GOVERNOR BALA MUHAMMAD'S TWO YEARS OF CREATING A SOLACE FOUNDATION TO BAUCHI STATE. - PART (2)

In the last part of my blog, I try as much as possible to be objective in highlighting the stride of GOVERNOR BALA MUHAMMAD Abdulkadir, his appetite to repositioning Bauchi State cannot be overemphasize, despite the paucity and fewness of the State purse and IGR. We can conclude that His Excellency has a greater plan to surprise the Bauchi People in order to puncture and  deflates whatever assertions people may hold against him. Yes! To deflates all assertions against him in his quest for a greater Bauchi State.

As I illustrated in my Part one of this blog, many people in the State and around the Nation do not hold the opinion that Senator Bala MUHAMMAD Abdulkadir was the best choice of the people, then the surprise of a protest vote by the people gave him the mandate, with a slight margin, he thwarted the ambitious overzealous APC administration in the State and become the Governor.

In international development, good governance is a way of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in a preferred way. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented. GOVERNOR BALA MUHAMMAD Abdulkadir's administration has the requisite to discharge the "process of decision-making and on the spot implementation, Senator Bala has a vast of knowledge and quantum of experience in Governance, he was career Civil Servant, season administrator, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a Minister of the Administrative capital of the Nation. Senator Bala is by far the right person for the job in creating a solace and beautification of BAUCHI State.

Comparatively, Bauchi State is listed among the backward States in Nigeria, 8th most poorest State in the ranking statistics of 2020 as reported by the Guardian Newspaper on 10th November, 2020. The report was lamented by the Governor and he promised to change the narrative in the forth coming years of his tenure.

Urban renewal can bring forth increase in population, thereby increase the demand in Basic and more consumables, urban renewal will bring more economic development, marketing participation and suspension of boredomness.

OVER BLOATED CIVIL SERVANTS

Bauchi State is no doubt a Civil Servants driven Economy, a slightest shrink in the civil Servants incomes, the effects will be multiple in the State economy. From 1999 to 2020 or even to date, there was uncountable payroll verification to cleans the State off the menace of "Ghost workers" where the civil Servants strength could not be genuinely elaborated. From 2015 to 2019, the APC government claimed to have had over 100 thousand Civil Servants on the State payroll, charting away over ₦5bn out of the State Monthly FAAC allocation, though the former governor lamented that, the State was too poor to continue being like that.

BALA MUHAMMAD Abdulkadir's administration also face the same problem, with a sharp increase in payroll expenses that shoot from ₦5bn to ₦7bn or a little above, which a big problem to the State and the yearning for infrastructure development. We can't be spending our income to satisfy a just 1% of the State population.  The Governor device a means of verifying the payroll without subjecting every Civil Servant to hardship, though some number of civil Servants have been removed from the State payroll for verification purposes. We hope the issue will be squarely resolve soonest.

LOANS AND BORROWING

There is a public uproar about the expenses being incurred by the Ƙaura administration, debates on the channels the governor is securing funds for all the projects he's being executing and this has been an assignment for the opposition to be floating around the development and permutations on where does the government got all the monies for their projects? Some of them (opposition) ascribed the stride to the IGR accrued by their government, that a grapevine said that, the project is a child of a huge loan collected on behalf of the State to the tune of ₦43bn using the IGR collection as liquidity guarantee for the collection of the loan. Whatever the case, I applauded the GOVERNOR for having such wisdom and foresight to have use such liquidity to guarantee his project not beautification of Bauchi State.

However, many of us that view things from the Fence, have opined that, some of the project should have been delayed till the basic issues has been addressed, people are blowing hot on the issue of Salary payment that is having a snail tramp where some Civil Servants are being skip every Month. His Excellency should as a matter of urgency, address the problem squarely.

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE

The principles of primary health care are accessibility, public participation, health promotion, appropriate technology and intersectoral cooperation. Accessibility means that the five types of health care are universally available to all clients regardless of geo- graphic location.

Bauchi State Government and Development Partners have resolved to fast-track polio and other immunizable immunisation in the State to reduce proportion of ‘missed children’ during such exercises. After the appointment of Dr Rilwanu Mohammmed, Chairman, State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) he stated during the commemoration of World Polio Day in Bauchi. He said the State did not recorded any wild polio since the exercise was on. Also in his bit to spur the people on the importance of sanitation, the Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed directed the conduct of comprehensive sanitation exercises across the 20 local government areas of the State in compliance with the national clean Nigeria campaign; ‘Use the Toilets’ aimed at delivering open defecation-free Nigeria by 2025. The campaign has been a successful one, since that launching of the exercise to give people a hope in grassroot sanitation. 

In the early stages of his administration,  ₦673m was released  for health care facilities Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State vowed to end yellow fever in the state. About 600 residents in Duguri district of Alkaleri Local Government were vaccinated following outbreak of yellow fever in the area. State Primary Healthcare Development Agency. In addition to that on 7th July, 2019 – The Bauchi State Governor, His Excellency, Senator Bala Mohammed has expressed a desire for a stronger and sustained collaboration with World Health Organization and over 20 other International Development Partners and Donor Agencies working in the state. The partnership that already kicked up in various MOUs. 

It is indeed a new era for Bauchi State, what People thought will be a wastage of votes has now started getting the hearts of hundreds of thousands in support to the gargantuan infrastructures development, some of us are of the opinion that, GOVERNOR BALA MUHAMMAD has already kill any campaign against him in 2023. No matter peek an unlooker will use, he will be amuse to see the giant solace foundation of the Governor. Senator Bala is doing his best amidst a scarse Resources to keep his oath on the mandate given to him the over 500,000 people of Bauchi State. I believe the Governor is going to out more energy in tackling the bedevelling problems of the State, being more investors to partner with State in providing more infrastructures like the Multibillion Naira KAURA CITY that will be build through the PPP agreement. Apart from the Family Homes housing estate along Jos road in Bauchi. Nevertheless, Kauran Bauchi only need an unconditional support from the people and that will make him a superlative leader ever. 

CONCLUSION

Bauchi State was created in In 1976, from the former North East State, from 1976 to date, the State has experiences many changes, from military to civil rule. As bloggers, we have our ways of perceiving things, we write our opinion the way we see it, and we are not perfect. But honour has to be give as at when due to a deserved personality. Despite his zeal to turn things better in the State, Kaura has to tighten up his belt to do more in giving more for the better. 1976 to date, we can still say the state is lagging behind in development, Roads channels should traverse more rural areas, Healthcare delivery must be everywhere, the State should seek more partners in health Sector to assist. My candid advise to the governor is to build a College for Medical Sciences for the Sa'adu Zungur State University, to strengthen the multiplicity of Medical Doctors in the State.

Agriculture is another sector that provides jobs, the State fertilizer blending company should be upgraded to the maximum productivity to help in curving scarcity in the State.

Governor BALA MUHAMMAD should appoint a Special Adviser on Education. The sector need more experience on deck to achieve more.

There are a lot to writez but the the limited space here cannot allow me to express more. Let us meet in the future blog to review and reveals more about the SOLACE FOUNDATION TO BAUCHI STATE.

Ahmad M. Salihu

A teacher

ahmad.msalihu22@gmail.com