Rekwem A. Kwatiri
22 August 2006
opinion
Jalingo — Taraba State will be exactly fifteen years old on August 27. Ordinarily, it calls for celebration but alas, 15 years after its creation; it still remains a lame duck that cannot walk on its feet! There is virtually no single functional infrastructure in the entire state despite the generosity of the monthly federal allocation to the state. On a few counts, we have no roads, no potable water, no functional hospital and clinics and worst of all, the vibrancy of our people in agricultural activities is slowly and painfully being killed by our leaders in government. Have we taken the path of actualising our aspirations, ambitions and hopes for a better life as government was brought closer to the people 15 years ago? Is it worth celebrating?
Out of our 15 years of statehood, nine were dominated by the one and only civilian governor ever produced in the state, Reverend Jolly Nyame while the other six years witnessed four different military administrations. An attempt was made by the regime of Navy Captain Ambrose Afolahan and Col. A. A. Awoniyi to find a direction to the path of development, but the state was short-changed by time as these two military officers could not stay long to put the state on an unshakable path of development. However, despite their short stay, they constructed official and residential quarters, which are up to date housing the state workforce.
Our nine years of democratic experience can be likened to a stillborn child. We voted for our own people to represent and protect our interests, but we were paid back with poverty, hunger and ill-health. Our democratic years were a complete waste. Administration was left in the hands of juveniles who mortgaged our future and that of our grandchildren to bank loans and overdrafts.
It is only in Taraba State that 15 years after its creation, young men who served and those still serving in the Nyame administration are far richer than the state government. They can boast of big and well-furnished mansions which are by far better than the government house. Their fleets of flashy cars are no match for government vehicles and most often compete with the governor's official cars. The visit by the EFFC to the state revealed the big boys with fat accounts while the state coffers are always in red and overdrawn with bank facilities. It is rumoured that they choose party time which is a common feature in the government house to present memoranda to the governor when he is at his peak to which he always appends his signature without reading. Those in that clique become millionaires overnight at the expense of our brothers and sisters who live in penury. Like a huge joke, however, Rev. Jolly Nyame who disappointed God and the people is now backing Danladi Baido, hi s Commissioner for Finance to succeed him. Baido, apart from being green in administration, has a shrouded educational background. Just a little over 30 years old and unmarried, Baido has great flare for night partying like his boss.
But are we cursed? Has the magnanimity of giving us our own state turned to a sin that we should be in the bondage of spoilers? The names of Ambassador Idris Waziri, Alhaji Ahmed Yusuf, Kabiru Hamayaji and Senator Abdul-Azeez Ibrahim featuring on the gubernatorial list are not far from the Nyames and Baidos. Most of these characters were beneficiaries and identified with Nyame's style of administration. Some of them failed to attract federal presence to the state despite their closeness to the federal government. In fact, not even the cassava planting programme. As we recollect (celebrate?) our 15 years of experience, there are great men we should pay tribute to for their personal and individual contributions. One of such is Alhaji Gidado Abubakar. Alhaji Abubakar was a seasoned administrator who brought his experience to the state shortly after its creation. He was the engine room of the Afolahan administration that saw massive construction of structures in just four months.
He also deserves commendation for his reconciliatory role during the Tiv/Jukun conflicts, the Kuteb/Chamba carnage and the Tiv/Fulani imbroglio. I recall with nostalgia the day he wept openly before the late Governor Abubakar Barde urging him as an elder statesman to summon elite meeting to halt the senseless killing across the state. He did not see any difference between himself, a Muslim Fulani with the Christian Jukuns, Kutebs, Chambas and Tiv ethnic groups. He remained a bridge-builder who saw everyone as part of him. It will be too hasty for elders like us to forget his days as the director of sports in the defunct Gongola State. He introduced youths to sports, some of whom gained professional employment in Nigeria, Europe and the U.S. To date, they attribute their success to the vision of Gidado Abubakar for shaping their lives.
Although we have lost so much in the last years, but we cannot continue to be hopeless; we still have ample opportunity to progress and the time has come for our T. Y. Danjumas, Professor Sa'ad Abubakars, Obadiah Andos, Alhaji Ibrahim Tumbas, Yakuba Tukurs and other elite, as well as the traditional institutions, youth and women associations, the academia and business tycoons to shop for credible and conscientious leaders like Gidado Abubakar to recover our nine wasted years.
As we turn 15, the 2007 election is giving us another opportunity to redefine our future as a people. It is time we forgot about religion, ethnicity and even political party and agree on who we can entrust the future of the state to. We must stand up against these agents of corruption, wastage and ineptitude trying to drag us to yet another perpetual bondage and state of hopelessness.
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