Virtually all states of the federation have their epithets. For instance, Plateau state prides itself as ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’; Lagos state lays claim to ‘Centre of Excellence’; Bauchi state is competing with its neighbour, Plateau, as ‘Pearl of Tourism’; ‘Centre of Unity’ belongs to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja; Nasarawa state is ‘Home of Solid Minerals’ and Benue state wants to be known and called ‘Food Basket of the Nation’.
All the states strive to live up to their monikers. And Gombe, otherwise referred to as ‘Jewel in the Savannah’, is one of such states.
At the invitation of the Governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, I had the opportunity of hugging the ‘Jewel’ last week in company of two other top editorial staff of this paper, namely Hajia Zainab Suleiman-Okino, the Editor-in-Chief and Mr. Chamba Simeh, the General Editor.
I had looked forward to seeing Gombe again after several years. In fact, the feeling of nostalgia overwhelmed me when we boarded the Arik aircraft at the Abuja International Airport at about 11.55 am penultimate Wednesday for the 45-minute flight to the Gombe International Airport.
My first ever trip to Gombe was in the mid-sixties and it was an unusual one. A close buddy, Layi Olagbemiro, had recruited me as a mercenary to play for the first XI of his school in Jos, Baptist Primary School situated along Ibrahim Dasuki Street, during one of my sorties into the Tin City shortly after my primary education in Abeokuta where I was the football captain.
I had a couple of training sessions with the team where I played as a central defender, while Layi dazzled from the left wing. He scored a brace during the match that ended 4 – 1 against another Baptist Primary School in Gombe. I had a goal to my credit from a penalty kick to justify my recruitment and got paid handsomely. Layi, now late, went on to become a legend of the Mighty Jets FC of Jos. He also featured in the Green Eagles in the 70s.
We arrived at the Gombe International Airport and were received by the Media Consultant to the Governor, Malam Dahiru Kera who drove us to the Government House, Gombe. One sight that first caught our attention was the road leading to the city centre because we kept asking ourselves if we were still within the Abuja City Centre. A dual carriage way free of filth and fitted with streetlights, complemented by superb drainages welcomed us all along to the Government House.
In less than two hours of arrival, we were ushered in to meet with our chief host, Governor Dankwambo. The reception was beyond our expectations. At the courtesy call was a strong representation of his administration: the Deputy Governor, Hon. Charles Ya’u lliya; the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. James Pisagih; the Head of Service, Alhaji Adamu Haruna Abubakar; the Commissioner of Information, Hon. Umar Suleiman Nafada; the Chief of Staff, Hon. Ahmed Yayari, the Principal Private Secretary, Dr. Sani Jauro and Malam Dahiru Kera, the Media Consultant to the governor.
Governor Dankwambo spoke highly of Blueprint, confessing that it is one of the Nigerian dailies north of the Niger that are objective, fearless and vibrant. The compliments, though not new to us, literally pumped our heads! He urged the management to keep up the wonderful job.
After the visit that lasted about 30 or so minutes, we took our leave of our chief host but we did not retire for the day which was still young. Curiosity to explore the state capital got the better part of us. So, it was decided that after taking some rest even though were not under any fatigue and no jet lag, we should explore the beauty of the state capital. We wanted to know whether the expressway from the airport was the only good road passing through the town as it is the case with some state capitals.
We undertook a tour of the streets in the Gombe Metropolis guided by the Commissioner of Information himself along with the media consultant, and we could not believe our eyes. All the streets, interwoven with one another to the remotest corner of the town, were well tarred and provided with drainages. Worthy of note is the fact that the inhabitants kept the drainages clean. No one saw them as destinations for dumping of refuse as it is the case in most cities across the nation.
At a point, I told Malam Kera in whose car we undertook the tour that I had seen enough of good roads and that I was on the lookout for the bad ones. I saw none during the close to two hours of combing the town! It was also like daytime at night because the streetlights were all functional. Abuja should go to Gombe and learn one or two things in this regard! The good road network is not confined to the Gombe Township alone. Dankwambo has replicated same in all the local government areas.
The next day being Thursday was a flight-free day. So, we cashed in on the opportunity to visit more places. Our first port of call for the day was the International Conference Centre situated along the Airport Expressway. The imposing building which is about 15-minute drive from the airport is an architectural grandeur fitted with glasses. The Centre has a 1,000-sitting capacity hall. It also has 13 other adjoining halls and a cinema hall to seat 126 viewers. Flung to the back of the centre is a massive space for a five-star hotel. The project with an initial cost of N4bn is an eye-popping landmark of the Dankwambo administration.
Also located along the expressway is a Petrol Tanker Parking Bay fitted with all manner of facilities like fire service and an office space. It has a space to park more than 100 trailers. The idea behind the Bay which would soon become operational is to avoid indiscriminate presence of tankers in the metropolis which endangers the populace in the event of break failures that are common with such heavy duty vehicles.
Our visit to the Idi Women and Children’s Hospital awaiting commissioning was also an eye-opener. The facility is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment that would impact positively on the populace.
The Dankwambo administration is admired for spreading development to all the nooks and crannies of the state. There is hardly any Local Government Area that has not felt the full impact of the governor’s infrastructure delivery in the close to seven years that he has been in the saddle.
Attempting to itemise Dankwambo’s achievements in this limited space would amount to attempting to empty River Niger using a teaspoon! I make bold to say that at the end of his tenure, Dankwambo will leave behind legacies that would be difficult to match let alone surpass.
As we departed Gombe, regarded as one on the fastest growing cities in that part of the country, I kept wondering where the helmsman was getting the resources to develop the state and still paying salaries and pensions when other states are wallowing in arrears. Certainly, Dankwambo does not have a minting machine at the Government House! Parsimony is the watchword of most accountants. And he is one!
