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Chasing Wild Geese in Taraba By Ahmad Tafida Jalingo
Taraba state is in the news again, this time it is in tabloids and news letters, petitions to news papers and the EFCC.And not the Tiv fighting their Jukun cousins or some other tribe drawing another into a tug of war, or else all other times the state is quite, so much so quite that many a time a mention of the state sends people into quick re-appraisals of their memory to remember from which angle of country is such a state after all.
The news of late is of the renaissance of the people of the reverend gentleman at the helm of affairs at the rural state who has lately by self admonition realized that the mandate is just by the corner, a realization that all the federal subventions of all this time cannot be tracked and a self confession that there is nothing to be proud of for all the past 6 years and there may not be any before May 2007. In addition, to the vivid evidence that same person was at the helm of affairs for over 2/3 of the age of the rural state.
That old quietness was not without price to the indigenes and residents of this state of the reverend governor. The state that is called (Natures gift to the nation) has always been without electricity both day and night, in even the headquarters, no pipe borne water for both animals and humans, the gentle souls that are that disadvantaged to be residents, indigenes or posted there on national assignments, are bedeviled by a high spate of state sponsored insecurity.
Taraba was in the 1st dispensation (1999 - 2003) governed in a typical military junta style, by a section of the state executive, who walk the streets in the Italian mafia Dons manners, favor those who they so see in their myopic views as supporters as of his excellency, casting those who earn their wrath in the crudest of forms, most of the times so much so petty that even distance uncles of critics are not spared, any time a citizen voice out any thing contrary to the whims of the ruling Mafioso his far away uncle may end up being dismissed from work, denied fertilizer or have some nieces send home from school.
Today reports have it that the new generation of my state politicians have more houses in Abuja than even some federal ministries, may be only second to the FCDA. While at home the situation is such that even the state chief executive residence is a simple three bedroom flat, a typical colonial D.O.’s residence with a tall wall decorated with a beautiful gate lined with chandeliers, while the state commissioners are all cramped in a place which could easily be mistaken for a ‘boy’s quarter’ in a normal urban settlement in any Nigerian town. The honorable legislators are no better as only those people that know where they are able to recognize their quarters as one enters Jalingo the seat of government.
Jalingo the seat of government is today only accessible by one motor able road that cut across the town and a second feeder road as an alternative is still awaiting completion as the government in all its wisdom forgot to provide for a bridge across the river Gwoi. While the two federal roads that cut across the length of the state saves most of the local governments of the ordeal of moving their produce to the markets as any local government that is not that lucky to be located along roads may have to wait until God sends a savior from where so ever.
My state is still in its medieval era, our renaissance has just began with the self admonition of the reverend in his rare sober moments to start rejuvenating our situations as we still use colonial edifices, and/or buildings borrowed from local governments, with some rented property to run the state machinery 14years after the creation of the state. Most of our state ministries are always mistaken for some abandoned property after working hours, the whole situation is sickening. Government machinery seizes to function anytime the kitchen cabinet is out of town, general service spirit is has decline the smallest of office and official duties are politicized, and cash and carry and one has to ‘belong’ to be admitted and or participate in day-to-day activities of governance.
In a state where security dispensation, of the man of God most of the times tows the ways of the devil, a state where its people, critics and opponents are silenced systematically, by vindictive de-employment of their relatives in government offices, permanently blocking from a far by use of crude and primitive ways and means, in most cases hoodlums are unleashed on any one that thinks otherwise. As a result of which today all opponents and opposition groups operate from Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna (for which they are called names).
Of late a faceless local group has sprang up calling it self TTN (Taraba Transparency Network) issuing newsletters via email to indigenes and residence of the poor state, engaging the government in its own style of war, claiming to be tracing the directions of stolen funds, as a result using character assassination, personified accusations and other crude and primitive methods as well correcting the wrong.
Who I came to know of when a month or two to be precise I was approached at my kaduna office by 2 gentle who introduce themselves as Tarabans and also aircraft engineers working for a foreign company based in the southern part of the country fortnight ago, who introduced some highly incriminating evidence to buttress their argument that our state government is busy wasting public funds in the maintenance of some stagnant aircraft it purchased and hanger at the kaduna old airport. They wanted me to help them release the said evidence to the public through the monthly newsletters of the Taraba Transparency Network, which to there conviction I was behind the behind the scene news letter. I declined their request because I did not know who or where the said organisation or network was.
This volunteer data being submited by frustrated indigenes explains the seemingly success of the Network because the government have since emasculated all agents of reason or avenues of constructive criticism, performance analysis and intellectual discourse, be it traditional council, council of elders, the academia and or youth groups, none is existing in the state. Taraba today does not have a single functional tertiary institution.
The state traditional council have not been functional, for more than 14years now, Muri emirate that consists of 6 local governments has been without a council for upward of 14 years, Takum (T Y Danjumas hometown) lost its traditional ruler 15years today the stool is still vacant and so on…. today more than 45 towns and villages in the state has no traditional rulers, as which so-ever town that is unlucky enough to lose its natural ruler in this era may have to wait till a savior comes some day.
To our reverend gentleman that is a no go area, because reconstituting of the councils will bring this old men together and they will start disturbing the boys in action. Mambila has joined the ruler less towns and villages having lost Muhammad Mansur (the chief) in 2002 and that’s that for them too till the savior comes
We the Tarabans in Diaspora that are supposed to intervene in the quandary going on at home, are ourselves either being threatened with so much victimization of relations at home in or out of government service, or are condoning the reverend for usual Nigerian factor (corruption and selfish reasons) as some of us share in the squander mania going on at home.
Federal Ministers from the state in the persons of Dr Mohammed Shata, Gen T Y Danjuma and now Idriss Waziri seem to be too busy with federal duties to a level that they decide to keep quite and leave the reverend alone or may be they too believe that a man of God could never do anything in the ways of the devil’s or may be they are just refusing to hear from home. Anyway overall public opinion in the state has never for once blamed any other for the reverend’s follies, we all always blame the VP the Turaki of Adamawa for creating him after all.
The Turaki created Nyame in the 1st instance in 1989 by elevating from a local council candidate to a potential gubernatorial and recovered him from graveyard of failures in 1999 and dropped him back in the government house, even in 2003 the opposition groups tried their best but could not convince the PDP to drop their utmost liability for all the materials before it then, e.g. Baba Adi, KB, JAJI, and many more, now he is back for the third and last time and he is wild, so much so wild that, the Turaki himself could not tame him neither could the PDP.
He has successfully dispersed the group of occultist that worked for this third term victory; he has reduced them to nothing, is now using them as measure of relevance for any person of reason that raise a finger against the government (is either qualified to be working for the commissioner of a dejected ministry or a former benefactor of the government) This explains why my state is in a wild geese chase, a merry go round. Accusation galore at the EFCC, personal and character drags in the mud. A typical collapse state, the type the US is predicting for the nation as a whole.
Now transparency network is threatening to go to the EFCC, which I ask how can a faceless accuser go to justice, they are claiming to copy their letters to the federal authorities how can they substantiate provided they are faceless, I seize this opportunity to challenge them to come out and let us all well meaning Tarabans work together for a change, a change that can list our state among the group of progressive states in the country, and not the back stage people that we presently are
Let us make a front and submit to the Turaki for a tangent support, as we all can see how he was able such a change in Gombe and now the state is in the front seat of development, with the same Turaki boy as Governor and of the same PDP party, therefore Tarabans should be convinced that it is not the VP that is bad but like any father he too can have prodigal sons
Reverend Nyame and his kitchen cabinet of cronies are sure drowning with the time, they are now looking drowning fellows to drawn together. TTN please do not allow that to happen come out. |