In few weeks, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura will clock one year in office. MU’AZU ABARI x-rays his leadership style
In the words of Ronald Regan former president of the United States of America “People without knowledge of their past history are like tree without root” he also added that “we in government should learnt to look at our country or states with the eye of the entrepreneur seeing possibilities where others seen only problems” on his part, Robins Sharma asserted that’ all great thinkers and achievers are initially ridiculed and eventually revered.
Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, no doubt is a shining example of such thinkers and achievers and will go down into history as the only politician in the history of Nasarawa politics who succeeded to clear all obstacles put on his way to defeat an incumbent Governor (ex-Governor Doma) initially seen as a mirage in the politics of Nasarawa state a dream which Sen. Haruna Abubakar of blessed memory sacrificed his time, energy and resources to accomplished but unfortunately he did not lived long to realized this dream during his life time.
Al-Makura came into the politics of Nasarawa State when the citizens completely lost confidence in governance and ability of politicians to turned around the fortune of the state for good courtesy of visionless and incompetent leadership exhibited by his predecessors particularly the last PDP administration of ousted ex-governor Doma adjudged by most people of the state as the worst ever in the history of Nasarawa politics which is synonymous with not having a government at all in Nasarawa State which no state will ever prayed to experienced that type of clueless leadership for the second time.
From the beginning of his aspiration for Shendam road Government House Lafia to his emergence as a governor was a lesson on how not to take the people for granted and story of uncommon humility humane disposition, love for the common man, passion and commitments to developed Nasarawa State and take it to a greater height inline with the dreams and expectations of its founding fathers coupled on with his antecedents in both private and public sectors which make him the darling of all.
These attributes exhibited by him constituted parts of the reason why the people of Nasarawa State in the build up to 2011 election saw him as a credible alternative to Doma hence their decision to drag him into the gubernatorial race of the state and stood by him through thin and thick even in the face of political persecution, harassments and witch hunting by those who felt threatened by his growing popularity and resort to naked used of power in their desperate efforts to stopped him which never see the light of the day as he crux into victory to emerged as a governor to their disbelieved in what analysis described as the “first political revolution” in the history of Nasarawa politics.
His victory was seen as a triumph of the ordinary people of the state over the elitist class who continued to hold the state to ransom making it impossible for the state to move forward as a result of plundering of its resources by these tiny but powerful minority and this have rekindled the hope of the people and celebrated in all the nook and cranny of the state as the electorates look forward to him and his administration with high level of optimism to change the fortune of the state for better as promised during his electioneering campaign and in his inaugural address.
On what he want the people of Nasarawa State to remember him for at the end of his tenure knowing fully the legacy he intent to leave behind in line with his vision for the state Al-Makura said: “Let it be said, when the modern history of our state comes to be written that when we are tried and tested we were not found lacking in moral fibre, that we did not falter or even flinch, and that when finally we took our exit we left Nasarawa State in a far better form and shape than we have found it, or than anyone had ever dared to imagine”
On assumption to office, Al-Makura came face to face with intimidating challenges, arrays of problems and rots in all sectors of the state beyond human imagination as never experienced by any governor in the history of Nasarawa State.
With his re-election in 2015 Al-Makura left no one in doubt that his focus is to build upon and consolidate on his achievements, continued with priority areas of his government such as the infrastructural development of the state, education and health as well as other vital sectors and also improved the economy of the state and initiate new projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the ordinary people of Nasarawa.
Unfortunately, his second term came at a time of dwindling resources which affect governments at all levels making it difficult for most state governors to even paid salaries and arrears of their civil servants much more of executing projects. Luckily enough for us in Nsarawa State despite the financial crunch Al-Makura have gone beyond prompt payment of salaries to execution of new projects except at the local governments level where most chairmen find it difficult to meet up with this obligations despite the bait out funds and financial autonomy granted them by the administration who abolished state/local governments joint account.
Despite state government efforts towards the betterment of the civil servants and prompt payment of their salaries which is higher than their counterparts in other states that were even financially beyond than Nasarawa the labour leadership decided to wake up a day to hand over 21 demands and ultimatum to Al-Makura administration which should all be implemented at the same time knowing fully the current financial predicaments faced by governments at all levels believed by most people to be a deliberate plot to bring the government to ridiculed and forced it to abandoned its airport project which theyinitially kicked against.
Even when negotiations were still ongoing with government consenting to some of their demands they decided to go on strike which cripple government activities education and health sectors for over two weeks before the issue were resolved in the best interest of the state which the opponents of the administration continued to celebrate and make an issue out of it for their own selfish political interest ahead of 2019 election.
In case they have forgotten they need to be reminded that during their own time government activities was disrupted severally on issues that have to do with non-payment of salaries to the extent that Akwe Doma administration ended his tenure with all the gates to tertiary institutions and hospitals under locks and keys due to prolong strike actions for over nine months before the expiration of his tenure which he was unable to resolve until Al-Makura came on board to resolved it.
Faced with this challenges of dwindling resources and the urgent need to diversify and explore other alternative sources of revenue to enable government execute more projects Al-Makura in his wisdom decided to embarked upon a cargo airport in Lafia to boost the economy of the state.
The Lafia cargo airport project is carefully conceived to provide alternative sources of income to guarantee more services to the people of the state while at the same time create employment opportunities to the jobless youth as well as improved the economy of the state and encouraged foreign investors among many other lucrative benefits.
In view of the huge capital investment needed to execute this project expected to gulf the sum of N17bn and taking into consideration the current economic reality of the state and the country, Al-Makura decided to spread his business tentacles and connections where he succeeded to get foreign investors a Chinese company Messr Tongyi Engineering Ltd who agreed to inject almost N13bn into this project through private public partnership which constituted 75% of the total cost of the project with Nasarawa State Government expected to pay only 25% of the total cost of the project which stood at a little over N4bn.
Regrettably, instead of appreciating Al-Makura efforts for this breakthrough after the failure of their government in the last 12 years to attract a single foreign investment into the state despite the huge public funds wasted on this mission without any result the governor detractors and frustrated politicians who failed to provide a common boreholes to their immediate communities despite holding juicy positions in government at various times resorted to blackmailed, misinformation and personal attacks against the governor over this project giving it erroneous interpretations geared towards pitching the people against the government borne out of envy and jittery.
For anybody to say that Al-Makura’s government lacks policy direction that person seriously needs his head to be reexamined and even those outside the state can attest that Nasarawa State never have it so good like under the present administration of Governor Al-Makura therefore, to accuse such a government that has done so much for the people of Nasarawa State and clean up the messed the left behind and change the future of the state within just 5 years of responsible leadership is not only laughable but a demonstration of political shamelessness which will not restore their battered image ahead of 2019.
Al-Makura may not have the solutions to all the problems affecting the people of Nasarawa State but he has proved to be a messiah and the best governor in the history of Nasarawa State in terms of performance. He has come, seen and conquered and achieved within just 5 years what his detractors and their party could not even dream of much more of achieving in all their 12 years of nothingness put together. As he clocks one year into his second tenure most people expect that his remaining 3 years will bring more development and prosperity to the people of Nasarawa.
