With
all the quarantine going on world-wide, and the recent introduction of
the Covid-19, popularly called coronavirus, in Lagos, I will have no
choice but to also shut down by writer’s borders, and I will restrict my
pen and keyboard movements to Bauchi alone. My face mask will have an
elongated side, which would extend to not only cover my nostrils and
mouth, but my ears as well, giving me adequate ‘quarantine’, from those
who may put other primordial sentiments, ahead of their home state,
Bauchi, should they find me too patriotic.
In
1999, just at the beginning of the 4th Republic, I had written an
article titled, ‘Dawn of a new hope’, which was published in a magazine
christened BABBAN GWANI (master builder); under the umbrella of the
Bauchi State Students’ Union, of which I was the sssistant-secretary
general and editor-in-chief of the publication. The dawn of a new hope
was expressing optimism that with the ascension of Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu,
the Walin Bauchi, as the democratically elected governor of Bauchi
state, Bauchi was going to witness unprecedented change — like, or
superseding the development of the then Tatari Ali government of the
second republic, during the Shagari regime.
Last
year, I had visited an aunt at the amity ward or VIP section of the
state specialist hospital, now the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
Teaching Hospital, and I couldn’t but be amazed by the standard and
quality of the facilities in that section. The structure, the beds, the
office furniture, and a complete inventory of the equipment and other
items in the hospital exuded quality at its finest. It is of the same
quality as the National Hospital, Abuja! Mu’azu’s works, roads and even
the emirs’ palaces that were built or renovated at that time impress
upon high quality and standards!
On
April 2, 2014, in my column Fair Truth, on the Blueprint newspapers, in
an article titled, ‘Yuguda, a three-pointer and hat-trick’; I wrote
about an earlier resentment to the idea of an airport, and a second
thought and reckoning, that an airport was not just a luxury, but a
necessity, in view of preceeding events and development, that would need
an airport if they were to come to life, and if Bauchi were to gain
maximum utility from the surrounding projects and discoveries. I was
enthralled and I wrote, “the airport is no ordinary airport, but ranked
5th in the country, and the biggest in the North-east. I gather that the
airport is also awaiting presidential approval to be designated as a
cargo airport. It boasts of the biggest and longest runway which
conforms to the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA)
specifications for an international airport. The discovery of the
Kolmani OPL 809, an oil well near the Yankari Game Reserve, has broadly
changed my perspectives, and today I am more than jubilant that the
airport is in place. With an oil well housing billions of cubic metres
of gas, a game reserve of international acclaim, and the possibility of
Bauchi airport being designated as a cargo airport, it’s Eureka for Isa
Yuguda”. At the time, a cargo plane was one of the first airplanes to
land at the airport, to test run the runway, which was the highlight and
selling point of the airport.
Not
long after, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar,
sited an airforce base right beside the airport, which not only provided
development for the nearby local inhabitants of the area but also
security for the nearby Lame-Burra forests of the Ningi/Bauchi axis,
which reportedly had bandits and other terrorists, beginning to make it
their home. Governor M A Abubakar graciously provided the land, with the
state government paying a whopping compensation of about N400 million.
He also built a dual carriage way from the eastern bypass of Bauchi,
running towards the airport, which is a project that when completed,
would complete the Bauchi urban look, as one moves from Bauchi town
towards Kano and beyond.
A
seven-man team from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had
visited Bauchi where the governor, Bala Mohammed, Kauran Bauchi,
enthused that his government was preparing to turn the Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa International Airport, Bauchi into a regional hub. He envisaged
that making the airport a regional hub will enable Nigerians, especially
from the North-east, to travel to major cities of the world such as
UAE, China and Saudi Arabia. This vision would be complementing the idea
of the airport, ab-initio. His government has ensured that daily
flights now come in and out of Bauchi, easing business, governance and
sparing air travellers the rigors of poor road networks, especially in
the nyorth-east, and the other attendant insecurity issues.
Work
has returned to various sites within Bauchi metropolis, all of which
were inherited from the previous government. Of course, many new
projects have also been embarked upon but some of the old ones are very
critical as they adorn the city centre, and would certainly be inimical
to the development of the state if abandoned. Instructively, some very
salient roads have been opened up and work is ongoing at a very brisk
pace. These are the Sabon Kaura to Miri bypass, and the Ibrahim Bako to
Tirwun Bypass which would both ease traffic and heavy duty vehicle
inconveniences, thronging the heart of the city.
Kaura
has also instituted the Barota agency to combat the menace of
commercial vehicles’ activity, which is fast turning the city centre
into one big touts market. Previous endeavours have failed, as the
operators seek one injunction or the other from courts that have
continually protected them, at the detriment of the general citizenry.
Kaura has secured a legislation to give the proper legal impetus to the
Barota to execute its mandate, without hindrance or the preponderance of
court orders.
Development
is only visible when years of projects and ideas are supported by years
of continuity and support for the original ideas of the initial
projects. Dotting public space with abandoned works, uncompleted
structures and repealed or disbanded institutions does not help the
management of scarce resources, especially that of a disadvantaged state
like Bauchi of the now famed North-east misadventure. Kaura will do
well, very well, if he continues on this path of Bauchi first, projects
first, aside any other sentiment. Kaura is embracing the prosperity in
continuity and that will definitely augur well for the prosperity of
Baucheans.
Tahir is Talban Bauchi
