Before I delve into this piece, I want to state that, I am not a fan or a follower of former governor of Adamawa state, Senator Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow. I have never met the man but then let’s call a spade a spade.
I read with sadness a malicious story titled; ‘APC chieftain Jibrilla Bindow stole N62 billion from Adamawa bank accounts’ on online medium, People Gazette.
It was alleged in the story that, a discreet investigation by a government agency has uncovered that Senator Bindow participated in looting the state’s treasury to the tune of N62 billion. N62bn? Haba!
The story further alleged that agency’s intelligence department carried out a forensic analysis of Adamawa’s finances under Bindow’s watch and uncovered billions in stolen and diverted funds through several bank accounts linked to him.
I am no journalism professional but you don’t need to be one to see the malice and falsehood lines in that story, it’s sad that at a time this country needs unity, a few media outlets have allowed themselves o be used for witch-hunt with false stories.
Any indigene of Adamawa state, who was in Adamawa during Bindow’s administration knows that this story is false and malicious. Adamawa state has never had such billions for any man to launder and with the kind of projects executed by his administration, it cannot divert such funds – it’s just not possible.
There are only two states in Nigeria where a governor will divert N62bn and it won’t cripple the economy of the state – Lagos and Rivers. And if anyone is telling me that, Bindow executed these projects and still diverted N62bn then Adamawa is the richest state in this country and I have no business in the engineering construction, I should join the guber race.
The big question here is, why are we seeing this kind of story on Senator Bindow when there are unconfirmed reports about his stay in the ruling APC. Why now and why Bindow? With this sad development, it will drum up the notion that a section of the government is using some government agencies to witch-hunt people seen as the enemies of the APC or threats to the party’s victory come 2023.
Sometimes, I just sit and wonder, if these politicians understand that it is God who giveth power and it is Him who taketh it when He wants and how He wants. To answer that, I don’t think they know that, if they do, we won’t be seeing this high level campaign of calumny, smearing and intimidation.
And these things seem to happen more often in our dearest Adamawa state. I am not writing this piece to commend or condemn any politician or his aspiration, no. I am just here to analyse the situation and write my unbiased opinion, as Adamawa is our home and we will be the best beneficiaries or victims if it becomes better or a failed state.
By the way, let’s just leave politics and differences aside and say the truth, we all know alot of Adamawa politicians are jealous of Bindow’s unprecedented achievements in Adamawa state, nothing they do or say will take away the fact that Bindow has been by far the most outstanding governor in the state.
I do not know of anybody in Adamawa who has held a leadership position from the state to the national level that has touched the lives of many people in the state like Bindow. There is no politician here who hasn’t been influenced by the goodwill of Bindow’s administration and I am sure that many years from now all of us and generation after will remember Bindow as the man who transformed Adamawa and made it what it is today.
Bindow has shown that governance with the people in mind, with the common man in mind is possible and that it is possible to impact the lives of all our people if we are dedicated and committed. And all of this is evident in his laudable projects across the health, education, infrastructure, youth and women empowerment, agriculture as well as security.
Bindow has continuously worked for the success and progressive ideals and politics in the state. Therefore, it is baffling that he is treated with such disdain. And we all know the governor has done very well in all areas of governance – roads, education, health, empowerment and security. Bindow has simply done more for Adamawa in three years than all his predecessors have done in two decades.
Engineer Madu writes from Yola, Adamawa state via [email protected]
