Bauchi 2019: The twists and turns, by SANI S. KABIRU

The political atmosphere is gradually boiling over and bristling as the clock is ticking and stroking towards the 2019 general elections.
In all the political stamping grounds, permutations, calibrations and positioning have taken the centre stage by individuals, groups, and political parties to either wrest power or maintain the status quo for another democratic regime. It has been a political ritual, whenever electioneering approaches, the political atmosphere becomes saturated and cloudier with cloaks and daggers by the day. Indeed, for these reasons, the increasing campaigns and heated political debates and fuming with overstretched captions and news on both the social and conventional platforms all attributed to the long awaited 2019 general elections have been part of the political struggles.
In Bauchi state, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) under the leadership of His Excellency, Barrister Muhammed Abdullahi Abubakar Esq. (Makama Babba), has its own contending but surmountable and conquerable challenges all tied to the overbearing interests of the political gladiators in the upcoming elections. Governor Abubakar is destined to be governor of the state and redeemer cum administrative salvager of the comatose and gobbled up state left by the former regime of Malam Isa Yuguda with siphoned treasury and salaries paid to workers like alms and at a time so wished by the powers that be culminating in demoralizing workers who were owed a backlog of salaries.
Indeed, it was a trap set up for an incoming governor to fail. Imagine a governor inheriting flat broke state with hard up internally generated revenue, IGR, accrued internal and external debt, dwindling federal government allocation due to the sharp fall of oil revenue at the international market, and above all, an empty treasury. Before the 2015 elections, there was an array of gubernatorial aspirants in the APC but M.A. Abubakar was the preferred candidate by all well-meaning sons and daughters of the state. Thus, he succeeded in flying the APC flag and subsequently defeated the PDP’s candidate.
This feat was achieved in spite of the odds and thorns occasioned by the power of incumbency and financial muscles of the then ruling PDP in the state. But after the emergence of MA, the genuineness of the intentions of the other aspirants in the APC was put to test. Instead of accepting the “Will of Allah” and joining hands with the Abubakar administration to move the state forward and unshackle her from the financial bondage and chains, some of them ganged up and challenged his emergence in the court.
While the case was ongoing, another adversary camp emerged and was championed by mostly members of the National Assembly in both the green and red chambers. It’s a good quality of a good leader to be brave, focused and determined to move on a thorny and bumpy ride. Governor Abubakar has proven and demonstrated to the good people of Bauchi state his ingenuity and dexterity to better their lives and reposition the state on the progressive path. It requires commitment to summon courage to do what M.A. has done in Bauchi state in spite of the glaring challenges of confronting legal tussle, internal and external political aggressors while on the other hand, executing various projects in all the sectors of the economy.
Today, roads have been constructed in various parts of the state, schools and hospitals were equally constructed, agricultural activities and incentives have increased, leading to bumper harvest in the state, jobs were created with massive investment in skills acquisition programmes, the backlog of salaries is now history with workers receiving their dues as at when due.
The recent working visit by President Muhammadu Buhari and his comments on the prudent management of scarce resources by the Abubakar administration is a morale booster for us to give him all the support he deserves. We should rally round him for continuity and consolidation of his administration in 2019 and beyond. A visibly inspired and inspirited PMB during the visit issued an inspiring word to Makama Babba, “I am happy that you have judiciously utilized the bailout and Paris Club funds to settle the inherited backlog of salaries and execute viable projects in the state.” President Buhari, who was on a two-day state visit, commissioned various road projects executed on by Governor Abubakar in his administration’s urban renewal drive in three major towns of Bauchi, Azare, and Misau. On the government’s massive agricultural mechanization drive, the President flagged off the procurement and distribution of 500 75hp tractors complete with 4 sets of implements each where 40 tractors, 60 ox-driven ploughs with 2 ox each, 40 agricultural tricycles.
40 mini trucks were distributed as the first phase of the programme together with 40 sets of sewing machines. 40 sets of generators and complete starter packs were equally distributed as empowerment package. In fact, Bauchi state under M.A. Abubakar is on the part of economic rebirth and rejuvenation and we will not allow selfish politicians to hoodwink and mortgage our future in the name of politics. Though, cowards die thousands of times before their real death but the heroes die only once.
Governor Abubakar won the legal battle at the Supreme Court. He conducted peaceful, transparent and unparalleled congresses in the state to the chagrin of his adversaries. In 2019, he will equally emerge triumphant against all the evil machinations of the Abuja-based politicians that resorted to fight only on the pages of newspapers from their comfort zones either at home or farms avoiding all the party’s machinery for reconciliation. Kabiru writes from Bauchi