2019: WHY THE BINDOW PERSECUTION
Throughout history, we have recorded accounts of the persecution of reformers, transformers, prophets and saints. Back home in Nigeria, we have had our fair share of leadership interlopers who came in the garb of political rulers lamenting the state of affairs in Adamawa, and promising us Eldorado, but only to dash our hopes. In contrast, they became worse than the leaders they condemned. If we recall, Former Acting Governor of Adamawa State Umaru Finitri on allegations bothering on incompetence and lack of vision orchestrated the removal of Murtala Nyako. Fintri himself is been prosecuted by the Efcc based on reasons best known to the coupists (7th Adamawa Assembly), one of which was high handedness. Eventually, in 2015 we voted for change and transited to the Current Bindow led Administration in Adamawa. Adamawa change over five Governor in the last political dispensation on the allegations of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and ineptitude. In today’s Adamawa, in a bid to seize power from the Bindow administration, the opposition politicians is resonating this familiar refrain of incompetence, ineptitude, corruption,etc, in the rather desperate desire to supplant the Bindow government. Now, for the analytical mind, the issues to consider are – on what parameters is the Bindow administration being evaluated and what are the basis for the conclusions already arrived at by the Abuja based Politicians? Fundamentally speaking, can we say that this administration has performed abysmally low or optimally high? To answer these posers, it is worth stating that this is the first administration to tackle most of the state’s developmental challenges frontally. For precision, let me enumerate some of the landmark achievements. The Bindow administration is the first to construct over 300 hundred kilometer of roads across Adamawa. Bindow started new ones, all within the first two years of his administration. The new generation of Nigerians born in the late 70s and 80s did not know what motor able road is until this administration came into being. Today, Vehicles are traversing the length and breadth of the country with more road being rehabilitated. Power which has remained a recurring decimal in terms of outages has been fixed significantly, Under the Bindow administration, women empowerment which has hitherto being relegated to the background has suddenly received practical attention. For the first time in our history, there are more women in the State cabinet. This is unprecedented and remarkable move demonstrates that the present administration is sensitive to the yearnings of Nigerian women and its citizens. A Governor that spends time with the disabled, artistes, students, sportsmen and women can only be described as a man of the people. One therefore begins to wonder why a few politicians are bent on castigating his every move. In the area of concrete achievements, it is easy to point at numerous projects that have sprung up in the life of this administration. From the Adamawa North to the, South to West, one can point at projects under construction with some nearing completion and others already completed, yet the opposition is still using the word inept on the performance of Gov. Bindow. Talk of the road projects, If all the above projects and others too numerous to mention are not achievements, maybe we need new benchmarks for evaluating performance and a new definition for achievements. In all sincerity, there is no basis opposition politicians from Adamawa to engage in outright lies and deception concerning Bindow’s achievements, by denying Adamawa residents facts and figures of the government’s report card. If they are in doubt, they can resort to the administration’s midterm report, where the concrete achievements are listed in black and white. So, why demonise an achiever, and as many Adamawas have described him, the best Governor Adamawa State has ever produced. How else do you judge a leader who has tackled most intractable and decade-long abandoned projects, which under previous administrations have defied solution? For example, roads, school, health care, health and many others have received sustainable solutions, yet some cynics still vilifying Bindow. The skirmishes we are currently witnessing are not enough to classify Adamawa State as being under siege. Furthermore, the same proponents of regime change are better positioned to initiate a lasting peace in the troubled areas as statesmen they claim to be. If they shirk this responsibility on the excuse that it is government’s duty, then their patriotism will be called into question. The responsibility of building a nation cannot be left only to those in authority; rather all men of goodwill should explore avenues to guarantee peace in the country. This is patriotism at work, and not to pull down a performing government in the media. If the opposition continues the blame game, what panacea do they have to put the security situation in check, assuming they are in power? Or should we allow the orgy of violence to continue until they take over, and possibly use a magic wand to solve the challenges confronting Adamawa? It is surprising that after several years of mounting opposition to the Bindow administration, the Abuja Politicians of Adamawa extraction is yet to offer an alternative or acceptable programme of action that will address our myriad of problems as a State. Rather than the opposition’s descent into politics of name calling and denigration of respected institutions and authorities, it will serve us better if they dwell on politics of issues and healthy debate that addresses the contemporary and long term economic and social needs of Adamawa.