DAHIRU BAKO the Senator representing Taraba Central Senatorial District can aptly be described as a grassroots politician and mobiliser. His antecedents, particularly his records at the House of Representatives were believed to be the factor in his election to the Senate. In this interview with REPORTER, JANET AUDU, he asserts that he has justified his mandate in all ramifications. He also speaks on the leadership qualities of the state Governor, Danbaba Suntai among other issues.

Excerpts.

You were in the National Assembly for the second term first as a Member of the House of Representatives and re-elected as a Senator based On your performance. How has it been?

It is a worth-while experience. Being a member of the National Assembly, whether at the House of Representative or at the Senate, is a call to service for my constituency and to the people generally. As a member of the House of Representatives, the constituency is smaller and as such, presents fewer challenges. But the opportunity to be part of lawmaking for the good governance of the nation is a rare privilege for us with sincere commitment to serve humanity. Of course, it is not a bed of roses all through, yet we are ready for the sacrifices the office bestows upon us. Being a member of the National Assembly is a school of sorts which one learns from. And I am happy with the privilege of being part of this success. I am lucky I have very understanding citizens in the constituency. They all understand that a member of the National Assembly does not control a vote of charge, and does not have control over policy implementation. He is not like the Chief Executive who has a specific budget provision to work with. A legislator only gets involved in making, amending, or repealing laws. Sometimes, he could have advisory roles, but still he has to depend on the understanding and acceptance of others for such advices to scale through. Taraba Central Senatorial constituency is the largest in the state, and perhaps with greater challenges due to lack of visible development, which we came to find. Secondly, the rate of political enlightenment in the constituency is high. This makes the political culture robust and very competitive. My happiness is that we are taking advantage of this political sophistication to enhance democratic ideals in the senatorial district. So, we have higher challenges, though we do not allow that to distract us. To the contrary, we take them as necessary experiences that we have to surmount in our quest for greater development.

How is the relationship between members of the National Assembly from Taraba and the state government?

It is very, very cordial. As the chairman of Taraba State Legislators Forum, I am in a position to authoritatively speak on their behalf. We have an excellent relationship with Governor Danbaba Suntai and his government. We have always consulted each other on matters of common state interest. Similarly, we share the same senatorial constituency with him, himself being from Bali Local Government, while I am from Gassol Local Government. I also know that whenever we have issues at the National Assembly relating to the state, we collectively meet to take a common position and adequately brief the Governor for input and harmonisation. A good example is when constituency projects are approved by the National Assembly for respective constituencies of the state. We normally meet and agree on a particular project, upon which the sources will be pooled for maximum utilisation. Then we brief the governor on our consensus since he is the Chief Executive of the state. I am not aware of any fundamental differences between us and the Governor, which is a clear sign of the perfect understanding between us the National Assembly members, and the state government. After all, our goal is the same: To lift Taraba state to greater heights.

You are the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tourism, what are the measures your committee has evolved towards harnessing the tourist potentials in Taraba State and the nation?

Tourism is no doubt a key factor in our match towards development. It is a universal language shared by all races, all tribes, all cultures, and all religions. More importantly, it provides an avenue of understanding; it is the unique identity of a people. It also provides leisure and entertainment even beyond the borders of the community. And as you rightly pointed out, if properly handled, it has the potential of good revenue generation. In Taraba State, a lot is being done to enhance the tourism potentials of Mambilla Plateau, as well as that of Gashaka-Gumti Wild Life Park. We have established a National Traditional Herbal Farm in my constituency, the first of its type in the country. The state government is also doing wonderfully well by opening new tourism centres like the new zoo at Ardo-kola. The state government has also upgraded many festivals like the Nwonyo fishing festival near Ibi, which has assumed international dimension. At the national level too, many stakeholders are doing their best to upgrade the tourism potentials of the country. It is a multi-faceted approach involving many stakeholders. It is going scientific, which involves innovation, hospitality industry, more efficient transportation system, refined cultural activities, and festivals etc. We are also modernising the industry through computerised maps of key places, road routes, and valuable information that will guide tourists in the country. The Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and other departments and agencies involved in tourism are all bringing new innovations to make this industry buoyant and effective.

Are you satisfied with your contribution to your constituency in terms of dividends of democracy?

Although, I do not usually assess myself because it is left to the people to do so. Be that as it may, I make bold to say that I am representing my district to the best of my ability in return for the mandate they have given me. I mentioned earlier in this interview that a legislator does not control a vote of charge. He does not have a specified budget he directly disburses. Yet, he comes across petty but fundamental concerns of his people. To this end, I have been able to touch lives in my district and even beyond.

How do you mean?

Under the conviction that the future of the youth in my senatorial zone depends on their preparation to take up position of leadership and responsibility, I pursued an educational programme built on the concept of creating access to education for financially disadvantaged youth with requisite ability. Under this programme 50 students each from the five local governments under the Senatorial zone were awarded scholarship worth N10, 000.00 each to study in different tertiary institutions nationwide. Not yet done with education, I personally financed the construction and renovation of classrooms blocks in different locations across the five local governments of the zone. The classrooms blocks are located at Dakka, Bali local government and Gassol local government. In addition to this, I donated 5000 units of exercise books to each of the five local governments under Taraba Central for use by students and 2,500 units of continuous assessment booklets for use by teachers in schools in the five local governments, all totaling about 25,000 continuous assessment booklets. Not resting on my oars, I also facilitated the construction of more classrooms under the Millennium Development Goal programmes. Here classrooms blocks were sited in Suntai in Bali local government, Mayo Selbe in Gashaka local government, Wurojam Sendirde in Gassol local government, and Didan in kurmi local government. These are on-going projects where several contractors such as those working in Wurojam, Didan, Suntai among others were already mobilised to site and work is in full progress. To go with this construction is the purchase of books and furniture. The above development will not only encourage an increase in enrolment figures, but keeps Taraba State in the forefront in the effort to bridge the education enrolment gap between the North and the South. It is the fact that agriculture has, and will continue to play a crucial role in the economy. With the unstable fortunes of oil and gas, it is no surprise that agriculture and food security is very prominent in Mr. President's Seven -point Agenda. This same sector has received tremendous boost from the Taraba state government. A flourishing agricultural sector holds the key to rapid economic transformation, poverty alleviation and stable democracy. I, firmly aware that without food security there can be no national or home security, took the matter of agriculture seriously. Consequently, I fought for and facilitated the siting of several tube wells for irrigation farming and several earth dams spread evenly among the five local governments. For the records, 40 tube wells were sited at Suntai, 40 at Maihula, 40 at Kungana and 40 at Bali town under the supervision of the Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority. Under the same authority, the numbers of tube wells were increased to 40 in Sendirde and another in Wurojam all in Gassol local government. Another 40 tube wells were facilitated for kurmi in Kurmi local government while the construction of Earth Dam at Zangon Ajia in Sardauna Local Government, and Gamen Sarti at Gashaka Local Government complete the facilitated package for the Senatorial zone. The provision of clean potable water is one of the most important issues confronting several governments worldwide as well as institutions and key organisations. The importance of availability of clean water for consumption particularly at the grassroots level cannot be over emphasised. This is due largely, because a considerable number of diseases reported in hospitals particularly among the rural populace are water borne. This therefore made the provision of clean drinkable water top priority to me particularly in my senatorial zone. Working in close collaboration with the Millennium Development Goals Programmes I fought for and ensured the approval and siting of boreholes at Sabon-Layi and Suntai, in Bali Local government, Shagarda, Lomodu, Sendirde and Wurojam all in Gassol local government, Mayo-Selbe in Gashaka Local Government, and Ashuku, Abong and Baissa, all in Kurmi Local Government. Health they say is wealth. The burden of disease stand as a stark barrier to economic growth and must be addressed in any development strategy. Towards this end, it is believed that any additional back up health programme would be of great assistance to national or state health policies.

What other areas have your impact been felt?

Poverty alleviation worldwide is a system of trying to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. In Nigeria all levels and arms of government operate one system or another directed towards minimising the rate of poverty in the society, hence I decided to address the issues of poverty reduction in two ways. First, I supported the creation and siting of cultural industry by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Bali town. Cultural industries refer to the creation, production and distribution of goods and services that are cultural in nature and usually protected by intellectual property rights. Purchased for use at this training centre are about 60 sewing machines, 30 design machines blacksmithing materials, dying equipment and modern computer set, to train the youth and adult throughout the state and eventually help them set up their business. Secondly, I personally purchased over 60 telephone and lines to be distributed among ordinary people under my zone to engage in the pay call business. This has effectively aided employment generation and poverty reduction at the grassroots. In my undying zeal to seek for the welfare of my people, I fought and secured federal appointment for several people. As at the last count about 70 candidates spread to all the five local governments under Taraba Central and also including candidates from Northern and Southern Taraba were gainfully employed in federal service. Provision of electricity at the rural areas is always seen as a thing of joy and a dream come true. Beside using electricity at home for basic comfort in day to day existence supply of electricity to certain category of people such as artisans, mechanics, vulganisers, tailors, barbers, hairdressers, etc at the rural level has the capacity to drastically change their fortunes for the better and check the rural urban migration. So, I nurtured this thought when I fought relentlessly for the towns of Gunduma, Yerima and Gassol to be connected with electricity. The residents of the three town are now were beaming with smiles when they see clean and new electricity poles and transformers lining the streets and only awaiting a final connection for electricity light and the complementary rapid development to the areas.

Which other social services have you executed?

In Maihula in Bali local government, the main cemetery being patronised by people of all faith from far and near is located in an open field. But this cemetery where departed loved ones are expected to rest in peace was constantly being desecrated. Humans and animals walk in at will to excrete. Pigs did worse by actually exhuming the corpses and feasting on them. When the issue got to my knowledge I quickly set up a committee of prominent people in the area and single-handedly fund the construction of a fence. Today the rate of abuse on the cemetery had greatly reduced and the people forever full of gratitude. Since the appointment of Dr. Ade Abolurin as the Controller General of Civil Defence Corps, the organisation has risen to the challenges of maintaining security nationwide. In Bali, headquarters of the Bali Local Government, I noticed that the security agency is having accommodation problems and promptly donated a 12-bedroom flat belonging to me to the security agency. A story was told how the effort to build a new befitting Central Mosque in Gashaka was almost becoming an abandoned project. I, as man who do not toy with the yearnings of my people took up the project, and today standing in place of an abandoned project is an almost completed Mosque. One of my most passionate and personally funded projects was the opening of the waterways. Once upon a time the people of Sansani, Sandirde Wurojam, Nakirde, and Gwuiwan Kogi were almost being exterminated from day-to-day existence. The people of these communities were mainly fishermen and farmers. A story was told how the waterways assisted them in the practicing of their trade was blocked by high concentration of sand dunes. First it was the fishing business that was affected and later regular farming was also hampered with the dwindling of harvest. The communities called on me for help to prevent starvation and hunger by opening the waterways back to its original level to restore their business and means of livelihood and I responded. Experts, workers and heavy machines were deplored to the affected areas, and within a reasonable time, life and commerce were fully back in place. In Kurmi Local Government, I joined others in lending a helping hand to renovate, a mosque in Didan, the Baisa Central Mosque, and a Church, The Christian Reform Church of Nigeria in Danbeki. Once upon a time, the butchers association in Gembu, the home of the Mambilla sold their meat product right under the heat of the sun. It was the era where flies struggle for space with the butchers and the few patronising customers, who took great health risk in patronising the butchers under that condition. But today, all that is old history, I saw the need and personally financed the construction of a modern butcher's market stalls equipped with nets to keep out flies and under a very hygienic environment. The resultant effect is an increase in patronage. Like it was in Gembu, the people operating at Gwarzo market in Nguroje had it tough for several years particularly during the raining season. During this period it is usually a festival of mud with cars and lorries splashing mud on their goods in an attempt to avoid being stuck down. At a time the entire market had to relocate before the market association cried to me for help. In my usual way, I in partnership with Hon. S.N. Nguroje financed the construction of a culvert to bring a final solution to the hardships. Today the market is back in place in full force.

Constructive opposition normally nurtures credible democracy. How do you mange the opposition expected against a politician of your status?

Thanks for using the phrase constructive opposition. I share with you the notion that credible democracy could be nurtured by constructive criticism or as you put constructive opposition. When I resolved to join politics I made allowance that opposition and criticism would remain a necessary components of the game. I am therefore never surprised or badly concerned if I come across such political opposition. I always believe our goals are the same, the goals of service to our people, of reforming our society and of bringing changes for the betterment of the electorates. I cannot claim total perfection, for that is an attribute of God alone. But I always advise that opposition should be within the realm of reason and moderation. Politics should not be dirty and criticism only. We have a duty to our conscience to our actions and words with modesty and fairness. And this is what I stand for in politics.

As a Senator of the Federal Republic, what are your goals for Taraba State in particular, and the nation at large?

As you are aware, my primary responsibility is lawmaking, so at the national level my aspiration is to ensure that we give to the country the best and most effective laws for the good governance of the nation. My goals are to ensure that through the National Assembly the nation attain greater unity faster development and a transformation of our democracy to an internationally acknowledged one. I also want to work towards a National Assembly, especially the Senate that would be a catalyst for development, that would be a strong platform for check and balance between the various arms of government and that would be a veritable tool for progress and societal harmony. Also, as a citizen of Taraba State, I want to be part of the change agent that would make Taraba greater. I want to be part of the process of bringing integrating and genuine development to our people. I want to join the progressive and patriotic forces within the state that would exert influence, home and abroad for attracting progress for the state. I want to be a worthy partner to the government and people of Taraba State in their quest of climbing the ladder of success in our collective noble endeavour.

What advice may you extend to citizens of your constituency and of Taraba State generally?

My advice is that we should remain patriotic and hardworking. We should see ourselves as brothers and sisters irrespective of tribe or religion. We should know that Taraba is ours and we do not have any better alternative than what is ours. We should remain law-abiding and willing partners in building our state to an exalted position. We should be our brother's keepers and always ready to meaningfully contribute in exalting the good tenets that make Taraba different and special. We should also exercise patience in whatever we do and not allow rumours or misguided citizens to sway us to the path of disharmony and hatred. Above all, we should be godly and remember that whatever we do we will one day account for it before our creator.