Prof Zulum’s Midas Touch is Redefining Politics And Governance in Borno
shadows. It is almost easy to take a sweeping gaze of the State and assume that the heart of darkness resides therein, and never see the pulsing nuclei of light that are gently pushing at the darkness.
Professor Banagana Umara Zulum is gradually restoring the distinct identity and dignity of the ancient Borno people, playing politics and governance with a practiced hand. A champion of the hoi polloi and a man held in high esteem by the gentry, Professor Zulum’s leadership style integrates the foremost experiences of his humble beginnings as well as the crests of the Ivory Tower.
From the peasant boy who reportedly trekked 7km daily to school, to the taxi driver who combined the taxing conditions of the academe with the strained provision of food and fur, to the University Don and Executive Governor, Prof. Zulum’s providential experience of the nadir and zenith of life has equipped him with sympathetic eyes and sedulous hands.
Having spent only a year as governor of Borno State, Prof. Zulum has already raised the bar on what it means to represent the people, lead them, and earn their respect. Talk about a leader who has jumped down from his high horse and taken to treading the muddy paths with common folks. Talk about a leader who is interested enough in the workaday lives of schoolteachers that he raises her status and lines her purse with a little extra.
At the local and national level, Prof. Zulum’s dedication and approach to governance continues to wrench back the erratic attention of onlookers to the selling points of Borno State, straining to the bones to amputate the ugly limbs of terrorism and nuisance that are themselves striving to take the state for themselves.
An integrated, inclusive statecraft from a man who is widely held in veteran eyes as a newcomer in the political roadhouse, Prof. Zulum’s is commendable and desirable. While he continues to lighten to burnished gold the dimmed glories of ancient Borno, common sense dictates that his peers emulate him, endeavouring at least to reproduce his Midastouch achievements.