Your Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, the governor of Jigawa state, I greet you sir. I also want to use this opportunity to wish you the very best of everything. Ramadan has come and gone. So, I will now wish you Barka da sallah.
Sir you have entered into the sixth year of an eight year journey (May 29, 2015-May 29, 2020). May the lessons you learnt in your previous five years administration, the lessons of Ramadan especially the features of last 10 days, the Covid-19 pandemic experience and service to God, society and humanity in general will help and guide your next steps as the governor of this hopeful and promising state, Jigawa, to perform well in order to move the state to the greatest height.
The tenure of governor Badaru has been characterided by chains of criticisms like the distribution of stoves and goats to widows and women as an empowerment and poverty eradication agenda. I thought governor Badaru from onset will follow suit the way of his predecessor, Sule Lamido did for the establishment, renovation, upgrading and equipping of Jigawa skills acquisition centres in Kazaure, Hadejia, Gumel, Ringim, Duste and Birnin-Kudu which together trained thousands of youths in various skills which earned Jigawa state credit as the most valuable and active state on youth and women empowerment programmes.
Also the establishment of Kila cassava processing plant (company) by the Lamido administration in Gwaram LG was meant to empower youth and adult of both gender. The reduction of ministries, MDAs and government agencies in your first tenure wasn’t a welcome idea because it added unemployment crisis in the state.
Sir, substandard projects executed in your administration should not be tolerated because of fire brigade approach, lack of monitoring, supervision and evaluation on construction of roads, drainages, classrooms and culverts, etc. There is a segregation by Jigawa state APC led government because opposition party faithful were treated as second class indigenes in the local and state affairs.
To this regard, we want to remind or appeal to Governor Badaru to revisit some policies initiated by your predecessor. The WEAC/NECO/NABTEB performances are not encouraging. To this regard, Jigawa state is deteriorating. Something urgent should be put in place with sincerity of purpose and focus to address this menace.
The towns and streets encroachment in some major towns in the state is another disturbing issue. The state government should revisit the township planning act, instruct LGA chairmen with the collaboration of security agencies, traditional rulers and community associations to report, stop and arrest anybody with this act and also religious leaders should be intimated to engage in preaching by bringing out the consequences of land encroachment based on religious injunctions.
Also, health sector, especially the conditions of our hospitals and dearth of manpower, should be looked into. Scholarship package is another disturbing issue in this present administration because the payment doesn’t start in the first year of study but till the end of third year in school. Streets light issue became a nightmare because many are not functioning. The issue of J-power should be revisited. Proper employment should be done not on casual. Yes employment is better than empowerment in this context. The state government should employ or fill vacant positions in order to reduce unemployment and make work more efficient.Unemployment is a serious menace in the state. Many graduates are roaming the street, willing and ready to work but no work to do. Even the empowerment programme (cluster farming) was dead on arrival because proper modalities were not in place from the inception. Your administration is not giving serious attention to the state varsity, Sule Lamido University, Kafin-Hausa, because besides the remaining 20 percent of some few projects you completed, no one can show any other thing new. So, there is need for the governor to do something urgently in the varsity in order to move the varsity and the state forward.
Excellency, I will be frank with you. If most of the issues raised will not be attended to, I will finally give up on your government. I have seen enough reasons to lose faith because Jigawa is lagging behind. You should as well bear with any criticisms, opposition and problems that might have come your way. It is good to continue to be faithful, honest, patient and dedicated to accountability and transparency as the focus of your government.
It won’t be out of place if I eulogise and appreciate you for continuing with some previous regime’s uncompleted or unfinished projects. It takes a courageous step, generous mind and positive thinking to do that. Thank you Excellency. The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. I wish His Excellency the best of everything. We hope and pray for a peaceful, united and a progressive Jigawa.
Adamu, media aide to former Governor Sule Lamido, writes from Kafin Hausa, Jigawa state
