Governor Fintiri’s two years, Five months of purposeful leadership

On May 29, 2021, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri celebrated the successful completion of two years as the Governor of Adamawa State and commencement of the penultimate lap of his second mandatory two terms as the number one citizen in charge of the land of Beauty.

The last two years of Governor Fintiri’s Administration have flown by with astonishing speed, but one enduring constant in the passing years has been his bold, firm, courageous, determined and unwavering commitment to selfless and patriotic service.

Many still remember those turbulent days post-May 29, 2019, when Governor Fintiri, confronted with a State where virtually every sector had collapsed, rolled up his sleeves and knuckled down to the business of delivering the dividends of democracy and getting Adamawa state to start functioning again.

Governor Fintiri hit the ground running from the first day he assumed office in 2019, fixing roads and bridges, re-organizing institutions and establishments, opening up clamped down spaces like the judiciary and courageously mending a broken, dysfunctional, dystopian and deliberately abandoned state.

The roadmap to kick-start the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Adamawa State had been laid down in the inauguration address on May 29, 2019, and in the typical charismatic, all-action fashion which has defined his administration, the Adamawa Governor, who was appropriately christened with the sobriquet “Mr Projects” by none other than Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, FCT minister, and other APC chieftains less than two years into his administration, has not only shamed his critics, he has silenced the opposition and transformed the landscape of Adamawa State in the last two years, five months.

A dispassionate summary of Governor Fintiri’sFintiri’s administration will confirm that virtually every sector in the state has been positively impacted since May 29, 2019, and the definitive testimony of his dedicated, visionary and progressive leadership was showcased in two phases when Adamawa State shone brightly on the global map for three weeks.

From May 21, 2021 – August 16, 2021, eminent citizens of Nigeria joined him to commission projects in 21 Local Government Areas of the State.

This unprecedented development coming at a time most leaders both in the country and globally used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for non-performance has not only become well referenced in the developmental narrative of the country but has left many commentators across the country gushing with sincere conviction that the only person who can realistically beat the impressive developmental record which Governor Fintiri has set so far, is Governor Fintiri himself.

Two major talking points have stood out in the last two years, five months of the administration, which have defined his impressive leadership style and the brilliance of his strategic administrative acumen on the home front and at the national space.

The first is that Governor Fintiri has consistently insisted that his administration will protect the welfare and interest of every Adamawa indigene and only the best will be good enough for the Adamawa people.

The second is that he has become arguably one of the Governors in Nigeria who has displayed sincere brotherliness, strategic brinkmanship and all-encompassing accommodation across political divides.

He has also exhibited the courage and boldness to speak truth to power and challenge national policies and decisions that exploit the people, thus standing out as the most articulate, fearless voice of the opposition.

To achieve the first talking point, Governor Fintiri has engaged the services of the best international and indigenous construction firms, and it is no longer news that most of the legacy infrastructural projects are being handled by renowned world-class international and indigenous construction firms with the prime construction consortium, Traicta, at the top of the list.

Of course, the delivery of quality projects to the people of Adamawa State has become synonymous with Governor Fintiri’sFintiri’s administration in the last two years, four months.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 economic lockdown and the noisome buzzing by a clique of jobless, disgruntled and confused opposition in the state, one important fact which even his critics will reluctantly admit is that the construction of amazing infrastructural projects like roads, bridges and Classrooms, is not a one day’s job.

Quality projects require careful planning, expert handling, and many months of hard work to ensure that they are delivered to specification to serve people long.

This is what Governor Fintiri has accomplished with class, panache, tremendous success and a lot of goodwill and appreciation from Adamawa people who have enjoyed and will be the ultimate beneficiaries of these projects.

In protecting and defending the interest and welfare of the Adamawa people, Governor Fintiri became a legendary example for his fearless commitment to always stand on the side of the people as their champion and his humane and benevolent spirit, especially for the Adamawa people, has been unparalleled in the last two years, five months.

Indeed, the story of the last two years, five months, will not be complete without mentioning that Adamawa State celebrated her 30 years anniversary, with a month-long programme of events including projects inauguration, exhibitions, intellectual discourses, exciting social events and a throbbing cultural extravaganza that define the state.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic was another major event that tasked the strategic preparedness of many leaders to promptly respond to unexpected situations, but Governor Fintiri led from the front, promulgating quick response executive orders and operational directives and enforcing mandated guidelines and protocols which not only saved many lives but set down a strategic roadmap for national adoption.

In the last two years Five months, Governor Fintiri’s regional importance and growing national stature as a political titan, a visionary game changer and a developmental leader has grown in leaps and bounds.

He has also transformed Yola and Adamawa State into a buzzing matrix and solid base for the resolution of political conflicts and a bastion for results-oriented, functional leadership against the backdrop of a progressively dysfunctional and administratively dystopian national leadership.

His robust intervention as Chairman of the PDP convention committee and the pivotal role in settling the political logjam that nearly disrupted the peace regarding the next national Chairman of the party earned him exceptional praise.

He has been resolute and firm, both physically and symbolically, in his support for his friends and colleague Governors.

It is on record that he has been bold and pragmatic in regularly reviewing security issues to address spontaneous crime and other unlawful tendencies through the deployment of strategic templates that have often been adopted at the national level.

The three weeks blitz of projects inauguration, which witnessed an outstanding array of Governors, political leaders and national statesmen, cutting across partisan and geopolitical divides, which Governor Fintiri attracted to Adamawa State as Special Guests to perform the commissioning ceremonies, has been rightly regarded as the most exciting and audacious defining moments of the last two years, five months.

The carnivalesque atmosphere and the pomp and celebration that greeted Governor Fintiri and his array of Special Guests, coupled with a robust display of the rich cultural heritage of the diverse peoples in every community and local government they visited to commission the projects, were ample testimonies that Adamawa people were quite in support of the commissioned projects.

The praises and encomiums showered on Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri by these Eminent Leaders and Statesmen who all spoke their minds honestly and with great candour, was summarized in the words of FCT, Minister Muhammed Bello.

He said: “”Today, I have seen that you’re the real talk and do person. That you have been able to bring eminent Nigerians to come and be commission projects that you started and completed in the last two years is unprecedented in Nigeria.

Let me also say that you are an ambassador, a role model, and a shining light of PDP in Nigeria. Some people are angry that Governor Fintiri is commissioning roads every day.

“They should wait until he starts commissioning schools, hospitals then comes back to unveil the flyovers one after the other. When they continue to look for excuses in the Federal Government, and we come here and see how you are doing your own thing without looking for excuses, we know that somebody like you cannot be left alone in Nigeria. We must all continue to support you,” Muhammed Bello stated.

The Commissioning spree of legacy infrastructural projects was in addition to other people-oriented initiatives, including those in infrastructure, health, Education and social welfare, many of which have been unveiled and inaugurated as part of events to mark the two years anniversary celebration of Governor Fintiri’s administration.

With the successful delivery of the Two multi-billion-naira iconic legacy Flyovers at Total Junction and police roundabout, which have been described as architectural wonders to behold, Governor Fintiri, like the astute, pragmatic craftsman that he is and acting on expert advise, has commenced the Upgrading of 5 general hospitals and Construction of six cottage hospitals at strategic points in the state, all necessitated by increasing vehicular activities and traffic jams at some entry points in Yola, which has become a bustling cosmopolitan hub.

Apart from roads infrastructure, significant progress and impact have been recorded in other areas in two and Half years.

In the area of healthcare delivery, the five General and six Cottage hospitals are ready for commissioning.

The furore, Gulak Cottage Hospitals were upgraded, completely equipped and converted to General Hospitals.

The Fintiri administration has also performed exceptionally well in the promotion of security and protection of lives and property in the state.

The Adamawa State Government has relaunched the security outfit codenamed operation Farauta to compliment the “Operation Tsaro” security platform, and Governor Fintiri has regularly upgraded and supported all the security outfits, with necessary equipment and incentives, as a further step in the robust, pragmatic strategic and holistic approach of the administration to strengthen the security architecture of the state.

What Governor Fintiri has consistently harped on, however, is that powerful politicians should stop politicizing security, while the leadership of the agencies themselves should try as much as possible not to get involved in the murky waters of politics at the detriment of the people they are supposed to be protecting.

In the area of Education, the strategic intervention of the administration since it assumed office in the restoration, upgrade, and expansion of secondary schools across the state has continued with remarkable results.

Funds have been released regularly for the comprehensive restoration and upgrade of scores of dilapidated secondary and primary schools across the state, including renowned schools like General Murtala Mohammed CollegeAliyu Musdafa College, Gss Michika, Madagali, among Hundreds.

The state government also released several billions of naira to enable the Adamawa state Universal basic education board to access counterpart funding from UBEC to develop schools in Adamawa.

In the area of scholarship schemes, the State Government has paid Bursary to Students, which was halted for over ten years.

Agriculture has also been boosted in line with the administration’s promise to refocus on agricultural development through the Agribusiness Initiative that resulted in the floating of a 100 Billion Naira Bond in the Capital Market, making Adamawa one the First to key into this Initiative.

Governor Fintiri has equally enjoyed a robust relationship with the Labour Unions in the last two years, five months. Adamawa State is one of the few states paying salaries fully and promptly. Very soon, Adamawa Youths will be engaged in the 10 000 jobs promised by the administration.

In the political terrain, Governor Fintiri has continued to show that he’s a master of the game, having successfully held the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP together in the state, supervised a very credible congress which saw the smooth emergence of new party executives and led to the rancour-free primaries that produced all the victorious Local Government Council Chairmen and Executives for PDP in the 21 LGAs in the State.

From the analysis so far, it is pretty apparent that virtually every area and the sector has been positively impacted in the last two years, five months. The urban renewal programme in the capital city has progressed at a fantastic pace, and the effort to connect and integrate all parts of Adamawa State with durable power and legacy roads is on course.

Governor Fintiri has a plethora of reasons to celebrate the two years, five months anniversary of his tenure in office and his 54h birthday to commemorate this milestone.

One admirable factor which has remained constant over the last two and half years is that Governor Fintiri is still greatly loved, admired and adored by the people of Adamawa State as their champion.

Today, as he was in 2019 when he took on the opposition, both within and externally, battled them to a standstill, defeated them on all fronts and won the election convincingly, carrying the hopes and aspirations of Adamawa people on his broad shoulders.

The scorecard of the last two and half years has been replete with outstanding achievements, groundbreaking events and the initiation of legacy projects, which have not only transformed the landscape of the state impressively but has attracted an avalanche of awards and recognitions from home and abroad, to add to his impressive gallery of plaques and silverware.

There is no doubt that more awards and titles will be garnered by Governor Fintiri in the remaining one year six months of his administration, especially since the progressive trajectory of projects delivery will continue into the last two years of his administration.

His avowed pledge of Nothing left untouched, Nothing Left Behind, and ensuring that every Local Government gets at least one legacy project and will not leave any uncompleted project behind for his successor in 2027, is cheering news for the Adamawa people.

Despite the very poor state of the national economy and the spin-off effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the zeal and dedication to deliver greater development to Adamawa people are already evident in work going on all over the state.

Governor Finitri himself puts it succinctly: “As a government, we welcome constructive and frank criticisms devoid of politics and mischievousness because they serve to make us better performers.

At any rate, this is a time for governance, not for politics, and we welcome everyone onboard to enable us to create an environment that promotes balanced economic growth, thriving private investments and good jobs; to build a State of shared prosperity; a place of boundless opportunity for all residents; and a State we can truly call our home, our pride, our heritage, while looking into the future with optimism.

“For us, Nothing matters more than Adamawa State, our people, our interests, our treasures, our enormous resources and assets, our accomplishments and our greatness.

And so, as we look forward to the months ahead, all I can say is that we are inspired by your continuous support and prayers to believe that our best days are ahead of us, and working together, we will surely do more to move Adamawa State going forward.”