By Samuel H. Philip
In all the social orders and camaraderie, the obstacle to advancement has been the poor quality of leaders. It’s settled that what democracy as the famous system of governance has been lacking is committed and sincere leaders that could give in their God’s endowed skills, and purebred knowledge for its sustainability and to be in full swing for the betterment of the society.
Therefore, democracy as a participatory form of government requires purposeful leaders for the attainment of its core attributes and values. Thus, leaders are distinguished by their peculiar attributes and character, which determine the success or failure of such leaders. Positive attributes can be harnessed for the greater good of the people while the negative ones impact retrogressively on the people.
It’s certain that where a leader is embodied with a single determination and zeal to deliver his expectations, there are bound to be unquantified pro-rata of achievements to be harvested by the citizens. On the other hand, a visionless leader, which is the most common in the Nigerian system, ends up enriching themselves and their cohorts to the detriment of the larger part of the population.
Today in Nigeria, very few leaders, who have what it takes to be in leadership positions, have distinguished themselves from political riff raffs, whose actions and inactions contradict the essence of leadership in all its ramifications.
Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State is one of the few Nigerian leaders that keeps hopes alive in the mantle of leadership and practicalizing the essence of the obstinate and teleological pilotage in democratic governance. Dankwambo, an accomplished accountant with international reputation and outstanding record of achievements as the former Accountant General of the Federation, is one household name that has been recognized with pre-eminence and greatness across all the boundaries of the nation and beyond this shore.
It’s no doubt that the tenure of the ‘Talban Gombe’ in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation was one sojourn that reveals and divulge the leadership adroitness and administrative inventiveness in him.
Therefore, the policies and financial strategies he had adopted for prudence and transparency in the Nigerian financial system have been a singular record that’s yet to be outshined since he left the corridors of the AGF’s office in order to venture into politics where he could get an avenue to contribute his quota for the development of his state, Gombe. Dankwambo as one of the few leaders whose people saw the needed leadership qualities and competencies in them and decided to call them in order to tap the God’s given endowments bestowed in them, did not find it difficult to get his way into the Gombe State Government House despite the aberrant and anomalous array of contenders even within his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
Being one of those who had an opportunity to meet and know the Gombe State born reservoir of knowledge, I always regret not being an indigene of the lucky state but have remained resolute and angelic for that chance to prevail. In justification of the wider proclamation of his supporters, within the first four years as the Governor of Gombe State, Dankwambo has proven that he’s in politics to give out his best for the development of the state and the betterment of his people.
And that has distinguished him from the political jobbers that ventured into the murky waters of politics to either accumulate wealth or actualize selfish agenda to the detriment of the people. Gombe State has witnessed unprecedented feats in all the various sectors of the economy which have given the state the status of economic hub of the northern region, second to the famous and historic Kano State.
On infrastructural development, roads have been constructed in all the eleven local government areas of the state and that have significantly opened up all the corridors for transportation of agricultural produce, accessing healthcare facilities, reducing travel time and accidents on the major roads.
In Gombe State, education as the bedrock of economic and societal development has been accorded maximum priority as according to the Talban Gombe; education is the number one priority, education is the number two priority and education is the number three priority of his committed administration.
It’s in line with this policy that the government has successfully changed the hitherto decrepit face of education to a most robust system with construction of various model primary and secondary schools with dilapidated structures being fully renovated and equipped. While tertiary institutions like College of Education Billiri, State Polytechnic Bajoga, College for Islamic and Legal Studies Nafada have been upgraded, a high powered committee was set up to work on the modalities for the establishment of Institute of Journalism, State University of Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandary, College of Accountancy, and Institute of Sports.
It may be very tasking and difficult in an article of this nature to describe the leadership potentials and achievements of Dankwambo as all sectors of the economy like health, agriculture, women and youths empowerment, and lots more which have been judiciously and extensively transformed. Talban Gombe is the kind of leader the country has been looking for and my wish is to see him transform Nigeria as he has done in Gombe state.
Philip writes from Lagos
