It was with mixed feelings that the people of Gombe state celebrated Gombe 22nd year anniversary with thoughts about the past, present and the future of the state.
People of Gombe state have witnessed with open hearts and eyes, the leaders the state had in the 22 years of its creation by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
But in the past 22 years, Gombe people have only known social peace, economic progress and visionary leadership under the leadership of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo.
But, the combination of sudden realization that the 1st October of 2018 marks Governor Dankwambo’s last active anniversary and thoughts about what the future holds for Gombe state made the 1st October, 2018’s anniversary both cheery and somber; because Dankwambo built the state in harmony through his personal charm and leadership style in just 7 out of 22 years.
In the distribution of social amenities and government projects, the governor ensured equitable and fair coverage, thereby giving a sense of belonging to all segments of the Gombe population.
And, as Dankwambo continued to perform the duties and responsibilities of his office, it did not take long before every indigene of Gombe began to see him as a father, friend, brother and partner.
Most importantly, Dankwambo’s leadership style, which has been severally described as inclusive and empathic, turned out as elixir to the combative and winner-takes-it-all politics that preceded his election.
One of the first steps the governor took immediately he came into office was to stretch out the hand of fellowship to political rivals.
In one of his first appointments, Dankwambo appointed the son of one of his political rivals into the state executive council.
That singular gesture was a foretaste of politics without bitterness that remains the hallmark of his leadership.
At inception of his administration seven years ago, Dankwambo selected patriotic Gombe professionals into various committees for the purposes of identifying needs, assessing financial implications and recommending effective strategies and action plans.
It was in the overall planning and project conception that Dr. Dankwambo’s expertise as a consummate accountant came into great effect.
Realising that Gombe state was not in the big league of states with fat receipts from the Federation Account allocations, the master planner and administrator devised a foolproof method of blocking all loopholes for fund wastage.
The parsimony and frugality of the governor’s style helped the administration to achieve much with less.
The governor set the priorities of his administration and ensured that funds are tied to them appropriately.
For instance, payment of salaries and wages has never suffered delay in the state because the Dankwambo vowed that he would rather starve than have Gombe workers owed their monthly entitlements.
The governor told the leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) during the last Workers’ Day that he would not hesitate to implement whatever amount was agreed as the minimum wage in order to boost productivity and improve workers’ welfare in the state.
As a young man with eyes set on the future greatness of the state, Dankwambo has continued to put huge premium on the education sector in Gombe state.
That is why after just three years in office, the pass rate of the state in national examinations rose from mere two percent to 76 percent, rising to 92 percent in his second term in office.
Similar bold and ambitious strides have also been deployed by the governor in repositioning the healthcare sector.
This noble vision led to the upgrade of urban maternity at Idi to a full-fledged women and children specialist hospital, among others On youth development and economic empowerment, Dankwambo has in the past seven years made huge impact on the lives of young people in Gombe state.
One of such great initiatives is the rehabilitation and reformation of streets urchins, otherwise known as Yankelere.
Those who knew the menacing and ubiquitous presence of the Yankeleres in Gombe before the coming of Dankwambo appreciate the enormous work done to clean up the state and wean the youths away from life of violent crimes and anti-social behaviours.
Apart from offering himself as a model on how the future of young people could be better if they pursue their education conscientiously, Governor Dankwambo set the youths on the path to responsible behavior by empowering them with skills.
And in a space of two years, the results began to show as those who took advantage of the skill acquisition programme became a source of envy to others.
The scope began to expand as young people willing turned up to register for the programme.
On agriculture, the overall vision of the Dankwambo administration is to promote the sector as the main driver of economic diversification and stabilization.
Towards that end, Dankwambo has scaled up the value chain of agro-products by establishing agroprocessing industries and increased the penetration of mechanized farming.
Grants have also been given to small-holder farmers to increase food production, leading to increased internally generated revenue.
Another wonderful initiative of Governor Dankwambo in the agricultural sector is the construction of a veterinary hospital in Gombe and veterinary clinic in Yamaltu-Deba local government council in addition to re-demaracation, survey, documentation and mapping of major stock routes in the state.
The programme is unique, because at a time when herders and farmer clashes are becoming national pastime, the visionary administration of Dankwambo took a proactive step to avert such skirmishes.
Perhaps the most outstanding benefit from Dankwambo’s 11-Sector Committees that laid the foundation of the seven superlative years of mandate delivery is in the works and infrastructure sector.
Dankwambo’s administration has set a standard by the stone-base 4 centimeters specification for asphalt overlay of roads, which has improved interconnectivity among various communities and local councils of the state.
The construction of central motorpark and tanker has also helped to maintain security and reduce road traffic accidents in the state.
The prestigious Gombe International Conference Centre stands out along with well ornamented roundabouts as testimony to Dankwambo’s vision of a millennium city.
Based on the myriads of positive and life impacting projects and programmes of the Dankwambo administration, as they celebrated the 22nd anniversary, Gombe people showed concerns about what the future holds in store.
Since the constitution does not permit a third term in office, the worry among the people was, would there be another Dankwambo? However, the consolation for the people is the likelihood that the 23rd anniversary would offer double joy in the possibility that Dankwambo could be taking over in Abuja for a national assignment to replicate the magic he brought in Gombe.
Kuna is Special Assistant (New Media) to Dankwambo
