Few weeks from now, the tenure of Dr. Babangida Aliyu, the Chief Servant of Niger State, will come to an end, with his dream of retiring to the Red Chamber having been scuttled by his old foe, Barrister David Umaru of All Progressives Congress (APC) whom he defeated in the 2007 and 2011 governorship elections. Many, in 2007, including this author saw his coming as a beginning of good leadership and development, which were lacking during the tenure of his predecessor, Engineer A. A. Kure.
He was armed with intimidating credentials as a PhD holder, eloquent speaker and career civil servant who got to the pinnacle of civil service as a federal Permanent Secretary in five different ministries. Since the country’s return to democracy in 1999, Niger State has not fared well despite the huge allocations it received from federation account. The Federal of Ministry of Finance website show that our state received about One Trillion Naira from 2007 to 2015. The said amount superseded what the state got since its creation from 1976 to 2007. We have been hurt, and we have been disillusioned. We have seen a wall go up that separates us from our own government. We have been a state wandering for too long.
Every honest Nigerlite as well as those whose domestic and personal bills were oiled by the state’s treasury will concur that our State fell beneath the bar in Nigeria. The dividend of democracy and good governance have not been so palatable. When you look at Niger State from 2007 to date, it’s the same as the Niger State of 1999 to 2007. For example, while many States were busy revamping federal roads, the reverse is the case of ours. From any route one chooses to access Niger State, the poor road network is the first gauge to substantiate the poor performances of the governor. Under the watchful eyes of the outgoing governor, schools in the state look more of the abandoned farm houses.
The renovation and equipping of hospitals have remained the responsibility of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The capital projects and staff development at the state-owned tertiary institutions have been taken over by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), while construction and renovation of Primary and Secondary Schools were carried out by MDGs, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), community efforts, private individuals and political office holders mostly legislatures at the State and National Assembly who embark on the projects to enable them have an evidence for their re-election bids.
The state, despite being the second largest in the country, with landmass of 76,363sq.km with a good climate and soil that is fertile with capacity to produce virtually all of Nigeria’s stable crops such as rice, yam, cassava, beans, millet, guinea-corn, soya-beans, maize, wheat, sweet-potatoes, also with ample prospects for grazing, fishing, forestry and opportunities for the establishment of large scale farms in each of the Senatorial zone which would lead to job creation, transfer of skills and technology, were never utilized by the Chief Servant’s administration.
The situation is so pathetic that hardly any of the 25 Local Government Councils today can boast of a single functional tractor. Lack of access to water supply has got to a peak; the case of Minna, Bida, Suleja and Kontagora is pathetic as the residents can’t recall last when water ran through their taps. The most awful situation is, our state, which was created in 1976, is now wadding behind Katsina, Akwa-Ibom, Jigawa, Gombe, Delta, Kebbi, Osun, Ekiti and Zamfara states which were created in 1987, 1991 and 1996 respectively, in terms of physical and human development. Even the states of Yobe and Borno that and engulfed with insurgent crisis for past three years have accomplished better than ours.
From 2007 to date, the Chief Servant approved and committed the state’s resources to the following projects which his administration failed to execute. The projects include, 10 kilometre roads in each of the 25 LGAs, totalling N8.6 billion since 2009, construction of a N400 million stadium in Minna, $700 million for the development of an Estate to be known as ‘African Village’, 5 Star Hotel, Waterfalls and a Cable Car all at Zuma Rock since 2008, establishment of $300 million Niger-American Medical City in Minna, N2.5 billion 10,000 capacity stadium in Maikunkele, near Minna, N4.6 billion shopping mall in Minna, N1.8 billion Madala Ultra-Modern Market, 25-storey city tower with five-star hotel and a cultural centre which its cost remains mysterious to the Nigerlites, Construction of Baro Refinery, into which N12.8 billion was committed by the state government; construction Hydro Dam in Izom, which the sum of $200 million was also committed, Minna Cargo Airport, Construction of Permanent NYSC Camp, Construction of three arm zone, Minna Airport City and IBB University Business School at Suleija. These are among numerous projects in which billions of State’s fund were channelled in to but remain white elephant projects. Apart from Chief Servant’s unfulfilled promises, the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows he is leaving behind a debt burden of over N40 billion to the detriment of the State.
The Chief Servant would not have had this unpalatable end if he had dedicated his attention and energy to utilizing the resources for the development of the State, which would no doubt have given him a special place in the history of the State. It’s very unfortunate that someone who led a state of 4.1 million people for eight years was not only humiliated at the poll by the people of his Senatorial Zone, but was outrightly rejected by his immediate ward on his bid to represent them in the Red Chamber.
Now, Nigerians must have come to terms with the fact that the self-acclaimed Chief Servant is a ‘Horse Man without a Horse’. It’s an indisputable fact that the Chief Servant deserves a cold farewell from the people of Niger State.
Mr. Yahaya wrote from Jagbele Quarters of Muye, Niger State. Danmuye@yahoo.com
He was armed with intimidating credentials as a PhD holder, eloquent speaker and career civil servant who got to the pinnacle of civil service as a federal Permanent Secretary in five different ministries. Since the country’s return to democracy in 1999, Niger State has not fared well despite the huge allocations it received from federation account. The Federal of Ministry of Finance website show that our state received about One Trillion Naira from 2007 to 2015. The said amount superseded what the state got since its creation from 1976 to 2007. We have been hurt, and we have been disillusioned. We have seen a wall go up that separates us from our own government. We have been a state wandering for too long.
Every honest Nigerlite as well as those whose domestic and personal bills were oiled by the state’s treasury will concur that our State fell beneath the bar in Nigeria. The dividend of democracy and good governance have not been so palatable. When you look at Niger State from 2007 to date, it’s the same as the Niger State of 1999 to 2007. For example, while many States were busy revamping federal roads, the reverse is the case of ours. From any route one chooses to access Niger State, the poor road network is the first gauge to substantiate the poor performances of the governor. Under the watchful eyes of the outgoing governor, schools in the state look more of the abandoned farm houses.
The renovation and equipping of hospitals have remained the responsibility of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The capital projects and staff development at the state-owned tertiary institutions have been taken over by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), while construction and renovation of Primary and Secondary Schools were carried out by MDGs, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), community efforts, private individuals and political office holders mostly legislatures at the State and National Assembly who embark on the projects to enable them have an evidence for their re-election bids.
The state, despite being the second largest in the country, with landmass of 76,363sq.km with a good climate and soil that is fertile with capacity to produce virtually all of Nigeria’s stable crops such as rice, yam, cassava, beans, millet, guinea-corn, soya-beans, maize, wheat, sweet-potatoes, also with ample prospects for grazing, fishing, forestry and opportunities for the establishment of large scale farms in each of the Senatorial zone which would lead to job creation, transfer of skills and technology, were never utilized by the Chief Servant’s administration.
The situation is so pathetic that hardly any of the 25 Local Government Councils today can boast of a single functional tractor. Lack of access to water supply has got to a peak; the case of Minna, Bida, Suleja and Kontagora is pathetic as the residents can’t recall last when water ran through their taps. The most awful situation is, our state, which was created in 1976, is now wadding behind Katsina, Akwa-Ibom, Jigawa, Gombe, Delta, Kebbi, Osun, Ekiti and Zamfara states which were created in 1987, 1991 and 1996 respectively, in terms of physical and human development. Even the states of Yobe and Borno that and engulfed with insurgent crisis for past three years have accomplished better than ours.
From 2007 to date, the Chief Servant approved and committed the state’s resources to the following projects which his administration failed to execute. The projects include, 10 kilometre roads in each of the 25 LGAs, totalling N8.6 billion since 2009, construction of a N400 million stadium in Minna, $700 million for the development of an Estate to be known as ‘African Village’, 5 Star Hotel, Waterfalls and a Cable Car all at Zuma Rock since 2008, establishment of $300 million Niger-American Medical City in Minna, N2.5 billion 10,000 capacity stadium in Maikunkele, near Minna, N4.6 billion shopping mall in Minna, N1.8 billion Madala Ultra-Modern Market, 25-storey city tower with five-star hotel and a cultural centre which its cost remains mysterious to the Nigerlites, Construction of Baro Refinery, into which N12.8 billion was committed by the state government; construction Hydro Dam in Izom, which the sum of $200 million was also committed, Minna Cargo Airport, Construction of Permanent NYSC Camp, Construction of three arm zone, Minna Airport City and IBB University Business School at Suleija. These are among numerous projects in which billions of State’s fund were channelled in to but remain white elephant projects. Apart from Chief Servant’s unfulfilled promises, the Debt Management Office (DMO) shows he is leaving behind a debt burden of over N40 billion to the detriment of the State.
The Chief Servant would not have had this unpalatable end if he had dedicated his attention and energy to utilizing the resources for the development of the State, which would no doubt have given him a special place in the history of the State. It’s very unfortunate that someone who led a state of 4.1 million people for eight years was not only humiliated at the poll by the people of his Senatorial Zone, but was outrightly rejected by his immediate ward on his bid to represent them in the Red Chamber.
Now, Nigerians must have come to terms with the fact that the self-acclaimed Chief Servant is a ‘Horse Man without a Horse’. It’s an indisputable fact that the Chief Servant deserves a cold farewell from the people of Niger State.
Mr. Yahaya wrote from Jagbele Quarters of Muye, Niger State. Danmuye@yahoo.com
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