PLAYING TO WIN

Danladi Musa writes that Governor Darius Ishaku is making a difference in Taraba

It was the rally before the rally, a prelude to what is expected at the beginning of the campaigns for the 2019 elections later this year in Taraba State where Governor Darius Ishaku will be seeking a renewal of his four-year mandate. The crowd was unprecedented. They came from all the 16 Local Government Areas of the state and beyond to be part of the celebration and the demonstration of support for Governor Ishaku whose administration turned three years on May 29, 2018.

Singing and dancing performed by cultural artistes from various parts of the state heralded the entry of the governor and his wife, Mrs Anna Ishaku into the main bowl of the Jolly Nyame Stadium in the central part of Jalingo for the grand finale of the third anniversary event. Time was 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

The event had actually started two hours earlier with the launching by Governor Ishaku of three out of the seven newly constructed roads in Jalingo metropolis. Time did not permit for all the seven road projects that had been completed to be inaugurated before the main events of the day. At the launching of the roads, Governor Ishaku and his wife were besieged by a surging crowd in a rare show of appreciation for the good job the governor was doing for the state.

At every of the three stops during the inauguration ceremonies, leaders of the benefitting communities and their members chanted the popular solidarity slogan of “Daram Dam Dam” of Governor Ishaku to assure him of their support in his re-election bid. Governor Ishaku assured them of the determination of his administration to do more for the state and noted that what they had seen in three years were just a tip of the iceberg. He urged them to prepare themselves for the elections by getting registered and to obtain the PVC that would enable them to vote for candidates of their choice.

The event at the Jolly Stadium was a carnival of sort - a lot of singing and dancing and a huge and excited crowd that was eager to demonstrate support for the governor. Speaker after speaker acknowledged the rare achievements of the Ishaku administration and assured the governor on behalf of the communities they represented not to bother even to campaign for re-election because his achievements in the past three years had done more than enough of the campaign for him already.

For Governor Ishaku, the event was an opportunity to talk about the road the administration had travelled in the past three years to attain the enviable records of achievements that were being appreciated by the people. It was a bumpy road, no doubt, but determination anchored on patriotic zeal to touch lives for the better, did the magic. Agriculture, a critical area of focus of the administration was cited as proof of the huge dividends from various areas of investments by the administration. Government’s agricultural programmes aimed at promoting the farmer to the rank of a rich entrepreneur have been very successful. Early purchases and distribution of agricultural inputs such as fertiliser and pesticides as well as the provision of high-yielding seedlings of cassava, rice and sesame to farmers backed up by a well-managed tractors support services, dramatically increased farm yields.

The Green House project is a landmark achievement of the administration. Vice -President Yemi Osinbajo who launched the project in August last year described it as evidence of immense achievement in technology in the production of vegetables. The project has provided employment to more than 500 youths and women while its products are now sold daily in markets in the state and in major retail shops in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Education in Taraba State is a sweet story that is very well known and told by many with relish. The Ishaku administration’s highly innovative policies in education have earned the state an enviable position on the performance index in the West African Examination Council (WAEC). From a near zero score in WAEC at the time the administration assumed office, in 2015, the state’s performance jumped to 67.3 per cent in 2016 and in 2017, its performances catapulted it to the enviable position as the highest scorer in WAEC in the whole of Northern Nigeria and to the number 8th position in the entire country. This aspect of the governor’s speech prompted a spontaneous standing ovation for the governor from audience.

Schools at all levels experienced the touch of positive changes. School infrastructure were rebuilt and equipped with furniture to make the school environment more conducive while instructional materials were provided to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. The results eventually proved that these policies were well targeted and delivered.

Ishaku’s address also touched several critical areas like the health sector where key hospitals in the state have been renovated and re-equipped, the provision of water to all communities in urban and rural areas, the reconstruction of more than 30 urban and rural roads and the empowerment of over 2000 women and youths through government’s laudable skills acquisition programme. The audience roared in appreciation as the governor reeled out the long list of projects successfully completed by the administration in three years.

The event was a kind of endorsement rally for Governor Ishaku too. Representatives of the various groups in attendance all spoke in the same vein – that Ishaku should be returned as the unopposed governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2019 election in the state. The event which was attended by most of the critical political stakeholders in the state served as a means of internal self-assessment for the party, a kind of political barometer which gauged and confirmed a high level of unity in the Taraba State branch of the PDP. It was also proof of the determination of the people to go into the party’s primaries and election proper in the months ahead as one, united front.