By Abdulwaheed Olayanki Adubi
In the journey of Nigeria’s political history, there is no doubt that some political office holders have done their bit in ensuring that what they were elected to do are done to the best of their ability, leaving no course for regrets especially for those who have taken their time and resources to put them into their various offices.
One of those who are leaving no stone unturned by providing good governance to the best of his ability is the Governor of Kebbi state, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. As he clocks five years in office, the need to put him on a scorecard is inevitable, hence the need to launch on an opinion poll to x-ray the achievements of the number one citizen of Kebbi state, Senator Bagudu.
In fact, his achievements in the last five years of steering the affairs of Kebbi state in an exemplary manner has made people describe him as a man with uncommon political virtues.
In appreciation of his stewardship, currently, a group of youth in Nassarawa area of Birnin Kebbi attested to the fact that Bagudu on the saddle of governance has turned around the fortunes of the state from what it used to be in the past to what it is today.
In agricultural sector and especially on the anchor borrowers program, without doubt, has employed nearly 2 million unemployed youths in the state, which accessed the loans made available and fully utilized them.
More so, in the public service, the group disclosed that civil servants in Kebbi state are grossly indebted to Governor Bagudu for his prompt payment of salaries, which, according to them, what is most fascinating is the fact that at a time of the lockdown necessitated by the COVID -19, when other governors cut workers’ salaries, Sen. Atiku Bagudu with his kindhearted nature paid Kebbi workers full salaries on time.
In Kola town, a suburb of Birnin Kebbi, a few kilometers from the state capital, the residents were full of praises to the governor for his giant strides in the road construction that linked them with the state capital. A resident of the state, Malam Mashayabo, said that Governor Bagudu deserves nothing less than fervent prayers from the people of Kebbi state to succeed more in the art of governance.
A traditional head in Kebbi state who declined interview said that the governor has performed excellently well in the area of infrastructure, providing roads that linked them to other communities and the major towns. According to him, the road constructed by the Bagudu administration has eased their transportation problems and boosted the economic activities in the village by conveying their farm produce; local rice, and livestock to the state’s main market.
The district head of Kola, Alhaji Hassan Bashar (DND), said, “I and the people of Kola town are pleased with the road constructed from Badariya area in Birnin Kebbi to Kola town which has also linked to Bulasa village.”
He averred: “One of the importance of the road is that it is used to conveniently move patients to urban hospitals for proper medical attention. It has also made it easy for commuters and petty traders and farmers to convey goods and farm produce to the city.”
With the level of Bagudu’s achievements in Kebbi state, even the oppositions confessed to how the state has been transformed positively under the Bagudu administration, while a member of the opposition party names (withheld) commended the governor for prompt payment of salaries while stressing the need for more attention of the governor in some other sectors.
Realising the popular assertion that a hungry man is an angry man, Governor Bagudu considered the prompt payment of the state civil servants’ salaries as his priority, while to some others owing the civil servants means nothing to them. To Usman Haruna, a resident of Kalgo, has no reason to criticise the governor, saying that he can afford to put food on the table for his family.
More so, Haruna commended the governor for working round the clock, ensuring that lives and property are adequately secured. “I can sleep with my two eyes closed because of the peaceful nature of the state which the governor has provided.”
He also applauded the governor on how he is handling the issue of the coronavirus pandemic in the state, saying that the partial lockdown in the state alone was great foresight. “If the governor had closed down the state, a lot of people would have died of hunger.
In the political space, feelers are of the view that the governor is in top spirit to uniting members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state. A political analyst, Bello Suleiman, was of the view that the governor is silently turning around the fortunes of the state politically. In the state and beyond, Bagudu is considered as a political mathematician. In Kebbi state today, Mr. Man Bagudu has practised all-inclusive kind of government.
Among other suggestions of the residents to the governor is for Bagudu to give attention to tourism by exploring the numerous tourism potentials of the state. “If tourism is accorded the deserved attention, it can help to grow the economy of the state, by attracting millions of jobs to teaming Kebbi youths,” Haruna said.
In the power sector, people of Kebbi state need not to be told what governor Bagudu did and that he is still doing. Against all odds, Kebbi State government maintains a steady power supply not only in the state capital but across the state especially in major towns like Zuru and Yauri that were hitherto not enjoying steady power supply now smiles with steady electricity supply.
In the last five years of the Bagudu administration, many youths and artisans have been provided with gainful employment like welding and other metal works, as well as entrepreneur jobs and a host of others
Behind every successful man, they say, there is always a woman, and that is not different in the case of Governor Bagudu, as his wife has tremendously contributed to the social sector in the state. The wife of the governor has always proved to be a mother to the motherless. Her footprints in humanitarian services are still being felt, aside from her cancer initiative which also touched many positively in terms of prevention and management of the disease.
On women empowerment, no fewer than five thousand women across the state benefited from training and empowerment programmes in the state.
Abdulwaheed, a journalist, writes from Kaduna.
