas hitherto […]

Despite the discouraging lukewarm attitudes and foot dragging by some member states on certain policy decisions for the development of the region, the vision brought into the administration of the forum and the tenacity of the man on the saddle of the unwilling horse has no doubt led to progress in some key areas hitherto unattained.

Efforts by the forum in the last five years have been geared towards ways to better the lots of the region and its people. The forum has redoubled its campaigns to rid the region of the ugly syndrome of the almajiri, illiteracy and the economic retrogression of the region.

The region, though a giant in the sun, so richly endowed in land resources and in solid minerals, is paradoxically poor due to years of neglect and abject poverty due largely to poor oversights by successive governments.

The Northern Governors’ Forum, (NGF), chaired by Governor Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger state has in the last five years marshalled out development strategies and indeed hosted seminars and summits aimed at tackling the backwardness amongst the people of the region.

The forum has come out strongly, more than ever before on a self searching, inner looking and self appraisals to speak against the ills of phenomenon as street beginning and urchins; the forum has convened stakeholders’ meetings on the dwindling agricultural productivity in the region, the increasing mortalities amongst children and expectant mothers and the religious-cultural bias against immunization programmes for children under six years of age.

The Chairman of the forum has as an exemplary mark of leadership, criminalized refusal to accept the administration of the rounds of immunization doses and withdrawal of the female children of school going age from school by parents in his state.

Parents who refused to enrol their girl-children into schools or refuse to allow their children or wards to be administered the rounds of the six anti child killer diseases risk jail terms in Niger state. This no doubt is a practical step for state governors in the region to emulate as strategy to curb and eliminate the dreaded polio disease and other health care challenges.

Under the chairmanship of Governor Aliyu, the NGF has convened meetings on how to stamp out the hydra headed phenomenon of urchins and street beginnings. The fallout of this is the remodelling and integration of the Arabic education learning system with western education system.

Today, there are clusters of such learning centres in parts of Sokoto, Kaduna, Minna in Niger state and other places in the region. A paragon of such schools was commissioned last April by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate.

The forum also convened a successful summit on agriculture to return the region to its old glory as a vast agricultural productivity centre. Agriculture is an old traditional main stay of the people in the region but over the years, the sector has suffered neglect and penury has since been devastating vast majority of the people of the region.

The outcome of the summit on agriculture has led to massive reawakening amongst the people to their old mainstay as more hands are now on the ploughs churning out tonnes of farm produce.

The forum’s summit on health was equally a huge success as resolutions arrived at the meeting agreed that member states should set in motion modalities to ensure greater access to health care delivery to especially women and children as well as the aged persons in all parts of the region.

Today, in many states across the region, these vulnerable classes of the population enjoy free medical care services in public health care delivery centres courtesy of their respective governments’ new policies drive on health care delivery and as enunciated by the NGF.

An area that has however become problem but surely surmountable is the security challenges that have snowballed into terror reign in parts of the region. More than ever before, security of lives and property has come under severe strain in the region with increasing and frightening propensity.

Governors in the region are aware of the dangerous trend and have been working on ways to arrest the terror reign that has been sweeping through the region in the last two years. The NGF has held meetings on the emerging security challenges and has resolved to bring it to an end.

Despite all these, calumnious critics, spoilers, wasters and iniquitous politicians with voices of dissensions have lately been unrelenting in their vociferous campaigns of pull him down against the chairman of the forum as if he is the cause of the myriad problems besetting the region.

Political jobbers and their paymasters playing the bad blood antics have in their slanted sentiments resorted to sponsoring blitz of hate, resentment and animosity calling for the head of the chairman of the NGF.

Such inexplicable cannonade and attacks were not only misplaced but undeserving on a man who had only offered to serve in an organization that has no budget of its own, no spoils of office or place on its members any advantage.

If anything, the man has used the resources of his state, his energy and time to speak for and advance the course of the regional body, its people and for common good of all for no pecuniary gains to himself. Attacks on his person are therefore enemy actions and expressions of apprehensions and hate for the man’s growing and towering credentials and reputation as a quintessential leader.

In all respects, the man has proved his mettle as a capable head of the regional body that holds more than half of Nigeria’s population and host to well over 70% of the total landmass of Nigeria. He has explicitly proved that he is capable and can be trusted with more national assignments and responsibilities.

Bitrus is a press aide to Governor Aliyu of Niger State