It was an unusual move but well commended as it shows the sensitivity of Governor Babagana Zulum towards the pains of his people when he took the fist-ever state government retreat for cabinet members to Damasak, the stronghold of Boko Haram. SADIQ ABUBAKAR chronicles it all.
Many Borno indigenes living within and outside the state were taken aback recently precisely on Sunday October 20, 2019 when the state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, surprised everybody by taking the entire commissioners he appointed into his cabinet few months ago into the Boko Haram stronghold in Damasak town for a retreat on his 10-point agenda which centres on post insurgency rebuilding process.
The town which has been severally attacked by the terrorists and still under their threats frustrates government and military’s effort to safeguard lives and property of the citizenry in that extreme northern part of the state.
A meeting which was the first of its kind in recent times and the political history of the state since the Second Republic was initiated and presided over by the governor himself to avail his cabinet members of happenings and new strategies adopted towards actualising the agenda of the administration.
This no doubt, left nobody in doubt as to what Governor Zulum has in mind for the people of Borno and his unique ways of doing things, especially, in surprising people in his simplified and intelligent manners as an academician and technocrat who was in the local government civil service administration for almost 12 years before his emergence as a professor of Agricultural Engineering and subsequently as governor of the state.
The town Damasak
Damasak town which is the headquarters of Mobbar LGA of Borno is located at about 145 kilometers away from the state capital, Maiduguri city passing through black spots like Gubio and Magumeri towns and LGAs respectively, including town which are all Boko Haram-dominated zones to the border town of Damasak, an hour drive to Diffa Province in Niger Republic to hold a maiden SEC meeting/ retreat with all the top state government officials and commissioners.
This was his first retreat for commissioners, special advisers and senior government officials like the secretary to the state government, head of service and chief of staff in Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar local government, an area that has remained a shadow of itself since it was occupied by the sect to be one of their caliphates. Damasak is also a major agrarian community in the fringes of the Lake Chad Basin that is less than 10 kilometres away from Diffa in Niger Republic once occupied and administered by Boka Haram Insurgents from November, 2014 to 2016 before it was recovered by the Multinational Joint Task Force.
It had come under repeated attacks by the insurgents including early 2019 where thousands of citizens who live there mostly dependent on food aid and skeletal businesses were rendered homeless.
It’s face-to-face with realities – Zulum
Zulum, however, told his cabinet members in his opening remarks that the choice of the town was to bring top government officials face to face with the realities on ground and to remind them that their appointments were not opportunities for luxury but for the serious task ahead of them.
“By tradition, retreats are held in the most serene and often times luxurious place, however, holding retreats under serene atmosphere is reserved for those who live and operate under normal circumstances.
“Fellow members of the state executive council, I would like to remind us very strongly that our circumstances in Borno state are not normal. If we decide to hold our retreats in Maiduguri, Abuja or perhaps at Obudu Cattle ranch in Cross-Rivers state, we may not totally be true to ourselves and that shows insensitivity to the plight of our people. The wisdom of convening this retreat in Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area in the most troubled northern part of Borno state, is to bring all of us face to face with the realities of our challenges in Borno.
“Driving from Maiduguri to this place, we have passed major towns like Gubio and Kareto which have become near-ghosts of what they used to be. We have seen villages that are without human occupation. We have seen on the road, soldiers at different points, clearly indicating that all is not normal with Borno,” Zulum said.
He further added that, “Damasak, where we are today, used to be one of Borno’s agro-economic centre. Damasak used to be a large scale producer and exporter of farm produce like tomatoes, pepper and other vegetables.
“Thousands of wealthy farmers, transporters and other fellow citizens have been killed, displaced to Niger Republic and forced to become beggars. We are here to remind ourselves that the oath of offices we differently took in May, June, August and September, 2019 is not for luxury.
“Borno has serious challenges and we have individually sworn with the Holy Qur’an and the Holy Bible to do whatever we can in trying to address the challenges facing Borno state.”
Zulum also tasked the commissioners, advisers and other participants to see Damasak as an example that tells the realities of the 27 local government areas in the state.
He also said time-lines are going to be created for the attainment of goals determined at the retreat.
“At this retreat, ladies and gentlemen, we shall not only come up with ideas that are achievable but Insha ’Allah, we shall be setting for ourselves time-lines within which we are to achieve every goal we aim.
“We are here to spend only few days in Damasak but there are thousands of our fellow brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, who live here on permanent basis.
We are here to feel their stay and to remind us of their needs for continued safety, their needs for shelter, their needs for medical care, their needs for water, their needs for schools, their needs for means of livelihoods.
“When we drove into this lodge, we saw hundreds of our young sons and daughters welcoming us happily. We saw wives, sisters, mothers and fathers joining as they welcome us.
“Whereas they all wore happy faces, we know that majority of them are in distress. We should therefore regard Damasak as an example of the realities facing all of our 27 local government areas particularly those in northern Borno,” Zulum said.
SSG commends Zulum for his courage
Before the Governor’s remarks, the secretary to the state government, Alhaji Usman Jidda Shuwa, said the retreat which he commended the governor’s ingenious choice of location, was meant for top government officials to cross-fertilise ideas towards better service- delivery in line with the governor’s vision and approach to governance.
“it is indeed a global best practices for political leaders and business executives to go on retreat away from familiar working environment and routine social and domestic pressures to serene locations to brainstorm on policy issues and come up with pragmatic strategy for effective and efficient programme implementations.
“This practice is abandoned for years even before the security challenges. We sincerely appreciate the ingenuity and foresight of Governor Zulum for reintroducing this activity.
“The current political disposition, the momentum and style of leadership requires serious reorientation of all of us. We need to understand the philosophy of the new leader, the goals and objectives before we can be effective members of transformation team,” Shuwa said.
The retreat had resource persons who discussed topics peculiar to the challenges facing the state and suggestions on way forward for the state.
However, this first executive council retreat in Damasak town and former stronghold of Boko Haram terrorists was an acclaimed event with a view to acquainting the people of the area with the reality of the challenges of reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of post-insurgency rebuilding process. It was held at the Conference Hall of the local government council secretariat.
