Of rogues and Bauchi’s irreversible march to glory

When Barrister Muhammed Abdullahi Abubakar took the oath of office on May 29, 2015 as the governor of Bauchi State, his change mantra, anchored on a relentless anti-corruption war, warmed the hearts of many who had, for years, from the sidelines, watched helplessly how their standard of living was mercilessly battered by the unpatriotic deeds of greedy elements that had stolen 4.6million people blind but still mustered courage and guts to shamelessly walk tall and even try to throw challenges.

The feeling goes on that if Bauchi indigenes do not subscribe to their governor’s relentless effort in tackling the monster of corruption as inherited, then it should be accepted that in no distance future the state would crumble. The governor has said that much in his tireless effort to return the state to the path of glory.

The recent discovery of over 10,000 ghost workers, a fact thrown up by the tedious but life-saving Bank Verification Number (BVN) implementation drive, carried out in tandem with that of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), is a case in point as to how seriously committed the Abubakar administration is to the execution of its anti-corruption war, largely the reason why he was elected.

Prior to the victory of the governor at the polls, his campaign train had stood the party, during its short formative period, in good stead, through edifying and conciliatory pronouncements that helped to fast-track cohesion and now threatened by rabble-rousers and turn-coats, the likes of Ahmed Yerima that parades himself in the National Assembly as member representing Misau/Dambam federal constituency. Yerima seem to have more time to waste on baseless issues than attending to legislative matters that catapulted him to the National Assembly. Most of his messages are halfcooked and sourced from the rumour mills for purposeless attacks.

In his usual style of twisting facts to suit his distorted arguments, Yerima quotes wrong figures to paint the Bauchi administration black before his patient readers. It is no secret that the state’s economy was in dire straits, and the reason for that is not farfetched, given the narrative that far too many huge sums of public funds, denominated in local and foreign currencies, accruing to the treasury were either corruptly misappropriated or in a bare-faced stance, stolen brazenly and Governor Abubakar has vowed to retrieve and channel to infrastructural development beneficial to all. That has probably sent shivers to Yerima as he is tirelessly fighting the vow under the cover of politics.

But Nigerians know that because of the perilous exposure of the economy to the antics of self-styled, ‘patriotic’ sons of the soil, along with their female counterparts, who took delight in dipping their long fingers into the till, and yet, are forever ‘begged’ to represent their ‘people’, it is foolhardy to expect the governor, and by extension, his aides to stop flogging the anticorruption rhetoric.

Any person who has a case or may have a case to answer, as regards the state’s stolen funds and properties, must pluck the courage to get in touch with the appropriate authorities, and quickly return, in full, what was illegally acquired and stashed away, with a view to making amends, and bringing to a close, retributive justice that may arise from chastisement by an unrelenting guilty conscience. This is what Yerima and his co-travelers hate to hear, and it must be said and heard.

The ongoing efforts of Governor Abubakar which tally with the principles of change, are not restricted to the APC members alone, and therefore, need to be embraced by every patriot who is seriously interested in joining hands with the state government to smoke out those who looted the commonwealth, brazenly display it and, with impunity, try to resist being brought to book.

Given the hallmarks of Governor Abubakar that defines him as a leader with candour, who in all seasons, is his own man, it is futile and suicidal for any toddler, jobber or publication to pretend to be second-guessing his body language because the governor is a stickler for excellence, especially in areas of probity, integrity and discipline. He takes his time in arriving at conclusions, and far more time, making pronouncements.

By transparently managing Bauchi state’s resources, the governor has saved for the rainy day and is now expending the savings on execution of road projects totaling 90 kilometers, apart from sinking of boreholes and constructing Primary Healthcare centres in each of the 20 local government areas, as well as building 300 additional boreholes in each of the three senatorial zones of the state. This was possible from prudency and financial discipline. To put extra strength to his war against waste, he slashed Bauchi Government House monthly allocation by 50 percent as a starting point. Yerima may hate to hear that the governor has attained the enviable milestone within a short period.

Yet in his futile attempt to diminish the rising profile of his anointed leader, Ahmed was bitter with the Governor for hosting his fellow Muslim brothers in Saudi Arabia during Umrah (lesser hajj). In his way of thinking, it was a political gathering, not minding the identities of the other guests at the dinner.

We hate to join issues with day-light politicians for fear of equalization but, we warn. We have his lowly-type to handle him appropriately to his understanding. Gone are the days when campaigns of calumny orchestrated by palace jesters result in the impeachment or hatred of personalities whose contributions are not proved to be unworthy of their high offices.

As a supposed advocate of change, Yerima’s fervent prayer for untainted success of the APC administration in Bauchi State in the discharge of its daunting duties, as they do their level best toward putting corruption and sleaze to death and to bring the comatose economy of the state back to life is what the people of Bauchi State and Nigerians expect, instead of baseless whistle blowing that is devoid of substance and meaning other than promoting hatred and disunity.

Promoting hatred within the APC and the polity will never correct the bastardization of Bauchi State by a government which Ahmed was part of as SSA Media/Publicity to former Governor Yuguda.

Moore is a commentator on international relations/politics based in Reading, United Kingdom