Please Governor Bala Muhammad, listen to our cries

Bauchi State for the first in recent years has witnessed unprecedented transformation in critical infrastructure, improved healthcare and education. You have managed to achieve in less than four years what no governor in Bauchi’s democratic history ever achieved. These giant strides are the reasons, the Bauchi people are supporting you. We are among your staunch supporters.

However, as a resident of Bauchi, I and my concerned friends have tried in vain to tell you directly that Bauchi is going through a difficult moment caused by the fear that insecurity and organised crime that destroyed our neighbouring states may soon knock on our doors because we have a large number of jobless youths. More worrying is the rate at which this group of youth abuse drugs. Bauchi is relatively peaceful for now, but poverty among unskilled youths and drug addiction are the most serious threats facing our state today.

By not addressing them, our state would, in the long run, be ranked among the least developed and most volatile states in Nigeria. I am not a prophet of doom, and our hope is to see more positive progress in Bauchi State.

Our youths are desperately looking for ways to eke out a living to keep their bodies and soul together, but sadly they are mostly unskilled and the upswing in the high cost of living has only exacerbated their woes.

From the hustle and bustle of Bakaro to the notorious ghetto areas of Kandahar, Bakin Kura, Karofi, Railway, and many other prominent areas in the capital city, a large number of these youths are abusing drugs and sometimes resorting to petty larceny and other crimes to survive.

Out of sight is not out of ideas. A group of about 200 youths most of whom are jobless, invited me to an iftar during the holy month of Ramadan to request that I help tell you that they need urgent support because they are afraid their lives are being wasted on drug addiction and crimes. Society does not see them as serious people but they are sad that nobody is there to help them escape from the addictive trap they find themselves. They are only used during electioneering only be to be dumped after.

I know, you may not find time to read this due to the exigency of the office, but if you do, or the SOS reaches you through another channel, kindly pay heed to the cries of our youths. They are unskilled but they are healthy and strong enough to work when presented with opportunities. You can massively make a mark in the unemployment rate among this hapless group of people by deploying youth empowerment schemes such as car wash centres, and mini markets at Malam Goje and Bakaro where the concentration of mini-markets are supporting thousands of jobs with multiplier effects. There are jobs for those who need them. But the government has to create a condition for the job market to thrive.

You can also support the works of the NDLEA to keep targeting the drug pushers’ supply pipelines until we defeat them and restore and save the future of our youths.

You can help change the story, sir. I love Bauchi. I am a living witness to how crimes have destroyed many states in Nigeria. These are caused by unemployment and drug addiction. You can help save our peace by doing what other states have failed to do, and this is youth empowerment and war on drugs and their pushers.

I hope you will hear our urgent cries. Bashir Aliyu Limanci, Alkali Aminu Street, near