The second journey began in 2023 to return Governor Bala Muhammed to power in Bauchi State through a collective effort of renowned and respected democrats superintended by Farouk Mustapha, Director-General of the Campaign Council. The media was professionally handled by Comrade Muktar Gidado who mortgaged his comfort to justify the confidence reposed in him and the media team for optimum result.
All said and done, like a flash of lightening, the first tenure of Kauran Bauchi ended on May 29th, and same day, it ushered in another four-year tenure for the governor at the overcrowded Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi, venue of the swearing-in ceremony.
Between then and now, the state has not been the same. Under the dynamic and result-oriented leadership of the workaholic anointed captain of Bauchi State, Bauchi lived to its billing as the Home of Tourism and Hospitality and a reference point.
The governor and few of his team mates were up and doing. The evidence of growth and development manifested in brand new and renovated schools and hospitals, new massive, affordable housing estates, improved public transportation system, new and reconditioned roads and other infrastructural facilities, steady flow of investments, unquantifiable support for crude oil exploration at Kolmani valley and an atmosphere of peace.
Kaura in his first four years led Bauchi State on the path of survival. Under him, the state triumphed over pestilence Covid-19 that threatened humanity. He also exhibited leadership during the #EndSARS nationwide protest that was hijacked by criminals, which he never allowed the state to go under.
Stakeholders also applauded the governor for his style of governance and other personal traits—simplicity, openness, candour, inclusiveness and loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the vehicle that he drove to power.
Accompanied by his delectable, amiable second best part, Hajia A’isha Bala Muhammed, they stood tall on the podium, confident and optimistic about tackling the unfinished business ahead. Governance in Bauchi State since 2019 has not been a tea party, and shall not be in 2023. The ultimate reward for hard work from the governor is more work with pleasant result.
Despite Kaura’s impressive performance across the sectors, much is still expected from him as usual at this critical time of his return to power. Some critical areas that need attention, according to observers and admirers, are staring his administration in the face.
The population of Bauchi State is growing in geometric proportion. Thousands migrate to the populous cities on daily basis from neighboring states in pursuit of real and the imaginary source of livelihood as a golden fleece. New settlements are springing up. They require social amenities such as schools, medical centres, water supply, roads and security.
Several initiated projects were completed and commissioned for use during the first tenure. A lot is still ongoing across the state. The intended beneficiaries are full of gratitude and appreciation.
Since Bauchi State is yet to be accorded special status for providing safety net to internally displaced persons from close and far away neighbors and as a prospective oil producing state or given any special federal economic assistance, there is too much pressure on the infrastructural facilities of the state that now shoulders enormous national responsibilities of the internally displaced persons. The dilapidated state of federal roads in Bauchi state, attest to a curious federal neglect or slow response to urgent need for infrastructural renewal.
More worrisome are local government roads as most of them are in a state of despair. Only few of the 20 councils are really adding value and complementing the efforts of the state government. Many of Bauchi State councils despite several warnings from the governor for optimum performance within available resources, are still impeded by technical personnel deficit and lack of proper focus to support the efforts of the working governor, with elected functionaries in the assemblies at state and national levels across party divide largely viewing their electoral victories as an opportunity for private accumulation and aggrandizement while watching the governor profusely sweating to serve with passion.
Not only that, some of his appointed aides were caught napping while he was at the field armed with the tools for service, as some were betrayers of trust, hypocritical and served as moles to opposition parties. It was discovered that there were several clandestine moves by aides to frustrate the re-election of the workaholic governor for their personal interest while few were on the list of opposition for plum appointments in case they scaled the hurdle. Those moves were professionally scuttled and rubbished by the enlightened and committed electorates. The Saint returned to the bit from the electoral battle field with neither a scratch nor a casualty.
While addressing the mammoth crowd that attended his second inauguration, he said: “I have so far delivered my first tenure campaign promises that met the expectation of the people. I will confidently consolidate on the feats for more dividends of good governance. I promise to focus on gender equality, social inclusion, youth development and agricultural revolution among others
“Bauchi State has joined the league of oil producing states, and we have already provided all the necessary support structures from our end for the success of the exploration and subsequent drill of crude oil from the bowel of our soil while the completion of several standard roads across the state has enhanced socioeconomic growth and turned the state to a new logistic hub in the Northeast sub-region
“Our attention to improved agriculture has made the state a key player in the food production chain in Nigeria and beyond while remaining on the track of sustenance and prosperity, adding that a great deal of financial engineering led to the upgrading of the state to great financial sustainability and resilience”.
Responding to questions from journalists on critical issues of governance, governor Bala Muhammed said: “We have so far delivered creditably in critical sectors of health delivery, education, infrastructural development, improved water supply, affordable housing, aesthetic environment, and social interventions as part of our 2019 Development Agenda
“We have set the stage for genuine transformative change. We confronted significant challenges, from improving our infrastructure to ensuring adequate social services, from grappling with economic downturns to navigating steadily a global pandemic. Yet we never faltered. Our challenges became stepping stones and our trials, the foundation of our resilience
“Our second mandate as a government is going to be dedicated towards meeting and surpassing the people’s expectations in all sectors of the economy. My vision for Bauchi State is beyond provision of physical infrastructure and working to attain good economic indicators for the state.
“We are determined through concerted efforts and within available resources to make Bauchi State the beacon of global tourism, intellectual prowess, and humanistic values never seen before. We shall focus more attention on social inclusion, gender equality, agriculture, and youth development and sports
“Our commitment to good governance in the last four years of enlightened leadership has consistently yielded fruits for the people, and we set Bauchi State on as a model within the Northeast sub-region. We have lived up to our designation as The Pearl of Tourism and Hospitality
“We know the needs of our people and we know they expect a lot more from our stewardship and we are determined to serve better than before. We shall unleash greater energy in the service of Bauchi State that we can all be proud of anywhere and anytime. We are moving our governing style to higher level in this our second term. We shall strength and reinforce our governance agenda in order not to leave any interested party behind on account of any social status, gender or youthful age. We have designed our policies and programmes to ensure that everyone is carried along and catered
“Governance is a joint responsibility involving active collaboration between the government and the governed. We shall not relent in seeking partnership with the people in line with our administration’s mantra. We shall continue to foster a culture of transparency, accountability and participatory governance”.
Governor Bala Muhammed is set to continue to offer transformational leadership in collaboration with committed aides who have the capacity to deliver with little or no supervision. He has promised that Bauchi State would remain peaceful and united by its diversity, while pledging to deploy his best till his last day in office creating better future for all.
There are some challenges ahead of Governor Bala Muhammed in his second term which include; assembling a team of committed, experienced, loyal and focused aides, members of the state executive council with tested capacity to deliver, advisers that are experienced, exposed and brilliant to assist him in driving his vision and fulfilling the vision to the benefit of the state.
Then there is the challenge of staying on course, fidelity to policy and programmes implementation and closing the gap between public expectation and reality. Another challenge is forging synergy of harmonious relationship between the executive, legislature and the judiciary as well as effective supervision of the modus operandi of the local government councils for effective service delivery at the grassroot because the local government councils are becoming cesspits of corruption where service delivery is becoming a forgotten issue.
Finally, is the challenge of democratic succession, power retention by the ruling PDP and orderly transfer of power to another PDP chieftain in 2027 for continuity of the transformation of Bauchi State on the solid foundation laid by Governor Bala Muhammed in eight years of purposeful governance.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
