By Sani Ibrahim Taura
With the election of Governor Badaru Abubakar Babura, Jigawa state is charting a new path of political leadership, economic emancipation and rural transformation.
Badaru’s emergence marks the beginning of the fall of the past dictator, Mallam Aminu Ringim. The fall of “Mallam” emerged as a result of the electoral defeat of the hitherto autocratic Lamidiyya ruling dynasty. The Lamiddiya cabal will no longer be in control, thanks to the democratic process, people’s wishes and answers to the call for salvation of the GMB’s APC SAK slogan. The APC SAK “Tsunami” has chased all of “Mallam’s” kitchen cabinet out of the system for ever.
Mallam’s monarchical tendencies and dictatorship shall no longer rear its ugly head with the coming of people-oriented Badaru regime of meritocracy, due process and rule of law.
Badaru who was in the state civil service and currently an entrepreneur shall work in team spirit with his well educated Barrister Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia as deputy governor. This important combination will happily make the desired change.
Hadejia has been in public service, holding public offices for eight years as commissioner, SSG and deputy governor. It is foolhardy to assume non-performance by a government with such experienced synergy.
But Jigawa is a rural state with majority agrarian population; with the new Badaru regime, Jigawa is on the verge of rural transformation.
Badaru has promised to focus on agriculture, rural, youth and entrepreneurship development, among others. Our advice here is that existing policy issues should be brushed, redesigned and refocused but new ones would be created to add value to areas like FADAMA and irrigation projects, agro-allied enterprises revival and development programs, farm settlement schemes and livestock development programs.
Provision of rural feeder roads and related rural infrastructural projects would help open up our rural areas. It is hoped that Badaru government would open up more rural feeder roads linking villages and towns more than the intercity town roads. These are vital to the industrial development challenges of this millennium.
Rural electrification projects should be continued under Badaru, while the need to provide alternative energy sources should be tapped to make Jigawa fulfill the necessary requirements of social infrastructural challenges for industrial growth.
We advise that provision of water via pipe-borne, boreholes and innovative open well water should also be prioritized. The need to make water, sanitation and hygiene equally important ingredients to support industrial growth and agricultural transformation cannot be overemphasized.
Innovative approaches to agriculture should involve programs that can introduce improved seedlings, new breed and improved variety seedlings, imported foreign varieties of agricultural plantations, seedlings, transplants and government assisted irrigation projects.
Badaru government should scrap capital-intensive housing estates, and construct low cost houses that are cheap and affordable by the people of the state.
The educational policy of Badaru administration should focus more on teacher motivation, training and welfare. Teachers should be well remunerated with living wages via extraordinary motivational salary increment schemes. Non-formal training through mass education should also be prioritized.
I advise for the construction of large number mass education schools and classes conducted per senatorial districts in the state. Staff training and retraining, promotion as and when due and provision of leave grants to workers should be given attention in the new government.
Education materials, infrastructural upgrading of schools at all levels and improving the existing tertiary institutions should be given attention. I advise for the construction of additional classrooms in all schools and renovating all existing dilapidated school infrastructure at all levels in the state.
The redundant youths comprise those that are educated and those who are not fortunate to acquire with western education. The uneducated class constitutes the majority population that should be empowered with vocational training and skill acquisition programs and projects. Small scale enterprises development by improving existing SMEs in the state via government interventions would seriously assist in engaging the unskilled youth groups. Learn skills and be assisted initiatives should be introduced to engage lowly educated youths with entrepreneurial skills and empowerment.
The educated youth groups should be encouraged to further education with timely scholarships and aids.
Enlightenment and awareness via carrier guidance can never be over emphasized. We advise government to continue enforcing the ban of Banga (political bandits and thuggery) and engage those partakers in useful socio-economic ventures aforesaid as a preventative remedy.
While congratulating the new regime change in Jigawa, we pray that the new government shall fulfill its electoral promises of new beginning of innovative approaches to economic development and rural transformation of Jigawa state.
Taura wrote from Yadi Dutse, Jigawa state Nigeria. Email: [email protected]