It is a norm in Nigerian politics where hopefuls and runners would come out to publicly make milk and honey promises to the electorate and when they’ve eventually clinched the position, they hardly redeem such promises.
In the northern part of the country down memory lane, it was normal for the famous and olden days politician to promise the electorate a tap of milk and millet gruel (famfon fura) at campaign rallies simply to hoodwink and cajole them for massive votes despite the fact that neither the aspirants nor the electorate have ever seen a tap spurting of milk and millet gruel real life. Yet they always believe and cheer the politicians.
It has been a trend till date for every political campaign to be saturated with lots of promises which at the end of the day would not be redeemed and in most cases, even the electorate would not have the temerity and boldness to ask for what has been promised to them but they end up requesting tokens from office holders than recapping to them about the promise they have made.
In Nigeria, the 2019 general election has brought about a kind of paradigm shift where the voices of the electorate was strongly heard, culminating in an unprecedented triumph by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) against the sitting government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre and in most of the states, particularly in the northern part of the country.
It has set a phase into our electoral process where the voters determine who should or not represent them and equally the power to vote and sack elective offices holders is now solely in the hands of the electorate.
In fact, in some instances, many politicians have come and gone, especially when the electorate have discovered that they’ve failed in meeting up with expectations of their people.
Impressively, those who have fulfilled their electoral promises got elected and re-elected so that they can sustain the tempo of making great things happen to their people and one of these exponents of responsive politics and governance is the present Kebbi state Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
Of course, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has been a great and rare gem in our circle that stands tall amidst his matches. He’s unarguably a proven leader who is endeared much to the people of Kebbi state. For Governor Bagudu, concern, genuine commitment to the development of his state and ingenuity in governance, are the attributes that keep spiraling amidst his enthusiasts and even adversaries.
In spite of efforts to blemish his image and destroy his hard-earned reputation in the court of public opinion by his political foes, Gov. Bagudu has remained unperturbed in fulfilling his promises to the good people of Kebbi state. It’s incontestable that he’s one of the finest faces of contemporary politics and good governance.
In reassuring political episodes, Senator Atiku Bagudu was elected to represent the people of Kebbi Central Senatorial District in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly. And in 2015, he contested and won the governorship election on the platform of the APC. He re-contested in 2019 and got reelected overwhelmingly by his people.
Is it not fulfilling? Is there any yardstick to measure the relationship and political affinity of a politician with his people than electing him to represent them for three consecutive times? Probably, the answer is capital NO!
Today, Kebbi state is wearing a new look. From solid and standard asphalt roads that opened up spaces through all the nooks and crannies and reduced travel time in the state, viable agricultural policies and attainable initiatives, youths and women empowerment programmes, sustainable and accessible healthcare development to the evident improvement in the state’s education sector, one cannot help but to submit to the fact that Kebbi has never had it quite interesting and fulfilling than under the Bagudu administration.
Equally, other sectors of the state’s economy have in one way or the other witnessed a holistic overhaul to improve the living standard of the citizens and to also rally the internally generated revenue (IGR) in the state for the attainment of economic independence amidst the dwindling federal allocation occasioned by the fluctuating oil revenue in the country’s one-track economic policy.
Kebbi state has become the beehive of economic activities and the hitherto youth restiveness in the state has also become a thing of the past as youths and women have been engaged in one venture or the other for a living.
To an ordinary Kebbian, Governor Bagudu is a model of purposeful leadership not only in the state but Nigeria as a whole. He has succeeded in bringing the state to a positive limelight and it’s worth telling that, Governor Bagudu has fulfilled all his promises and he walks his talk in the state.
Abubakar writes from Birnin Kebbi.
