Al-Makura best for Nasarawa south

Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, the architect of modern Nasarawa state, representing representing Nasarawa south, Nasarawa state, is a man of history and destiny who does not take the electorate’s mandate for granted. Whenever given the opportunity to serve, he performs beyond expectations, leaving many agape marvelling at the secret behind his success. These attributes have not only kept him soaring in politics but stands him out among Nasarawa politicians.

His standing as a revered political leader in Nasarawa state today distinguishes him as a gold fish that has no hidden place in Nasarawa politics. Love or hate him, you cannot take away the fact that he is an embodiment of humility and a performer who has written his name in the sands of time in the politics, governance and development of the state which will be very difficult if not impossible to replicate let alone surpass in the history of Nasarawa state.

Al-Makura’s private and public life is characterised sacrifices and services to God and humanity. This is why he always triumph in his politics and always succeeds to put his detractors and ethnic champions to shame as their understanding of politics, governance and representation is not beyond ethnicity, which he has since buried when he was governor.

The Sardaunan Kwandare took Nasarawa politics by storm with his brand of progressive politics of development leaving his footprints in the sands of time which will continue to speak for him, and has been following him wherever he goes in his political sojourn to the awe of his detractors.

What distinguishes Al-Makura from his detractors, apart from his ability to spring surprises with performance, is the fact that, the senator did not venture into politics as an opportunist. This is unlike most of his detractors hiding under ethnicity to realise their selfish political interest. Al-Makura came into politics as a well established business man, astute and tested politician who has been in the political circle since in second republic, holding several positions.

Al-Makura was the state youth leader of the defunct National Oarty of Nigeria (NPN) in the then Plateau state in the second republic and member of its National Executive Committee. He was the state secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in the aborted third republic and held other political positions which culminated in his election to the House of Representatives representing Lafia/Obi federal constituency.

These were achieved after many years of hardwork, commitments, resilience and perseverance, having built a formidable business empire spanning beyond the shores of Nigeria – he has business tentacles and connections within and outside the country. Al-Makura’s simplicity, love for the common man, passion for humanity and penchant for development prompted the people of Nasarawa state to drag him into the gubernatorial race in 2011 to salvage the state.

He was arrested, detained and all coercive apparatus deployed against him all in a bid to frustrate his gubernatorial race. But Al-Makura refused to bend let alone break in his determination to salvage the people of the state. He made history as the only politician in Nasarawa to defeat an incumbent governor, leaving a legacy of the best performing governor since the creation of the state.

Within his eight years as governor, Al-Makura raised the bar of governance to its peak, re-wrote the development history of the state and turned Nasarawa into a model of good governance and infrastructural development in Nigeria with his legacies and footprints scattered across the state. This endeared him to the masses and made the people of Nasarawa south to elect him as their senator in 2019.

As a senator, Al-Makura has left no one in doubt that, his mission in the National Assembly is to serve the people of Nasarawa south with the same commitment, passion and zeal as he did as governor by giving his people effective and result-oriented representation that is second to none in the history of the senatorial district

Within his almost four years in the red chamber, the people of Nasarawa south have continued to reap true dividends of democracy with many achievements recorded. They include legislative responsibilities, project execution,, attracting federal presence to his constituency, among others.

As a senator, Al-Makura has continued to make the voice of his people heard not only in the National Assembly but also in Nigerian politics and governance. He glorified the name of his senatorial district and the state in the eyes of the world with his vibrancy, oratoral skills, intellectual prowess, frequent and brilliant contributions to debates, building more bridges which enable him to attract more projects to his people through various government ministries, departments and agencies.

Within four years as a senator, Al-Makura has construct and rehabilitated many urban and rural roads in all the five local government areas of his senatorial district. They include construction of rural access road in Shabu, Ashige-Ugah – Fadaman Bauna in Lafia local government area, among others.

On education, Al-Makura carried out massive renovation of schools, construction of classrooms, provision of educational materials to schools across his senatorial district where millions of naira was expanded geared towards reviving the education sector of Nasarawa south. Some of the benefiting schools include Danka Primary School near Kwandare, Randam Sarki Primary School, Gidan Sule Primary School Kadarko, Asha Primary School Azara, among others

Al-Makura has also made giant strides in the area of electrification and water supply which saw the distribution and installation of transformers to communities,, drilling of motorised boreholes, installation of integrated solar street lights in Lafia, Awe, Keana, Obi and Doma. He also supports community development efforts. There are also intervention in the healthcare and empowerment of women and youth

There is, therefore, no better way for the people of Nasarawa south to reciprocate Al-Makura’s gestures than coming out en masse on Saturday, February 25, 2023, to put ethnic bigots to shame by re-electing Senator Al-Makura to sustain the gains of people-centred representation. Al-Makura remains the best and only option for Nasarawa south in 2023.

Abari writes from Lafia, Nasarawa state