During a press conference to kick-start his quest for the gubernatorial seat of Adamawa state in 2019, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, sounded conciliatory and humble. He called for a new beginning to a state then effectively “captured” by prebendal and rentier politicians, whose sole agenda was the continuous fleecing of the state treasury to their heart’s content. Many citizens, especially the senior citizens were aggrieved but chose to keep mute. At the press conference, Fintiri promised an all-inclusive government and promised to carry all segments of the society with him. To the people of the state, he enjoined them to uphold the principles and values of our forefathers and continue to imbibe the principles of tolerance, patience, forgiveness, and cooperation which our people are known for.
Sounds encouraging. I felt proud that such a man with such a heart will rise from our herd of politicians whose first and last priorities is all about them and what they achieved in their lifetimes. Fintiri went ahead to call for the harnessing of our common values, celebrate our difference and find strength in our diversity. Thoughts like this for the common objective of a people is mostly associated with idealists and not politicians. After doing a prognosis of the current situation of Adamawa, Fintiri unfolded a skeleton of his Action Plan for the state. The basic draft of the Action Plan comprised of peace building, education, rural development, healthcare delivery, water and sanitation, environmental protection fiscal discipline, institutional reforms, and welfare services for the vulnerable.
As the campaign season kicks-off once more, I took time to go over the speech delivered by his excellency at the press conference to make comparisons between what he said then and what he has achieved so far. I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by what the government of Fintiri achieved in so short a time with the limited resources available to him. In 2019, the governor said, “peaceful environment is sine quo non to the actualisation of development and progress…”. One of the first thing he did on assumption of office is to support our security services with logistics by supplying them patrol vehicles and other resources to enable them assist in securing the state from the menace of urban criminality, banditry, and Boko Haram. Today we have seen a massive reduction in the activities of these undesirable elements.
Education has been accorded the priority it deserves unlike in the past when it was only a catchphrase. We have all seen the intervention in basic education undertaken by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). It was the major project executed by the Fintiri administration on taking over the mantle of leadership in Adamawa. The education sector received tremendous investment under Fintiri’s leadership.
Recognising the agrarian nature of the state, the governor made agriculture his priority. An extensive scoop survey was undertaken to ascertain the state’s areas of competitive and comparative advantage. This is the basis for taking the Capital Market to obtain funding for the sector (a first in the country). Farming and other allied activities have been the priority of past governments to the detriment of livestock production, which in turn led to friction between the two groups. The administration is investing heavily in the livestock sub-sector and addressing the whole agric value chain to maximise profit for the producer and benefit to the state. The governor has made agribusiness the centrepiece of his administration and I believe the state will reap the benefit of this investment in the not-too distance future.
Without playing to the gallery and pushing emotive politics to the darkest recess of our political closet, it will be novel for our politicians and their supporters to conduct issue-based campaigns. Expanding the fissures of our differences (be they political or ethno-religious) is unhelpful and will be tantamount to feeding our young ones on a diet of hatred, which is not very good for a state playing catch-up with its peers. The people are now more politically savvy to discern the performers and talkers. They can distinguish right from wrong and accordingly. What goes for campaign today in the state is akin to serving a cocktail of hate laced with innuendos and denigration, which may in the long run affect relationships well after the election is won and lost.
What I see in the Cyberworld regarding Adamawa in the forthcoming elections leaves me weak kneed. Fintiri may not taste sweet in our mouths – which is alright – but he is the governor of Adamawa state and a gubernatorial candidate of one of the political in the 2023 elections. All the candidates deserve our respects, even if we don’t like their politics.
I wish the governor will be judged on his performance viz-a-viz his promises when he was canvassing for votes in 2019, and not on some primordial scale solely determined by our archaic sentiments. We should not allow sentiments and emotions take the place of good governance.
