By Barr Jeniffer Okoh with Field Reports
The African Continent is presently engaged in multilateral efforts to perpetuate ideal democratic governance across the continent through various ideological indoctrination projects and other seemingly extreme measures like the recent creation of a sub-regional Intervention Force to protect elected national administrations from military coup de tats. Expectedly, all hands are needed on the deck for the smooth realization of the social contracts that should always exist between the electorates and the political leaders they vote for during democratic elections through concrete and manifestable efforts to improve on the economic lives of voters.
Senator Bala Mohammed, Executive Governor, Bauchi State
As democracy heroes of the continent are celebrated at global levels to encourage the growth of the system, with former Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan standing out as one of the well-sung light bearers, Bauchi State of Nigeria citizens and its political leaders across party affiliations for the past three years deserve historical idolation for the singular purpose of having blazed the trail in the area of democracy nurturing ideological adaptations rewarded with rapid economic infrastructural development. The State is a model of the good side of democratic governance, according to the results of a comprehensive economic infrastructural development and opinion survey undertaken by Wind-Sound Africa in the first and second weeks of December 2022 across the country. The first leg of the Democracy Nurturing Survey and Fact-checks which covers the State is revealing. Discreet investigations by our Team which took advantages of cordial existing relationships between us and rural community leaders nurtured from previous inter-actions confirmed that democratically edifying and uncompromising checks-and-balances relationship that exists between leaders of the major political parties in the State on one hand, and the Legislative and Executive Arms of the State government on the other, has engendered the level of socio-economic and infrastructural development the state has witnessed.
Alhaji Adamu Muazu, Former National Chairman, PDP and Former Governor Bauchi State
During the 2019 gubernatorial election, the incumbent governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, coming from his background as former Senator, but more importantly, as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, contested for the office on the back of a very boistous and back-breaking campaign structure of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). The then incumbent governor, Barr Mohammed Abdulahi Abubakar of the All Progressive Congress(APC) had every hope to retain his seat, taking into consideration all the conventional advantages of incumbency at State and federal levels. The first ballot result was a stunning tie between him and Senator Bala Mohammed. The rerun result saw the Senator scoring a total vote of 515,113 to defeat the incumbent who scored 500,625 votes. In what historians would give credit to the masses of Bauchi voters for its realization in view of their previous voting habits, the former governor heroically accepted defeat.
Almost four years down the road, the voters in the nooks and crannies of Bauchi State, according to our findings, are not regretting their 2019 electoral decisions. From Gwololo to Alagarno communities in Gamawa Local Government Area, from Charachara community to Madara town in Katagum LGA and Bangire to Gagidiba in Shira LGA on the Northern zone of the State, from Kwagal to Wanka communities in Kirfi LGA and Massussuka to Barkachi area of Ningi Central zone all the way to several communities in Toro, Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Council Areas in the Southern zone, our findings were those of confessed satisfaction with the quantum of economic infrastructural developments brought to the grounds in their areas by the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed.
Hon Yakubu Dogara, Former Speaker, House of Representatives
Physically verifiable economic infrastructural developments brought to the grounds in and around Bauchi Metropolitan and other Council Areas include the centrally important ones as the road reconstruction work from CBN roundabout to the Railway roundabout, the Goodluck Jonathan road, the one from Muda Lawal Market to Bakin Kura and Mallam Goje axis, the one linking Yelwan Duguri, Badaran Dutse, Birim, Bajama, Kumbala, Kundak, Wurno and Burga communities in Tafawa Balewa and Alkaleri Council Areas, Sade to Akuyam in Misau LGA, the usually busy one that links Raji quaters to NITEL road in high quality construction shapes.
Other remarkable road construction projects Wind-Sound fact check team visited are the ones that act as economic activities nerve centrals in the State such as the 1.7 kilometer road linking Tambari Housing Estate to Sabon Kaura road, the 3 kilometer Gwam-gwam-gwam – Bakaro – Kofar Dumi road and the spiritually uplifting 370 meters road network at the famous Hajj Camp which has its own history-making record as the the largest of such camps on the West African coast which is on record to have cost the administration the sum of N725million naira, an amount considered as extremely prudent considering the quality of facilities installed at the camp. For the unique purpose of promoting inter-religious harmony in the State, the Hajj Camp serves the pilgrimage needs of both the two main religions of Nigeria, the Christians and the Muslims.
Others construction projects undertaken by the administration are the 6.5 kilometer Tafawa Balewa, Shira, Jama’are road; the 11.6 kilometer Boi- Tapshin road; 11.2 kilometer Bogoro-Lusar-Mular road, the 2.5 kilometer Shade township, 25.5 kilometer. Udubo-Gamawa road, the 3 kilometer Disina township road, the 5 kilometer Alkaleri-Gwaram-Goraku raod.
Arising from the fact that the Democracy Nurturing Survey across the nation have two key focal points: General Economic Infrastructural Development and Educational Policy Implementation, our team went to the grounds with its search light on the present administration’s Educational achievements. The administration is on record to have hit the ground running in the area of getting hitherto poorly maintained schools batch on their feet by actively facilitating the release of the sum of N500,000(five hundred thousand naira) School Improvement Projects grants to all of 1,320 schools. in the State by the World Bank. In. further efforts aimed at turning around the lack luster, morale retarding attitudes of teachers and other workers in public schools, the Ministry of Education under the governor’s urgings introduced the Finger Printing attendance verification system through which a huge fraction of truant workers were weeded out and the necessary enabling environment for impactful teaching created. Also to further facilitate the availability of affordable and quality education for the masses of Bauchi State population, the administration engaged the authorities of the Federal Government to site the North-east UBEC Model Schools in the State by securing the 6.7 hectares of land on which to build their structures. The administration also secured the award of $3million for the implementation of the enviable Better Education Service Delivery For All, one of the Federal Government’s Social Development projects.
On the Educational Infrastructural platform, the administration of the Kauran Bauchi is on confirmable records to have renovated Baba Sidi Primary School, Dutsen Tsnshi Primary School, Government Day Secondary School, Zanamawa, Dawaki Primary School, GDSS Kofar Wambai amongst others. Kagadama(A), Bagel Primary School, Baden(B) Primary School, Bagel(B), Galadima, Darussalam(B) and Kagadama(B) Primary School in Dass Council Area are among numerous others, most of which were visited by our Fact-check Team.
Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, Immediate past Governor, Bauchi State
Our survey, which was hinged on the two-pronged development issues of cross-sectorial economic infrastructural development and educational policy formulation and implementation covered 1400 respondents each from the nation’s six geographical zones. In the North-east region, questions which took into consideration the security challenges that prevail in the states at various levels were answered. 45% of respondents chose Senator Bala Mohammed as one of the best performing governors in Nigeria mainly for his effective management of political diversity amongst political leaders with national popularity, which is more prevalent in the State than the nieghbouring ones and the sheer quantum of fairly spread infrastructural development.
Alhaji Abubakar Y Suleiman, Speaker Bauchi State House of Assembly
Bauchi State is home to late Alh Tafawa Balewa, the first Prime Minister of independent Nigeria, former national Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and former governor of the State, Alh. Adamu Muazu, former Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and present Chairman of North-east Council of Speakers of State Legislators, Alh. Abubakar Y. Suleiman who is the current Honourable Speaker of the State House of Assembly, amongst many other icons of democracy.
