In 1942, a group of young progressive intellectuals from the north congregated in Bauchi, among whom were SaaduZungur, Malam Aminu Kano, Dr. R. K.B. Dikko, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Malam Yahaya Gusau, all of blessed memories.
Although young, they were statesmen, patriots and visionary leaders who saw tomorrow and felt the urgent need to chart a new course for the future of the region.
They saw the need to arouse the consciousness of the plebeians to stand up for their rights.
That meeting birthed the famous Bauchi Consultative Forum which became the intellectual springboard for popular resistance and mass mobilisation of the Talakawas that was propounded by the highly revered Malam Aminu Kano. It was that singular meeting which metamorphosed into the founding of the Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU) and then later, the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in the second republic.
NEPU, it was, that challenged the elitist Northern People’s Congress (NPC) founded by Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on many policies and programmes which were seen as anti-masses.
Significantly, from then on, Bauchi became the epicentre of popular resistance against injustice, and the people have always risen to defend their rights in every epoch.
Fast forward to 2007, former governor, Ahmadu AdamuMuazu was ousted by the people when they overwhelmingly voted Malam Isa Yuguda of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) as replacement. Muazu, a sitting governor then, lost his bid to move to the senate and impose a successor as governor. History repeated itself in 2015, when the same Yuguda, who succeeded Muazu, met with the anger and wrath of the people who also gave him the Muazu treatment.
The beneficiary of this was the little known Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar who joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) exactly 40 days to the primaries.
Overwhelmed by his seeming easy victory, the then governor-elect, Abubakar, said prophetically, “Al’ummar Bauchi dama ‘yanadawa ne, in kamusubadaidaizasu zo sutumbukekominkarfinka, kominmulkinka”, which literally means, “Bauchi people are naturally rebellious, if you don’t treat them well, they will reject and remove you, no matter how powerful or strong you are.”
Four years down the line, a similar fate seems to be awaiting Abubakar as he predicted in 2015.
Right from the day he won his election in 2015, Abubakar started fighting imaginary enemies and battles. He continues to fight on all fronts. It is said that a wise general chooses his battle but Abubakar has fought the masses, fought the elites, fought the traditional rulers, fought the civil servants, embarked on endless salaries verification for over one year without paying civil servants in a poverty stricken state, deposed about 1000 traditional rulers, awards contracts arbitrarily, refused to conduct local government elections in violation of Supreme Court judgment, jets out of the state every other day and has no sense of accountability on how he spends the state’s finances.
He became arrogant, too proud and listens to no one. He runs solo, such that when he isn’t in Bauchi, governance is stalled.
In fact, the governor even said on radio last year that leave grant is not backed by law and he, being a lawyer, will not pay the state’s civil servants their leave grant as it is just a privilege and not a right.
Few days into office, before the inauguration of the State House of Assembly, Governor Abubakar took a N4 billion bank loan. The case is pending before the courts. He collected Paris Club refund and frittered it away; including N4 billion that was frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the money hit the accounts of a private company in the guise of payment for consultancy services.
Four years after, Abubakar cannot boast of commencing and completing a single project in Bauchi State except may the much talked-about 4km Federal Low-cost-CBN roundabout that has dragged on since 2015 after gulping over N4 billion.
Former governor Malam Isa Yuguda appointed 4000 political appointees which jerked up the state’s payroll to N2.6 billion per month but on assumption of office, Abubakar fired them all. Since then, there has been no fresh recruitment into the civil service yetthe Bauchi State monthly payroll is now N5.6 billion.
The state is leading as the poverty capital of Nigeria with the highest number of out-of-school children in the country now hitting 1.5 million.Schools are in tatters with no chairs, desks and instructional materials for teaching. Many have no roofs and pupils/students can’t go to school when it rains. Sadly, the state, in the last four years, has performed woefully in national examinations- WAEC and NECO- coming last in both.
The Economic Confidential Annual State Viability Index (ASVI) 2017 Ranking of States by Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) Compared to Federation Account Allocation (FAA) in 2017, shows that whereas the state received N85 billion from the federation account for the period under review, it only generated a paltry 5.13 percent which came from PAYE deducted at source from salaries of civil servants, thus placing the state in last position in Nigeria, a high indication of a dysfunctional government.This is the sorry state of Bauchi State under the present government.
This is the sorry and unfortunate state Bauchi has found itself – battered, debased, desecrated, dehumanised and its people enslaved and thrown into excruciating perpetual penury, squalor and poverty.
But all hope is not lost; Bauchi and its people shall rise again, although they might have been enslaved but not conquered, they are still in full and total control of their minds and destinies.
Already, the ever politically sophisticated Bauchi people have hinted on how they will vote on March 9. It now behoves on the people to stand strong, vote, protect their votes and resist attempts to snatch their ballots using thugs that have been imported into the state and armed with assault rifles and other dangerous weapons by the state government.
Indeed, given the history and political culture of Bauchi, no amount of threat, intimidation, manipulation or scheming can save Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar from the peoples’ wrath on Saturday March 9. As the plebeians and proletariats of Rome rose and brought down the emperor-their oppressor –so shall Bauchi people also.
No one dares them and survives; these are the descendants of SaaduZungur, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and the warriors of the caliphate.
- Hassan is Special Adviser (Media & Public Affairs) too Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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