As members of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and, indeed, politicians across party divides, friends, associates and family members of Alhaji Mai Mala Buni converge today to witness his taking of the oath of office as the Executive Governor of Yobe state, the day, May 29, 2019, would remain unforgettable in the history of Yobe state.
An accomplished politician with a humble background would then be saddled at the helm of affairs to steer the ship of the state to the Promised Land. His coming is a blessing to the good people of Yobe state as the stage would be set for good governance, which has been the hallmark of Buni throughout his public service career.
Continuity and consolidation are major aspects he would possibly dwell on as the outgoing administration has laid a good and formidable foundation on which to build the modern Yobe state with strong robust infrastructural base that will propel the state towards economic, political and social viability.
As a party administrator with organisational prowess, where he offered a new perspective on party leadership on which platform he contested and won his election, the new Yobe state governor has a portrait of the quintessential politician.
With the dawn of a new era in Yobe state, the Buni administration will, no doubt, provide the dividends of democracy which include infrastructural development, human capital development, health care delivery, road construction, education, agriculture, youth and women empowerments as well as workers welfare.
The new Yobe helmsman is, undoubtedly, passionate about his people. His mission is to make Yobe state a model where success stories would be recorded. No doubt, he would be dedicated and committed to the progress of the state and redefine governance to meet the expected aspirations of the common people within the state.
Buni’s political trajectory puts him in a good stead to lead Yobe state to the Eldorado. Born on November 11, 1967, Mai Mala Buni is a thorough bred party grassroots politician, who rose through the ranks to become the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Legislative Matters, the pioneer Chairman of the governing All progressives Congress (APC) in Yobe state as well as the National Secretary of the party. He played a stabilising role in the APC, which earned him a re-election into the post. Buni developed a political network of friends across the country particularly when he served as the National Secretary of the APC.
A silent operator, Mai Mala Buni has been described as an asset to Yobe state because of his capacity to bring the state into national political limelight and attract various projects from the federal government. Though Yobe is a rural state with various challenges of development, especially bedeviled with the challenges of its own bitter taste of the Boko Haram insurgency, which practically stalled development in areas that have direct impact on the human capital development indices, the state under Governor Buni is still expected to glow among the comity of states.
In the face of the security challenge in the state, the out-going Governor Ibrahim Gaidam is generally adjudged to have performed well in building the confidence of the citizenry in the government as well as the provision of infrastructure and social services ranging from health care delivery to schools, roads, agriculture, etc, which many say will be an added advantage to the new governor.
The stage is, therefore, set for Governor Buni to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor and equally expand the frontiers of development in Yobe state. Already, the new governor seemed to have hit the ground running when he outlined the four pillars on which hisadministration’s development agenda is anchored. They include: 1) Social investment, 2) Knowledge economy, 3) Infrastructural and industrial development and 4) Agriculture and rural development.
This, indeed, is a laudable and realistic action plan that requires all hands on deck for diligent, pragmatic and faithful implementation in order to achieve the desired objective of the overall development and industrialisation of Yobe state. Thus, Buni must ensure that his cabinet is composed of technocrats who are men and women with proven track record of accomplishment in their previous endeavours. The governor must also make sure that members of his team are free of any stigma of corruption and are people who are desirous to make sacrifices for the accelerated development of Yobe state.
With a good and reliable team, the governor will ‘in sha’ Allah build a virile Yobe state that will be a land flowing with milk and honey; the food basket of the nation; a land where no man is, or feels, oppressed; where every citizen deserves the opportunity to excel and where government officials can be considerate and always make the collective good of all their primary interest.
It is my fervent hope and prayer that in the next 100 days when Governor Buni will be celebrating his first 100 days in office as the governor of Yobe state, the stage would have been set for Yobe state’s greatness in all sectors of the state’s economy including education, health care delivery, agricultural development, roads, water, women and youth empowerment and general massive infrastructural development.
His Excellency sir, please accept my congratulations on your taking over the mantle of leadership of Yobe state today with the assurances that he will not disappoint the people of Yobe state, who are definitely in safe hands.
Here is wishing Governor Mai Mala Buni a successful first term as the governor of Yobe state!
Mrs Okoi, a political analyst, writes from Abuja.
