Is Governor Zulum a Nigerian?
This is the question I keep asking myself, and till now, I don’t have an answer. This question must also have bothered so many who really wanted to know but kept silent on account of expected backlash.
Indeed, it has come to the point to enquire if this man Umara Zulum is a Nigerian.
I say this because every Nigerian has a gene of politician in their blood that leads to trust deficit. It is difficult to believe what they say and what they do.
I have, in the past 4 years, been following the trajectory of Governor Zulum and his approach to good governance. Here is a man who believes very strongly that governance isn’t about leadership calling the shots. Here is a governor who believes that his happiness lies only when he sees the people ( both indigent and non indigent ) of Borno doing well in commerce and trading and smiling due to improved standard of living.
If you travel through the entire length and breadth of Borno State, there’s is no part of the State that has escaped Governor Zulum’s development footprints. I was not initially his fan but the opportunity an International NGO gave me to visit the State has shown clearly that Borno State is a State for others to catch up with.
The State is a centre of commerce and trade, and the status has been fully regained as a nerve centre for Commerce and Trade under this working Governor. The State has enormous Agricultural resources to harness; the Governor and his team are not just sleeping on that. He knew the potential of Irrigation and Mechanization as an Engineer to transform Agricultural landscape; hence be spared no resources to achieve that.
Borno state has climbed higher on the Human Development Index. His recent announcement to subsidize fuel and energy cost for farmers by at least 50% is very innovative and beats all imaginations. The idea is the most ideal approach I have ever come across in recent times. The benefit is immediate, and I appeal to the farmers in Borno State not to abuse the gesture.
Governor Zulum, no doubt, is the people’s choice of Governor of the year. If eventually he is found to be a Nigerian, then he is the greatest gift that God has given this country.
● Engr Akeju Olagbaju,
retired Director, Federal Department of Rural Development, writes from Abuja.
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