Re: Gombe: Between Autocracy and Democracy

A recent article written by one Mohammed Saleh Gombe with the above caption betrayed the desperation of the writer and his sponsors to the extent that they fatally shot themselves in the foot while embarking on that futile and puerile effort at denigrating the governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, with an inordinate view to vitiate his good works just to further their own selfish political ambition.

The crux of that essay was the directive given by the governor to the police to arrest anyone pasting posters of politicians in any part of the state and prosecute them accordingly, and also the one given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to caution politicians against pasting posters on public buildings in the state.

Seeing the copious merits in the governor’s directives to both the police and INEC, one wonders why Saleh would allow himself to be used to attempt to read other needless meanings to an innocuous directive that is meant to keep the state clean, maintain the sanity of the environment and obey the laws of the land which does not allow for such political posters until INEC gives the directives for campaigns to start.

It is only selfish, unpatriotic, lawless, rash and brash politicians like Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga (Sarkin Fulanin Gombe) and his All Progressives Congress (APC) that would deliberately misinterpret the governor’s noble intentions just to feather their own nests and use Saleh to project their undesirable stand.

It is quite shameful for anyone to think that the governor’s directive that posters of politicians should not be pasted on public buildings is autocratic. Unfortunately, Saleh wrote in his essay with so much indignity that the posters of Kwairanga were pasted in all the “nooks and crannies” of the State, thereby prompting the governor’s directive.

If Kwairanga is the kind of man that the opposition party is preparing to field for governorship in Gombe State, then the people of Gombe will have an easier choice to stick perpetually with the PDP because no one would want to associate with a man like Kwairanga who obviously sees nothing wrong in defacing the entire state, desecrate holy places of worship and degrade public buildings and facilities with his posters for an election that is still a whole two years away.

Such actions by the Kwairangas of this world, rather than compliment them, actually expose their destructive tendencies. For if they could be so reckless and unrestrained without power, what would they not do if they mistakenly get even if it is just half of the power wielded by a governor?

It is also very instructive to note that Governor Dankwambo’s directive to both the police and INEC was in the overall interest of the state, hence, he did not even exempt himself, his party, political allies and or aspirants from his party from the directive. The directive covers all and sundry without any exception. If the state must be kept clean, then everyone has to be affected by the directive. This is exactly what the governor has done, but unfortunately, APC does not seem to know the meaning of cleanliness, hence, their rant over such a harmless directive.

What the governor did is a rare example of leadership. He could have used his position to restrain the other parties in the state from pasting their posters while he creates an enabling environment for himself, his allies and party to go ahead pasting their own posters. But leaders do not behave like that; statesmen like Dankwambo have shown over time that they have the capacity to take the decisions in the general interest of the state without being influenced by such parochial considerations like party affiliation, ethnic origin and religious beliefs.

Furthermore, like a people under the influence of overdose of fermented rum, APC in the state seems to be over-excited about the defection of few PDP members to its fold. While Saleh in his write up tried to make a big deal of this, the fact is that the trend of politicians decamping from one party to the other has been and will continue to remain with us as long as we practice democracy. In fact, such occurrences are what make democracy interesting, intriguing and engaging.

It is the right of anyone to decamp from one party to another just as many have also decamped from APC to PDP here in Gombe. The trend is nothing new. It is a national phenomenon which, to the chagrin of APC, does not even guarantee electoral victory. In Osun State for example, where the Osun State Senatorial West election was just conducted, the PDP recorded a landslide victory there despite the state having some former members of PDP including political heavyweights that defected to APC.

So, Kwairanga, Saleh and their likes should stop rejoicing over defections that are not only facile but also jejune.

Perhaps the part of Saleh’s essay that makes one conclude undoubtedly that he has been sent on an errand of retrogressive venture by his paymasters is the one where he alluded to the fallacy that Dankwambo has impoverished the people. In a desperate attempt to justify this obviously false assertion, Saleh wondered why the governor created schools of journalism, agriculture, accounting and sport when the courses could have been offered by the state-owned university in order to channel the funds used in running those schools to the University.

This again exposes the shallowness in the thought process of APC and their chieftains. While the Gombe State University is receiving its deserved attention from the governor, it is a wise thing to also have those specialized schools run side by side with the university in order to cater for other category of students who for some reasons might not be able to access university education at a particular time.

For example, those who might not meet up with JAMB cut off points for the university can decide to settle for any of the specialized schools rather than sit at home doing nothing for another one, two or even more years waiting for JAMB.

There are those who might just want to spend only about two years to obtain Diplomas or Certificates from the specialized schools in order to work a little to improve their financial standings before they embark on full university education which becomes easier to get with qualifications from the specialized schools.

This system makes higher education more accessible to more indigenes and residents of Gombe, and will always be better than a system where all those seeking higher education in the state would compete for very limited spaces in the university.

Primary and secondary education in the state have greatly improved as well. Gombe remains one of the very few states in this part of our country where almajiris are almost non-existent due to the educational thrust of the Dankwambo administration.

The multi-billion conference centre is another audacious project completed by Dankwambo. One wonders why this gigantic and ultra-modern edifice capable of opening Gombe State more to the rest of the world and earn for her revenues both in foreign and local currencies would be criticized by supposedly right thinking individuals in the name of opposition politics.

The potentials of the centre is not too difficult for anyone to see. By the time it becomes fully functional, corporate organizations, professional bodies, cultural and religious festivals, award ceremonies etc would be held there with its attendant numerous advantages to the state.

The State under Dankwambo is about the only State that its street lights never go off at night as they are powered by generators and solar systems that ensure they remain lit all through the night everyday of the week. Even Abuja cannot boast of such rare feat which has also reduced crime rate drastically in the state.

There are many more to talk about, unfortunately space would not permit us.

However, let Kwairanga and his hatchet men engage the governor on more important things rather than try to distract him with such mundane issues of political posters that should not have been pasted and used to destroy the beauty of the state in the first place. One can only imagine the kind of chaos that would be created if all the over forty political parties in the state decide to be as irresponsible as the APC and their aspirants by pasting political posters so indiscriminately in every nook and cranny of the state!

Dankwambo is a democrat, has always been a democrat, and will always remain a democrat. The people of Gombe stand by him, and they believe in his sense of judgement even as it concerns 2019. He is the one Gombe people will follow!

By Abu Ubaidah Ibrahim Kuna
Abu Ubaidah Ibrahim Kuna, P.A Social Media to the Executive Governor of Gombe State writes from Gombe

The post Re: Gombe: Between Autocracy and Democracy appeared first on Vanguard News.