The reporter and the homeboy

Whenever came into Maiduguri, admittedly seldom in the last few years, I always found it difficult to separate the consciousness of the reporter from that of the homeboy. Maiduguri is my home. I was born and raised there but have now been working and living in Abuja for close to twenty years. Maiduguri has now become a reporter’s galore for news and analyses and as one is now part of the reporters’ clan, it would not be easy for one to want to shut his eyes from looking for what to report. After all Maiduguri had now become famous world-wide, albeit for the wrong reasons. Even my travel-weary friends have told me that they were never surprised to find the name Maiduguri featuring in the most inconsequential news rag in the furthest country one could think of.

I was there last week for a considerable period - more than half of the week - and for the first time one noted that the positive changes in the town since my last visit in July were becoming rooted. No doubt Maiduguri has had a rough tumble from one of the most peaceful and prosperous cities in the land to probably the most terrifying place to live in Nigeria. At the height of the insurgency those of us that had families and relations in Maiduguri and had to risk journeys there endured the most harrowing time on the road.

For me a journey to the town from Abuja that normally took less than twelve hours could extend to anything between one or two days due to the innumerable security checkpoints in the whole stretch of the way. It was definitely worse for those who lived there. At least for the sojourners there was hope of getting away to saner climes. But for those who had no other place to go to, it was one long nightmare having to contend with the murderous elements that had virtually taken over the town, maiming, killing and plundering at will. It took a while for our combined security forces to get rid of the menace but by doing so they were released into the surrounding towns and villages.

Even at that Maiduguri did not see peace as the town was cluttered with security check points complete with the usual frightening paraphernalia; heaps of sandbags, military vehicles, and dour looking soldiers holding guns. For years the checkpoints choked the town and made it well-nigh impossible for free movement thus hampering trade and other day-today activities. And as the Boko Haram elements occupied the surrounding towns and villages displaced persons streamed into Maiduguri probably I doubling its population and putting intense pressure on the available infrastructure.

At a time there was no electricity for months and when the insurgents were audacious enough to attack the airport, even air travel shut down for months also. To compound the tragic events all the roads linking out to other parts of the state and particularly to Cameron, Chad and Niger, countries contiguous to Borno State were all closed due to the terrorizing activities of the insurgents. Maiduguri relied on the Damaturu outlet for survival. Even that was tenuous as the insurgents could appear and engage our security forces in gun battles on the road thus shutting it for hours and creating a vehicles queue running for kilometres.

When I came into Maiduguri last week I found a city bustling with new found energy. Most of the security checkpoints had gone into the shadows releasing their iron-grip on free movement. Business activities were the obvious winners. You could see in the vigour of the people rushing about that life is gradually returning to normal. I drove round the town from the airport to the University, to Gamboru road, to federal low- cost housing units and back to Dandal and then to Monday market, ending up in the GRA. The town was obviously at peace and there were frantic business activities going on all over. In the night I drove out and was astounded to even find functioning street lights all over the town. Shops were opened and people were swarming the streets. There was a palpable absence of fear.

I even learnt that the Maiduguri to Monguno, Kukawa to Baga road is now opened and could be plied without military escorts. This means traders could now the access the Baga lucrative dried-fish trading outpost on the shores of Lake Chad. The road from Kukawa to Damasak is also opened allowing access to Diffa, the link with our cousins in Niger Republic. The challenge before our government now is how to tidy up affairs in the DamboaBama-Gwoza axis as well as the DikwaMarte-Gamboru side. So long as the Boko Haram murderous elements were deemed to be present in those areas it would not be expedient to return the hundreds of thousands of the refugees staying in camps in Maiduguri. The refugees must be tired and are obviously longing to be back to where they belong. One can understand the reasons behind the recent protest of the Bama IDPs and hope that the authorities also would look at it that way and drop the idea of prosecuting those arrested. The fight against the insurgents must be intensified to enable Borno State Government repatriate the refugees to their abode.

RESTRUCTURING AND THE FUTURE OF THE FEDERATION

Tomorrow, Wednesday, 9th October all roads will be leading to Arewa House Kaduna, where the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP) will be holding a two-day conference to brainstorm on the issues surrounding restructuring and the future of the Nigerian Federation. The ARPD is a platform based in Arewa House which pools together pockets of Northern groups who share the aim of transformation and development of the North. I know that the outfit has done plenty of good work since it came into being recently, particularly in collaboration with many Northern States Governments seeking improvement in agriculture, industrialization, minerals exploitation, etc. I am therefore not surprised that APRD is championing taking a clear position on restructuring which has become a very emotive issue now.

The Convener of ARPD is a wellknown political activist, Dr Usman Bugaje, whose passion for tackling issues affecting the socio-economic development of the North is well regarded. In fact those of us who have known him since his student activist days in Zaria in the early 1970s know that he is passion-driven in these kinds of endeavours. Recently one of the reasons he gave for turning down an ambassadorial appointment was for him to be focussed in the affairs of the ARPD. The Chairman of the outfit, General John Shagaya, a civil war veteran and Senator has been known for his strong participation in all matters affecting the North. It will be a great gathering worth attending.

Re: PERM SECS PROMOTION

Buhari Hassan has written from Kaduna: Cannot recall the exact words but a Chief Secretary in the United Kingdom was quoted to have responded to a question about civil servants from Queen Victoria that ‘civil servants are people who sit on chairs, behind tables, unseen, unheard and write, write and write’. Pray with Perm Secs so conspicuously visible nowadays are they really civil servants as per that description?

Buhari, Perm Secs in the Nigerian Civil Service ate the proverbial forbidden fruit in 1966 when General Aguiyi Ironsi, then Head of State kept them as head of ministries and did not appoint Ministers throughout his short tenure and they also played a key role during the impasse of July 1966 before General Yakubu Gowon emerged as Head of State. General Gowon kept them in high esteem though his long tenure. Even recently President Buhari kept them as head of ministries for so long before he appointed Ministers. And now some states such as Bauchi do not have Commissioners. So, why would Perm Secs not be conspicuous? I will return to the subject another day.