Ba rabo da gwani ba samun kamar sa
“The punishment we suffer if we refuse to take an interest in matters of government, is to live under the government of worse men,” Plato.
As the 2019 draw nearer our concern in Yobe is to focus attention and resources on getting the right person that will continue with the good work Gaidam has started-rebuild our economy, improve on the conditions of living of the people of Yobe and chart a course for the development of our state.
As it is, today, in Yobe majority of the Yobeans are of the opinion that if there is anybody who truly love and cherished the cause for the development of the young state and the emancipation and freedom of the masses from the shackles and dictates of the capitalists who see and do things in a way that will only benefit them or those close to them, that one individual is governor Ibrahim Gaidam.
The battle for the seat of the Yobe state governor come 2019 has no doubt begun, as they say “a journey of one thousand miles begins with a step”. The search of a credible, trusted, corrupt free, a person with a financial discipline like the incumbent governor, caring and
loving leader who will emulate from the good example of the hero of our time (Gaidam), has since began in Ernest and the good people of Yobe are eager to see who will Gaidam trust to hand over the affairs of Yobe people come 2019.
It is on record that Gaidam has on so many occasions said that come 2019 he will not hand over the affairs of our young and promising state to a politician that has no feeling for the development of the state and its people.
We are at this juncture calling on Gaidam to please keep to his promise and do not abandon us, unless he is able to install or guarantee the installation of a credible, honest, tested and trusted person of proven integrity, who will continue and even build on the good works of transforming Yobe and taking it to the Promised Land.
We in Yobe, we are in dire need of a government that fights for our people and certainly not a government that fight and cheats our people. We want a government that will get to office through free and fair elections and not through fraud and deceits.
We want to at this juncture and through this medium that we do not, at this level of our development which was started and championed by Gaidam deserve to be handed over to someone who is extremely distrustful and destructive, who do not deserve to be entrusted with public trust.
Looking at Governor Ibrahim Gaidam’s eight years in office as executive governor of Yobe state, there is no doubt that the Accountant has transformed the hitherto comatose state into a promising Nigerian Dubai.
Even if you don’t like Gaidam, you will never shy away from the fact that he has achieved a lot in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, he has linked almost all the 17 local government areas with the state capital something which senator Bukar could not achieved in his ten years stay in office as governor. He also has reconstructed Damaturu, potiskum, Gashua and Geidam general hospitals.
He also equipped the proposed Yobe state University Teaching Hospital in Damaturu, in preparation for the proper take off of the University College of Medicine with state of the earth equipment.
However, Gaidam’s proponents are saying that in the last eight years, he has transformed the education sector and undertook massive road projects spread across the state. But this writer is of the view that a lot need to be done in the area of education because after 27 years of creation Yobe state is still today seen as one of the educationally disadvantage state in the country. So massive investment need to be done in this sector in order to meet up with the modern day challenges of growth and development.
Over the years, the delivery of education in the state has suffered a setback as a result of neglect by past administration in the state which was compounded by inadequate attention to policy frameworks within the sector.
There are acute shortage of infrastructure, facilities and teachers at all levels. However, the current practices in the state education promote and encourage theoretical knowledge as opposed to technical, vocational and entrepreneurial education.
Education has been, and will continue to be the bedrock of any meaningful development. Modern societies rely on education to provide its basic needs, particularly man power for rapid development in all ramifications.
Therefore, investment in the sub-sector will be seen in any quarter as a wise investment, for without education, advancement in science and technology, politics and economy will be impossible and quality of life of the modern man will be no better than that of his ancestors.
When we consider our state Yobe and those that were created the same year with and compare it with other ones that were created after it, there is no doubt that one we will come to the inevitable conclusion that our problems in Yobe state have nothing to do with teething problem.
They are enduring effect of original errors from our leaders who are self centred and myopic in their thinking. The truth must be told. The time for playing politics with our lives is over. We must agree to work together in order to achieve our goals.
The imperative need for the moment is to take the bull by it horns, by way of taking concrete step toward peace and stability of our state and its people.
We can no longer be left behind in the schemes of things in this country. This is a clarion call on any in coming governor come 2019.
The late Mamman Ali, designed a comprehensive and well articulated policy on education which if it were implemented would have save the state from being one of the educationally disadvantage state in the country.
The 17 boarding primary schools build by Mamman Ali in all the 17 local government areas which will in turn serve as a feeder to Yobe College and Yobe College a feeder to Yobe state University is not enough but it would have quenched our thirsts quality education in the state.
This derailment by Gaidam’s administration has impugned all ideas of democracy and good governance and also dampened the morale of the people of the state and we are calling on whosoever that is coming to as a matter of urgency and importance to look into this area with the aims of tackling it head on.
Another project which was embarked upon by the Gaidam administration and has no much social, economic and political value to the people of Yobe state is the International Cargo Airport under construction at the initial contract sum of N5.6 billion.
Some political Analysts in the state are of the view that these amount of money could have been used to build a modern market since which the state capital lacks since creation in 1991 which would have also be a good source of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the state or it would have been used to constructs more housing units across the state.
These and of course other demanding issues are areas that the incoming leader of the state have to face head on in order to put the state on the tract of modern development.
Gaidam may perhaps be the first George Marshal that we have had as governor, the intellectual student of accounting. He is a man who has his own image of the world and where his people fit in.
Our calls on the good people of Yobe come 2019 is we should not chose a leader because we like him, we should chose a leader because we belief he is capable of bringing development and delivering the dividends of democracy.
Sale is a freelance journalist and can be reached at: bappadam2000@yahoo.com
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