Bulama Goni Mafa is an APC chieftain and former caretaker chairman of Mafa Local Government Area of Borno state. In an interview with MUSA M BUBA in Abuja recently, he said Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum, has done in less than a year what his predecessors could not do for years in the area of security and social services.
APC has been in power in Borno for a decade now. What has Governor Babagana Zulum done differently within the period he has been in office less than 100 days?
Leadership is all about the ability to deliver the mandates of the party to the followers. It also entails being acceptable to the people. It is true that for over a decade, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been in power in Borno state even when Peoples Democratic Party was at the centre. I however acknowledge that Borno is home to APC and would continue to be, but what Governor Babagana Zulum has done within the few weeks as governor of the state, the residents would live to testify that once upon a time, the state had a leader who had the people at heart. It is a known fact that our biggest challenge in Borno is insecurity brought about by the activities of Boko Haram. However, when Governor Zulum took over the mantle of leadership, he immediately visited Bama and Gwoza to see the plights of the people who were displaced by insurgency. It is therefore no longer news that Bama residents celebrated the 2019 Sallah celebration at home
with their emir. The same thing applies to Gwoza community. There are a lot of international and local non-governmental organisations in Borno state. The problem of food and non-food distribution to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) had always been an issue with the IDPs, humanitarian workers, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) found as culprits in diversion of relief
materials in the past. What the governor did differently was to go spiritual by placing curse on all perpetrators. It may interest you to
know that sanity has come to stay in that direction with no diversion of food and non-food materials any longer. That was what he did differently at over 10 Internally Displaced Persons camps in Monguno, one of largest local government council in the northern part of the state that accommodate all IDPs. Another issue is that due to poverty; youths enrolled themselves into political thuggery so as to get a living for themselves and family. When Governor Zulum took over, he banished the political thugs known as (ECOMOG) and is now empowering them with N30,000 monthly in order to start small and medium enterprises.
Thousands of persons, whose pensions and gratuities were withheld for years, were
all paid and the remaining ones would soon be cleared. In order to provide good health care services, the governor had on several occasions paid unscheduled visits to health institutions at
mid-night to see for himself if truly doctors and other health workers are doing what is expected of them. This brought succour to the challenges of patients that were abandoned at the mercy of God in hospitals and other health facilities. In a nutshell, what the governor did in less than 100 days in office is even beyond what other governors did in a year, so kudos to him.
Security challenge is the major problem of Borno since 2009. Do you think the governor is up to the task of changing the narrative?
O yes, he is. The morale of the security men and civilian JTF has been boosted. It may interest you to know that the governor, from time to time, speaks directly with the security men including those at lower ranks. In fact, he has a dedicated phone number in which one
can call him at all times and this had brought about a turnaround in that regard. The allowances of the civilian JTF personnel that assist the military have been upgraded. All the nooks and crannies that other politicians found it difficult to visit in the past as result of insecurity, the governor has visited all those places, and not only that, he spent days there; so, he is up to the task.
How would you rate the performances of Governor Zulum in less than 100 days?
With almost 90 days in office, I will score the governor 90 per cent in terms of performance rating. By implication, he scores 1 per cent for each day he spends in office. He is doing a wonderful job. Do you know that there are about 190,045 Internally Displaced Persons in Monguno accommodating IDPs from Guzamala, Kukawa, Mobbar, Marte, among others. To feed this population even for a day means a lot. Another fresh issue is the recent flood disaster that displaced many communities in the state. If I say all of us are by that virtue IDPs in Borno state, I would not be wrong because we need to be supported with special fund.
As former local government boss in Mafa, if you are to advise this government, what area would you like the governor to concentrate more?
I would advise him to concentrate on life saving and human development sectors. First is security. When normalcy returns, many would go back home, work freely on their farms, their means of livelihood would be regained, the
poverty level will reduce and dependency would be minimised. No state can be more secured unless it can feed itself. Another sector is human development. I know if the governor
has enough resources at his disposal, he would create more jobs for the teaming youths and women. Most of the security challenges
we are facing is associated with idleness, so human development is very paramount.
The other key sector is health care. As result of the insurgency, many children are now malnourished and many are not immunised
against killer diseases for years now. The IDPs are being exposed to health hazards ranging from cholera to toilets infections, among others. Money needs to be channeled to the sector to tackle child mortality and maternal deaths.
Finally, what is your advice for the people of Borno state?
I will call on all people of Borno to embark on prayers for the total return of peace in our communities and for God to protect and as well guide the governor as he discharges his duties towards uplifting the living standards of the citizenry. The level of our support to the government determines its performance and once that is done, the citizens would reap
the dividends of democracy. So, collectively we will take the state to promise land.
