ABOUT THREE YEARS IN OFFICE OF HIS EXCELLENCY Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo, has secured a place in history with his development initiatives In a land in desperate need for heroes, yet unable to value enough some of its great nation builders, the word icon, in conversational slang as encomium and honorific as it may sound may not appropriately fit into paying tribute to a prodigy in state affairs, a visionary leader, prudent in financial management and sagacious in policy formulation and development. This is especially so in these days when hypocrisy ironically has become the major characteristic and criterion for leadership. The next generation of leaders in Gombe State will be thankful for the gift of a leader and anchorman like Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Talban Gombe, whose revolutionary zeal, inspired leadership and dynamism, within a short span of two years, have replaced the hitherto apathetic state of past policy errors by past successive administrative and political heads of the state. The social deprivations of the state in 2011 when he assumed power was helpless and hopeless. His political philosophy was the pursuit of the happiness of the greatest number, passionately pro-people in his economic and political doctrine- a utilitarian per excellence. By his monumental achievements in office as Gombe State chief executive between 2011 and 2013, Governor Dankwambo has proved that politics is not all about failed promises; his is not the usual political discourse, full of hypocrisy and make-believe. His refusal to barter social services for remunerative considerations especially, to those hemmed in by short-circuit desires and monetary benefits gave lucidity to the ingredients of good governance. As the immediate past Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) between 2005 and 2010, Dankwambo introduced a series of reforms in the nation’s accounting discipline combined with his dual role as the President, Forum of Accountant–General and Auditor–General in West Africa; while also serving the nation as co-Chairman, Standardisation of Federal, State and Local Government Accountants in Nigeria, a Federation Account Allocation Committee inaugurated to harmonise the accounting and reporting presentation in the federation. The subsequent advancement of nine directors into the exalted office of permanent secretaries during his tenure is one of the many attestations of his leadership and reform programmes. The structures of government of his administration when compared to previous administrations in the state draw widely from applied structural functional theoretical framework and collective bargaining issues, considered against the background of capital projects executed and their benefits on the populace; actual performance compared with performance standard, character traits and leadership performance. The Project Implementation Index (PII), as a regular feature in his annual budget which defies the abandoned projects syndrome; visitations and inspections of project sites, be it road construction, education, health or agriculture, stands out as one of the hallmarks of his administration. Road Construction and Rehabilitation The pace at which he progresses through the socio- economic development of Gombe State between his first two years in office was frenetic and electrifying and the long list of capital projects executed are incomprehensible. His pluralistic construction of over 35 model schools in all the local government areas of the state in conformity to international standards; construction of 116 asphaltic roads within the Gombe metropolis and other township roads; expansion programme in the university sector with the purchase of equipment for the College of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science; multi-billion naira building of hostels, classrooms, libraries and laboratories in the School of Remedial Studies at Kumo. His administration is on record as having singularly completed the construction of the 54km Kanawa-Kuri- Jorogutel road with some connecting access roads linking all the most agricultural fertile parts of the state, considered on the priority list of the Dankwambo-led administration in spite of its identification as a federal road, for which the federal government now stands indebted to the state government to the tune N6.2billion naira refund. Millennium Development Goals, Flip the coin, Governor Dankwambo’s commitment to the attainment of crucial aspects of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), of the United Nations (UN); his identification of manpower development as the basic resources for the actualisation of such initiatives has succinctly led to his understanding of the “undeniable potentials of indigenous artisanship to societal and national development. Thus, his decision to nurture the production of quality and adequate manpower for housing construction, automobile repair, steel work, renovation and fabrication works of various shades which currently pose a major challenge to individual citizen, urban managers and development partners across the country. The Dankwambo-led administration also re- invigorated the Gombe State Investment Company from obscurity into one of the most formidable profit- oriented agencies among all the parastatals within the state’s public service, with a capital value of over N4 billion. Wealth Creation and Pro-poor Initiative On his creation of wealth programme and value adding activities in agro-allied and solid minerals sector, an additional increase of N3 billion to an earlier N1 billion partnership deal with the Bank of Industry (BOI), was disbursed to cooperative groups as soft loans to well over 133 beneficiaries for the establishment of small-scale processing industries. In sequence, 12, 000 jobs were created by the 133 Cooperative Societies, with mostly youths and adequate Gender balance. About 755 trainees in various skill acquisition programme have successfully completed their courses and now self-employed. Gombe state currently stands out as a model on the roll call of 17 states under the BOI partnership programme, with Gombe market saturated with products and brands of various dimensions. Dankwambo’s State Industrialisation Policy In furthering his industrialisation policy and wealth creation programme in the state, an industrial cluster cum enterprise zone for groundnut oil and rice millers has been established at Bogo/Nasarawo Industrial Estate in Gombe with 300 slots allocated to the two trade groups for production shades. The administration also provided three Transformers at the site to ease power problems. Consideration is being given to the establishment of five more Clusters in the state capital to accommodate the increasing numbers of small-scale industries from the BOI initiative. The administration has also marked out an extension programme of 400-hectare Industrial Estate at Lawanti village along Bauchi road, adjacent to the Gombe International Airport. The establishment of a multi-billion naira Modern Commodity Depot and Exchange Centre in Gombe, the state capital to promote Modern Commodity Trading is in progress, with costs projected at well over N4 billion. Quite recently, Governor Dankwambo unveiled 200 fuel efficient mini-brand taxi cabs; 1,100 Keke NAPEPtri-cycles, combined with 80 hummer buses for Gombe State Transport Service through the State Ministry of Finance as a more meaningful approach to alleviating the scourge of poverty among the populace rather than the negative approach to survival. A manager of resources, Dankwambo would rather ensure the prevalence of strong and efficient state institutions over the parochial interests of a minority clique. Also in the administration’s avowed determination to ensure adequate food supply within and outside the state, and by implication a broad improvement to farming, a total of 220 brand new tractors have been procured for direct distribution to farmers for commercial purposes. The Agricultural Mechanisation Agency, a new parastatal has been established within the State Ministry of Agriculture to oversee the equitable distribution of framing machineries and implements to farmers in the state at a highly subsidised rate. One of the best in the world market, the new Mercy-Ferguson tractor, was procured at a unit cost of N3.5 million; proposed for hiring to farmers who may not be able to afford an outright purchase. Provision of Water and Power Generation In its effort at improve the supply of potable water to the citizenry, the administration has awarded contract for the rehabilitation and reticulation of pipelines in the state with extension to Kwami, Gadam and Bojude, and of late, extended to cover Kompulata and Tappi at a cost of well over N4 billion; while it has also awarded contract for water sustenance and maintenance of the Gombe Regional Water Supply Scheme. Investment Mobilization As part of Government’s measure to mobilise investors to the state, a Financial Services Agreement (FSA), was signed with NEXIM Bank to act as Financial Adviser cum Fund Arranger on turn-key basis which has so far culminated in the proposed Mini Coal Powered Cement and Tomato Plants in the state. A recent survey has spotted the availability of the deposit of petroleum in large commercial quantity in one of the local government areas of the state. His Conditional Cash Grant Initiative Now the toast of sister state governments, Governor Dankwambo’s Conditional Cash Grant (CCG), initiative floated ideally to encourage the promotion of basic education among the teeming youth population in the state, has now been extended to well over 3,000 beneficiaries of age 60 years and above at a monthly stipend of N15,000. Human Capital Development Endowed with vision, Governor Dankwambo’s approach to the affairs of governance has contributed largely to the assemblage of men of integrity and virtue in the execution of his policies and programmes. Technocrats with proven degrees of achievements at the national level who can help develop the state through their repertoire of human capital regardless of party affiliation, religion or ethnicity, have qualified his policies and programmes as a “codified legal framework for good governance”. Dankwanbo’s Philanthrophy His pace-setting role in the administration of governance and best practices again came aglow during the last Sallah celebration, when he abandoned the posh comfort of home and identified with his people through visitations to hospitals, prisons and orphanages where he gave several donations including cash. An Appeal to the State Citizenry World-acclaimed author and philosopher, Harold J. Laski once retorted in his book, A Grammar of Politics, that “every time an intellectual has the chance to speak out against injustices, and yet remains silent, he contributes to the moral paralysis and intellectual barrenness that grips the affluent world”. Governor Dankwambo’s struggle for the attainment of true political statehood and complete socio-economic development and emancipation of the citizenry in Gombe State is a struggle worth our efforts, lest we somnambulant, and become morally insensible to the course of history. It behooves on the entire citizenry to realise the magnitude of what is at stake; the challenge at the crossroads ahead and the incredible facts that all hands involved in his transformation agenda have a genuine contribution to make that may yet set an example for the rest of the country
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:39:00 +0000
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