Let me start by recapping the words of an ancient philosopher and founder of Taoism, Lao-Tzu. He said, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists…when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: we did it ourselves.”
Let me also bring to mind, the latest political incident within the coastline of Kebbi state, which was the conduct of the local government elections in all the 223 wards and 21 local government areas of the state.
Of course, the outcome of the election wasn’t surprising, especially to those who are familiar with the giant strides of Governor Bagudu in the past four years of his stewardship in the state.
As predicted, the APC had overwhelmingly swept all the councillorship and chairmanship positions in the state. This was declared by the Chairman of the Kebbi State Independed Electoral Commission (KESIEC), Alhaji Aliyu Mera, while addressing newsmen in Birnin Kebbi last Thursday.
The peaceful nature of the exercise debunked the notion that whenever election is conducted, there would be expectations of reported chaos, violence and excesses. One stunning thing about that election was that it was peaceful, rancour-free, and fair in all its upshots.
The recent Kebbi local election is evidence that the entire people of the state have identified themselves with the laudable evolving dogma and strategies of the present administration under the astute leadership of Gov. Bagudu which are tailored towards untying the state from the shackles of underdevelopment to economic prosperity.
Certainly, the people of the state are endeared with his Excellency’s achievements and he has written his name in the sand of history that no political hoopla, phony criticism, and name calling will erase it as long as the state exists.
In fact, many people would be marveling and gaping as to why Abubakar Bagudu is always making waves and symbolising the essence of leadership in Kebbi state despite the stark paucity of funds and perpetual in security bedeviling the northern part of the country.
Basically, thoughtfulness, simplicity, and commitment are some of his attributes that keep him moving even while his contemporaries have head over heels in their state. Governor Bagudu has, apart from preserving affable rapport with his people, succeeded in transforming the state to enviable heights.
It is refreshing to know that many years before he assumed the reins of state power, Gov. Atiku Bagudu had envisioned a Kebbi state that would be a major player in the agricultural, economic, infrastructural and manufacturing arena. And the astute administrator had really burnt the midnight candle literally, in order to transform his noble vision into a workable administrative and operational blueprint for a progressive and self-sufficient Kebbi state especially with his workable agricultural policy.
He was not enamoured of the prevailing situation where most of the 36 state governors and 774 local government chairmen run cap in hand to Abuja for monthly handouts referred to as revenue allocations; a gross anomaly in a federation where each of the units were supposed to be viable and self-sufficient in the generation and utilisation of their God given resources.
It is perhaps because of his clear disdain for this ‘cap in hand’ monthly mentality that a resolute Gov. Bagudu determined earlier on his plan of impact that will transform the fortunes of the state.
To this end and regardless of whose ox is gored in the process, Atiku Bagudu was always going to hog in economic and financial self-sustainability so as to achieve his positive effect in the lives of his people.
In the agricultural sector, Bagudu kick started a massive and unprecedented food revolution where hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland was actively improvised for the cultivation of rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, soya beans and arable crops.
Throughout the country, there’s no state that got it right in the CBN’s Anchor Borrower Scheme than Kebbi. One side of the successes recorded were the funds disbursed by the Kebbi state government as soft loans to thousands of farmers to purchase seedlings, fertiliser, irrigation equipment, pumping machines and other farm inputs that would boost food production in the state. Sensing an opportunity to create a lucrative partnership, the Lagos state government jumped into the Kebbi state bandwagon, leading to the massive production of Lake Rice, an initiative of the two states that would lead to the tremendous decline in the price of processed rice nationwide.
Today, Kebbi state has overtaken Benue state as the food basket of the nation and suffice it to say, we feed the nation and thanks to the visionary leadership of Atiku Bagudu.
On road, the present administration has engendered another revolution as thousands of kilometers of roads have been constructed across the state. The idea is to link remote rural areas with urban centres and townships for the smooth movement of persons, goods and services particularly, farm produce thus boosting economic and commercial activity in the state.
In a nutshell, on education, health, power, and other critical economic sectors, the governor has delivered a masterstroke which impact is reverberating not only in Kebbi state but all over Nigeria.
Interestingly, Kebbi state has promoted the north to the status of archetypal and model for the federal government’s much touted economic diversification drive.
Undeniably, for Kebbians, the words of Lao-Tzu are candid; because, they know a leader exist, his work is done, his aim fulfilling, and at the end, they will all say: we did it ourselves.
Ibrahim writes from Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state
