Every citizen is entitled to enjoy the dividends of democracy and it is important to note that, a responsible government will always strive to jettison antics aimed at depriving the masses of these privileges. Good governance demands we provide good amenities for the governed and not showcasing hypocrisy, deception and falsehood while fooling ourselves that we are towing the right path.
As a keen observant of the present administrations of Prof Babagana Zulum of Borno and Alh. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, I stand to be corrected that there is glaring vacuum between the duo in terms of their approach to what makes good governance visible in the minds of the people. For Governor Zulum, good governance is far beyond playing political gimmicks to the detriment of the masses who elected him into office. This is the man who the President, Muhammadu Buhari recently graced his state to commission seven out of 556 capital projects delivered by him.
“I am highly impressed by the very dynamic leadership that His Excellency Governor Babagana Umaru Zulum has been providing in Borno State in the last two years. He is very selfless and has been taking a lot of personal risks in order to guarantee the safety and welfare of his people.
I wish that every other person who has responsibility for the people at various levels will emulate Governor Zulum, instead of squandering so much time on unhelpful buck-passing and blame games. I have gone round to commission some of the capital projects executed by the Zulum Administration in two years. I am very happy with what I saw,” Buhari said during the commissioning.
Among the projects commissioned by Mr. President are: completion of the senate building, construction of two large hostels with 150 rooms for 1,200 students; construction of 34 units of duplexes and bungalows for Professors, senior and intermediate staff; and construction of seven kilometres of road and drainage network and undertook landscaping works across the University.
The President also commissioned two mega-size Government Day Technical Secondary Schools in Njimtilo and Goni Kachallari and a higher Islamic School, near the Shehu’s palace, all of which have 60 air-conditioned classrooms for at least 2,400 students; vocational workshops, laboratories for sciences and ICT, auditoriums and sporting facilities.
He also commissioned roads and drainages constructed in Jiddari Polo and first phase of 10,000 resettlement houses he had approved for Borno State from which 4,000 have been completed, among others.
The Yahaya Bello-led administration otherwise known as ‘New Direction Government’ on the other hand, has been in the news following its pronounced publicity stunt, especially using celebrities as political tools to gain goodwill in recent times. White Lion as fondly called by his supporters has received not less than 10 celebrities in the last two months in the state, with most of the visitors either ‘eating their cakes’ (without minding the backlashes at stake) or turning themselves to ‘praise singers’ in a bid to endorse the former ahead of the 2023 presidential election. What a great campaign strategy!
Recently, Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho aka ‘Senior man’ and ex-Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi respectively visited Yahaya Bello at the Lugard House in Lokoja, the state capital city. The two visits many Nigerians described as ‘shameful’ and ‘unnecessary’ considering the caliber of persons involved. But for Yahaya Bello, this is the time for ‘serious business’ and whatever the critics say is no way in match with his future ambition. The youth governor is ever-ready to sacrifice all to get public support for his presidential bid that he has decided to keep mum about pending the time he’ll deem fit to let the cat out of the bag.
Since its inception in 2016, The New Direction Government has always been criticised for neglecting the Kogites in terms of provision of basic amenities among other social welfare services, and this has been the major strategy for the opposition party to capitalise on. Where are the projects in the state if truly the governor claims to be working? Does it mean the governor is planning a surprise package to shock his accusers when the set time comes? Why has Buhari not visited the state to commission these ghost projects if truly they exist? These among many others form critical questions in the minds of the opposition party in the state.
According to reports, the governor seems to place more emphasis on political gimmicks rather than human capital development as against what his counterpart is doing in Borno. A vivid example is the publicity stunt of the governor where celebrities have now become regular visitors in the state with little or no positive thinking on how to improve livelihood of the masses who ought to have been enjoying the dividends of democracy as against the ‘iberiberism’ in place.
One fundamental question Yahaya Bello must answer is, why is the New Direction Government reluctant to commission its project in the state if truly they’re visible as claimed? The Governor must wake up from playing the hide and seek game if it must achieve optimal success in its administration. Imagine a state that is pronounced as the safest in the country still have records of banditry among other criminal activities that will never be mentioned in the news to avoid discrediting its proven track records on security. I don’t see sense in telling the world Kogi is the safest state in Nigeria when we all know that no state in the country is 100% safe as compared to what people in other developed climes are enjoying in terms of internal security.
It’s high time our leaders stopped politicising state affairs by majoring in the minority and vise-versa. Good governance is far beyond political gimmicks that has no positive influence on the electorates but rather makes the polity dirtier and more dangerous for the players. From Zulum’s policy, it has become clearer that we need progressive and productive leadership to make Nigerian states edifice of good governance irrespective of the ruling party on board. We’ve had enough of rhetorics, conspiracy theories and propagandas. Now is the time to choose between Zulum’s capital projects and GYB’s celeb gimmicks. But I advise we follow the right path.
By Arogbonlo Israel, journalist and good governance advocate, writes from Lagos