By Dahiru Hassan Kera
As the 2015 poll draws nearer, pundits, activists and political observers have been redrawing some of their political theories, projections and forecast as it concerns numerous political gladiators and heavyweights as fresh evidence and new political alignments take centre stage. In many cases, those that were favoured to sweep the polls previously have had their calculations reversed or neutralized while their adversaries have gained immeasurably from mass defection, decampment and intriguing switch of allegiances that have altered the electoral landscape for better or for worse.
However, in the case of the Talban Gombe who is better referred to as Talban Talakawa, His Excellency, Dr Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, the political calculations and forecasts as regards his second term bid remain definite and constant. From day one to D-day, an overwhelming majority of opinion polls, performance radar and voter surveys have placed the Gombe state helmsman at the top of the political contest. According to reliable estimates, Dankwambo is poised to clinch not less than 90% of the total votes cast at the April 11 governorship elections as his popularity, acceptability and electoral viability have reached sky high dimensions in all the three senatorial zones of the jewel of the savannah. Even in falsely perceived strongholds of the opposition APC in the state, like Akko where Goje as their state party leader hails from, the support for Dankwambo is rock solid as he has worked more than even Goje in delivering concrete democratic dividends to the people.
Goje’s antics as APC leader in Gombe have been gradually giving the party a diminishing status and a serious impairment due to his volatile politicking and selfish imposition. No wonder the party recently generated only N3 million during a fund raising with the gubernatorial candidate donating N1 million while their contemporaries in other northern states generated N100 million during a similar occasion. By implication, the Goje’s leadership in the state is doing more harm than good to the APC and on the other side of the clock; Dankwambo has been taking advantage of that. Truth is as enduring as nature itself and no matter how the propagandists in the opposition try to colour their garb, the people cannot be fooled as they all testify to the detribalised, open-minded and tolerant disposition of the Talban Talakawa who has no truck for ethnic, religious, sectional or otherwise primordial sentiments. As far as Dankwambo is concerned, the entire Gombe state is his constituency and therefore everyone must witness incredible and fast track infrastructural, economic and industrial development to put the state at par with star performers in the federation.
While former governors had relied on the votes of certain senatorial zones to elect them to power, it is on record that Dankwambo has overwhelmingly won with the support of all the senatorial zones as witnessed in the 2011 general elections when he buried his opponents in an unprecedented landslide that carried over 80% of the total votes cast. And that was before he had a chance to showcase his exemplary and progressive leadership credentials which touched all the vital sectors of the state’s economy, namely, health, education, agriculture, roads, water provision, rural and urban development, and many more.
On health, a record number of health centres, hospitals and maternity centres have been either constructed or rehabilitated with regular supply of drugs and medical equipment thus saving countless scores of lives as well as the vulnerable infants and expectant mothers. Infant and maternal mortality rate in the state has fallen drastically as a result of the renewed emphasis on training of midwives that assist in delivery of infants at the various health and maternity centres within the state. As the health sector is being rapidly upgraded, so also is the education sector that has witnessed a remarkable rise in the construction, equipping and refurbishing of numerous classroom blocks together with VIP toilets. And this applies to both western and Islamic educational institutions and all this worthwhile projects dot the various senatorial zones, no wonder the widespread support that the Talban Gombe enjoys consistently across the length and breadth of the state, which many observers note will ensure his landslide victory in the forthcoming elections.
On road infrastructure, it can be said Dankwambo has perhaps made his most invaluable contributions to the rapid economic advancement of the state as the road network constructed by his administration since inception have amounted to a whooping thousands of kilometres with a further hundreds nearing completion. This is nothing short of tremendous infrastructural revolution which can be likened to the massive road projects embarked upon by the socialist countries at the peak of their Great Leap Forward in the 1940s and 50s. Most pleasantly surprising and exhilarating is that all the numerous projects in all the sectors, particularly the massive road and school projects have been evenly spread among the 3 senatorial zones and the 11 local government areas of the state without sectional or sectarian considerations. No wonder that the charismatic and highly acclaimed Talban Gombe is set to reap a resounding victory come April 11, 2015.
Kera is Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee, Dankwambo Campaign Organisation