On Adamawa and Marwa’s endorsement by PDP delegates

The recent impeachment of Admiral Murtala Nyako (retired) as governor of Adamawa State obviously settles the crisis that has bedevilled the state for some time now, to a large extent. But as an indigene of the state, I know, and I am convinced by the facts on ground, that we are yet to get over the challenges that led to the crisis that eventually consumed Nyako.

What the state needs urgently is a pragmatic leader who can mobilise the available human and material resources for its development. There is no gain repeating the obvious fact that the state has been left behind in terms of basic amenities and infrastructural development. No thanks to bad and visionless leadership. This then makes the choice of whoever will succeed Nyako as the next elected governor of the state the choice of all rather than a product of any imposition by any political clique. There is no time for a learning process under the critical and comatose condition the state has been left.

As a stakeholder in Adamawa State, I am therefore particularly happy at the caliber of people that have shown interest in governing the state. Leading the pack is the former military governor of Borno and Lagos states, General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retired) who, until recently, was also the Nigerian High Commissioner in South Africa. I must confess at this point that Gen. Marwa is a man I have long admired from afar, especially from his days as governor of Borno and Lagos. As a fresh graduate then, his exploits and developmental initiatives that have remained visible landmarks in those states till today fascinated me. How that got me to make attempts to join the military then will be a story for another day. It is to the credit of this brilliant Nigerian that the most popular means of transportation by the Nigerian masses in Lagos and other parts of the country today, the tricycle, popularly called Keke Marwa, was introduced and brought into the country by him as military governor of Lagos State. Till date, the general hospitals he built in Borno State remain signposts of meaningful development in the state.

The security intervention squad that ended the reign of armed robbers in Lagos called, ‘Operation Sweep,’ remains in charge of the state security today under its new name, ‘Rapid Response Squad’. There are other achievements to his credit.

As enviable and excellent as Marwa’s track records may be, they are, however, not the focus of this piece.

It is time to move the state forward; hence the best candidate must be allowed to emerge and win the gubernatorial election.

a lawyer wrote in from Jimeta, Adamawa State.