Governor Mamman Ali: Yobe’s Eureka Moment

By

Habu Dauda Fika

hdfika@yahoo.com

The days of one single godfather’s largess, bloated and ghost filled payroll, sectional and divisive leadership, inept and inefficient bureaucracy, mirage like social services, dilapidated and rapidly decaying educational infrastructure, poor and impassable local roads, dry and waterless pipes, and acute underdevelopment in most towns; a misdirected city planning especially in Damaturu and Potiskum, and a totally abused and weakened civil service has come to a sudden and an abrupt stop! The termination of the ills of Yobe state and the blossoming of a new hope was evident from about 2pm on Tuesday May 29th.

Yobe is finally experiencing the Eureka moment of a truly new state, 16 years late and long overdue. Yobe must be considered lucky today as it begins to realize the promise of good governance and purposeful leadership. The pretenders who were nothing but wolves who smartly masqueraded as doves have been pushed out by their own machinations.

It is refreshing that today in Yobe, the conversation is about how a new beginning – as is being defined by Governor Mamman Ali - has rejuvenated and reinvigorated the whole state with hope and determination that things will get better because the right person with an abundance of the right ideas is at the helm of the affairs of state!

An overwhelming majority of the people of Yobe – even those who did not vote for him – are openly and passionately endorsing the pioneer steps so far taken by Governor Mamman Ali. The reasons for this support are many and innumerable, but primarily, there is a realization that he is up to the task as everyone will acknowledge that the challenges facing the state are daunting. So far the Governor has demonstrated that he can tackle many issues simultaneously and with dispatch.

We have all heard about the state payroll which needs not be repeated, but suffice to say that it is now lean and on the road to becoming a pay system that rewards honest day’s work with an honest day’s pay. The most dilapidated local roads in the state are now under rehabilitation as per the governor’s inaugural directive. Many past dormant projects that littered the state are now in the process of being completed by contractors who are now mindful of our ‘No Nonsense’ Governor. The days when contracting vendors were paid all at once for doing absolutely nothing are over.

Unlike in the past, Governor Mamman Ali has arrived with a plan for Yobe and its people. He is equipped with a sound and sustainable development plan and has embarked upon building a committed and modernized bureaucracy that must be responsive to the political leadership and, most importantly, responsive to the needs of the people. Some of the steps taken so far are to restructure, right-size, re-professionalize and strengthen government and its institutions to be better equipped to deliver effective services to the people. Governor Mamman Ali has initiated his plan to eliminate waste and inefficiency that will free up resources for rebuilding our decayed infrastructure and provide social services. There is also a visible and resolute determination in the state to acutely address the issues of project implementation and completion.

In the past, little groundwork has been laid for delegated, monitored and account-able leadership. Instead, all the eggs of state have been put into the basket of one man, the chief executive. Indeed, the political environment created by the previous administration in its eight years, has been called into question many times from many quarters due to its divisive nature, therefore it is now a welcomed change to breathe this new wind of change blowing in the state.

What Yobe need in leadership is what Yobe got in Governor Mamman Ali. The legacies of corruption and mismanagement of the past eight years must teach us to discount the view by a few who still think that there is someone else out there who deserve any support.  We have the right person at the right time in the right place for the best of reasons. Governor Mamman Ali is up to the challenge and Yobe is lucky to have him now.

The Governor’s office is meant for a good servant of the people and Gov. Mamman Ali is imminently qualified to lead Yobe state. The start of his administration has undeniably been impressive!

The wait is finally over. The respite for our people is finally here!

 

 

 

Habu Dauda Fika, webmaster www.AmanaOnline.com writes from Damaturu.