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It was Seth Godin who said, “Criticisms comes to those who stand out”. This can aptly describe the M. A. Abubakar’s government. Hardly any week goes by without one form of criticism or attack on the governor on Social or Print Media. On face value, one would think these self-acclaimed preservers of democracy are using their freedom of speech to highlight social ills and fashion strategies that needs to be implemented, but no, the reverse is the case; skin deep they only cry wolf.
Looking at the number of criticism of the governor, one can see a pattern. A pull-him-down through discredit pattern. Most of the governor’s critics lack substantive points to buttress their allegations often dancing at the periphery of the truth while shying away from it. Half truths are more dangerous than outright lies. One major issue that is always recurrent is that of worker’s salary and the insistence of the governor to capture the biodata of every worker in the state. It is old news that most states, Bauchi inclusive, owe their workers, majorly due to the economic recession and dwindling revenue. While this is sad and cannot be wished away, one should be objective enough not to see it as a blanket case. In the Bauchi case, the governor has been meeting his commitments. He inherited and cleared a backlog of salaries and pensions owed by the state on assumption of office. His much criticised civil service biodata capture had uncovered thousands of ghost workers and saved the state much needed revenue. It is on record that more than 80% of workers in the state workforce have received their salaries up till May, despite dwindling Federal Allocation and overcoming a court order freezing the state’s account. Capital projects are still springing up both in Bauchi town and the countryside.
The best serving governor of 2015 according to Political Observers Organization, is also accused of abandoning the health sector and not governing according to accepted international best practices. He is said to be one who doesn’t carry “critical stakeholders” along. This is totally absurd. One wonders who critical stakeholders are, and where they were when the commonwealth of Bauchi was being plundered by a few. For the records, the only critical stakeholders the governor is answerable to is the people of Bauchi – no more, no less. Anything else will be standing on a precipice.
In the area of Healthcare, the governor’s performance has been stellar. Who can be blind to the fact that Bauchi achieved 80% measles immunization coverage, treated 10,420 eye patients, implemented an accident-emergency centre blueprint, established the Drug Revolving Scheme, took proactive measure to tackle Lassa fever, is winning the polio war, and ensured government hospitals had diesel to power their generators in a time when electricity supply is fluctuating. These are verifiable facts for all to see. This is a sector that has a lion share of his 2016 budget. For a governor who, on assumption of office, streamlined the SDGs with the state development targets, one wonders what international best practices are. When Bill Gates through his foundation commended the governor for his giant strides; was that international or local best practices at work? We seem to miss the mark, lives matter; and Bauchi indigenes and residents should benefit ultimately from governance, best practices or not. Rules and standards are made for the people and not the other way round.
Governor M. A. Abubakar is not an angel, neither is he a saint. He is a man who loves his people deeply enough to serve them. He is the one who apologised when people were feeling the pinch of the necessary verification exercise. He understands and shows his love for his people not by words but deeds. He is stubbornly focused on building Bauchi State and improving the quality of lives and standard of living of the poor. This is a man who cut his salary by half, reduced his official entourage, and said no to sharing and pilfering of limited state revenue. A walk to government house Bauchi will show that there are no more tip giving, sycophancy visits and praise singers there anymore as opposed to what was obtained in the past. If this is the arrogance the governor is guilty of; then he should continue to glow with pride.
In addition to that, one may be tempted to think that most of the governor’s achievements are easy feats expected from a new generation governor; like the slashing of MDAs from 28 to 16. But a closer look will show that there are others that can only be done by an experienced innovative progressive. For instance, His call in February this year for the increased patronage of Nigerian tourism sector, at a time when the naira was on a free fall against the dollar, improved our tourism rating. He backed it up with action, and today Yankari Games Reserve has recorded growth for the first time in a long while. This happened in a recession, when the tourism sector is usually on its lowest ebb worldwide. No critic can take this away from him.
One may begin to wonder why it is pertinent to pen down a fraction of the litany of visible achievements Governor Abubakar has made. It is important to remind ourselves lest we forget; where we were, where we are, how we got here and the way forward. While critics continue to write unprintable things about the man and the state, it is equally important to tell the real narrative to aid the discerning mind reach a rational conclusion about the true state of Bauchi state. For if falsehood is told for so long, it starts to disguise as truth.
Governor M. A. Abubakar has served the public before, both in the Ministry of Justice and Yankari Games Reserve to mention a few, his records are public, available and stellar. Since no dirt can be found in his past, a disgruntled few want to cast mud on his present, this is the oldest trick in the book. This is very callous and will not move the state forward. If there be any constructive criticism about the man or his style, such statements should be made open and without bias. The governor listens, runs an open door administration, and is very much active on social media. Veiled insults and the use of pseudo-agents and proxies to attack the present administration, with a constant reference to 2019 can only mean desperation – desperation of those who do not mean well for the state.
Muhammad Ishaq Misau (M.I.M) is a Legal Practitioner. He writes from Bauchi.
