One of the greatest authorities on the governance of subnational levels of government is the president of every nation. For although he resides, in the case of Nigeria, far away from most governments at state levels, Mr President wields the kind of power that brings every bit of information to his table. And since he has feedback from all states with which to use for conducting contrastive analysis, the president is better placed to reach informed conclusions on which states are performing better than others, and therefore, worthy of commendation.
On 10th January 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari beamed that light of illumination on Governor Mai Mala Buni’s stewardship of Yobe state as he commissioned many people centred projects executed by the governor. Notwithstanding the fact that the governor has undertaken several projects including such that may not be physically commissioned like funding of overseas training for specific professional and technical vocations, it is particularly noteworthy that President Buhari, known for his ruthless honesty, accepted the honour of commissioning the following projects: Nigeria’s biggest Maternal and Paediatric hospital in Damaturu; four ultra modern markets with over 3200 shops across Damaturu, Potiskum, Gashua and Nguru local government areas. Also commissioned by the president are Northern Nigeria’s second Cargo International Airport in Damaturu and 3600 housing units across all 17 local government areas of the state; as well as seven mammoth model primary schools across Buni Yadi, Damaturu, Geidam, Potiskum, Nguru and Gashua local government areas.
To the practiced eye, these projects are the very definition of governance, especially for a state like Yobe that has been so unfortunate with the wanton destruction brought by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Take naternal and child healthcare for which the largest specialised hospital in Nigeria has been constructed, for instance. It represents a deliberate investment on the population that suffered most in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents. Beyond insurgency, Yobe, like many North-eastern states, has been recorded by impact agencies as having some of the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the country with an estimated 1549 deaths per every 100,000 births compared to 165 per every 100,000 births in the South-west. There’s therefore no questioning the imperative for the construction of such a very important project.
The construction of ultramodern markets follows the same logic. The people of Yobe state are predominantly grain farmers and the state has one of the largest, if not the largest, grains farm in Potiskum. And because almost the entire state is strategically located on the last stretch of the Kano Maiduguri expressway, while also bordering Niger Republic to the North, it goes without saying that the state is the geographical switch for much of the entire North-east, a fact that makes investing on markets for agricultural produce not only the most economic thing to do, but also the most sensible thing to do in terms of shoring up internally generated revenue; an indices for which Yobe state is grossly deficient in.
With investment in the markets comes the need for the Cargo Airport in Damaturu. Potiskum and other parts of the state are always littered with large trucks conveying all kinds of goods to and from many states in the region. The cost and risk of transporting these essential goods and/or perishables across Nigeria to and from the region is better imagined. I am sure it was in a bid to ease this stress and bring succour to businessmen and women as well as the general populace in terms of cheaper prices of goods, that this Cargo Airport becomes much more than just the dream of man. It becomes the potential game changer for the whole North-east region, never mind that it is only the second of its kind in the entire Northern Nigeria.
Investment in the construction of mega primary schools is perhaps the most consequential and indeed most commendable of much of Mai Mala Buni’s leadership. In February 2022, reports by several news outlets set alarm bells ringing with the indication that, in the unfortunate event of a disease outbreak, many children enrolled in primary schools across Yobe state will be at risk due to overcrowding in primary schools, no thanks to the activities of Boko Haram. The reports quoted Arakime Primary School in Potiskum as one of the endangered learning centres with an estimated 13,000 pupils attending the school as more enrolments are expected. Therefore, the mega primary schools domiciled in virtually all local government areas of the state are targeted at allaying not just these fears of disease outbreaks through decongestion of existing schools, but also encourage school enrolment.
The last of the projects, 3400 housing units, which aims at mitigating one of the greatest crisis affecting workers is as significant as any other project. Investing in housing is without question one of the most responsible things for every governor to attempt. Despite the number constructed, Governor Buni may have added only a small chunk of houses to the number that I am sure is still required. The Yobe civil servants and indeed the entire people of Yobe must commend him for that. However, more is still required. In this regards, Buni’s successor has his work cut-out for him. The people of Yobe will definitely hope that whoever eventually takes over from Governor Mai Mala Buni should not only match his stellar performance, but even surpass it. I am sure even Buni himself will love this!
Bashir writes from Abuja.
Buhari’s projects commissioning and Buni’s stewardship
