Umar in the eyes of Taraba people

In these nine highly challenging months that Umar has being operating as acting governor, majority of Tarabans view him as a loyal and trustworthy leader who has remained faithful to the leadership ideals of his principal, governor Suntai through ensuring continuity in government policies and programmes as testified by the continued financial support being given […]

In these nine highly challenging months that Umar has being operating as acting governor, majority of Tarabans view him as a loyal and trustworthy leader who has remained faithful to the leadership ideals of his principal, governor Suntai through ensuring continuity in government policies and programmes as testified by the continued financial support being given to all on-going capital projects in the state. Even the newly awarded contracts such as the Bali-Serti-Gembu highway falls within the developmental priorities of governor Suntai before his unfortunate plane crash.
A lot of Tarabans also see Umar as a financial disciplinarian who has, successfully, brought his wealth of experience in  the private sector, (where he has been very successful) to bear in the conception and implementation of fiscal policies that places premium on financial prudence, accountability and transparency in the execution of all government businesses. The end result of this commendable effort is seen in the prompt payment of salaries to civil servants on the payroll of the state government and helping the state to save a lot of money for the rainy day.
Most Tarabans equally look up to Umar as a peace-loving leader based on the landmark peace mission he had initiated and undertaken alongside the governor of  Benue State, Gabriel Suswan to the Kuteb-Tiv warring communities in some troubled villages along the border of the two states few months ago. This is in addition to the timely and swift measures he had taken with the aid of the various security agencies in the state in bringing to an end, the unfortunate cycle of civil/sectarian violence that broke out in Ibi and Wukari Local Government Areas (LGAs) respectively.
Many Tarabans, especially employees of Local Government Councils (LGCs) in the state believed Umar is a labour/civil servant- friendly governor (if not even a messiah) based on the commencement of the payment of the long-awaited new minimum wage last May, 2013 after almost two years of waiting. The payment is of huge relief to them since prizes of goods and services have gone up long time ago following its implementation to federal and state government workers earlier. Senior state government staffs are now hopeful that the payment of the new wage at state level would be upgraded to 100% from the current 80% implementation level.
In same vein, majority of Tarabans, particularly the youth identify Umar as a leader who is truly committed to the alleviation of poverty in the state following the successful commencement of the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme (SURE-P) in the state (ahead of several states in the federation) and the planned recruitment of a large number of academic and non-academic staff in the State College of Education, Polytechnic and Teaching Service Board. Remarkably, this is the first time in the almost 22-year history of Taraba State, that two tertiary institutions and a government agency with a vast manpower capacity will be employing staff simultaneously, thereby making it possible to drastically cut-down on the unemployment rate in the state.
He is also seen by a lot of Tarabans as a leader who is seriously interested in revamping commercial activities, the tourism industry and the economy as a whole in the state through the planned acquisition of two commercial planes by the state government that can be utilised by businessmen, tourists and the general populace in reaching designated tourism destinations in the state and embarking on business trips to other parts of the country in good time and in the most ideal conditions. Internally-generated revenue drive is therefore, expected to receive a massive boost on this basis.
Many Tarabans are equally of the opinion that Umar is fully committed to the provision of an improved healthcare delivery system based on the huge financial and technical support being extended to a number of healthcare facilities in the state, particularly general and cottage hospitals. Similarly, he is seen as a humane leader who is concern about the physical well being and welfare of distinguished citizens who have diligently served the state in the past or still serving by way of granting medical aid to many of the sick ones among them in order to go for treatment in specialist hospitals both within and outside the country.
Interestingly, Umar is also regarded as a pillar of sports in the state by sports-loving Tarabans owing to the impressive performance of the state government-owned football team-FC Taraba in Division “A” of the on-going Nigeria National League (NNL) 2013 season where it is currently occupying the second position in the log, which would guarantee its automatic promotion to the elite Glo Nigeria Premier League for the first time in the over 21-year history of the club if it could end the season in that position, at least.
Being a Taraban too, I feel Umar is a genuine servant of Taraba State who is doing his best and trying very hard to keep the Taraba ship afloat in the face of unpredictable sea-waves and the challenging agitations, expectations and demands of all the different passengers on board. Ofcourse as human, it is impossible for him to be totally immune from experiencing certain low points here and there, but I am confident that he is on top of the situation and it is a matter of time before he take the Taraba ship to the promised land!
Zongre, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Yerima Bappa Sanda Road, Turaki ‘A’ Ward, Jalingo, [email protected]