Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, Governor Borno State, Nigeria is a firm and disciple person who mirrors the character and principles embraced by Nigerian founding fathers. And as such he has been creating an inclusive society in Borno state, reconstructing, building peace and partnerships, working together with the people and changing lives
Leadership, learning, courage and good choice of words are the take-aways from Governor Zulum. An example of the leadership and character strength by such founding fathers as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Then plus some traits of President Muhammadu Buhari.
A leader who anchors himself on the philosophy of the Bostonia orator and late US President, John Kennedy’s saying that leadership and learnership are indispensable to one another, Zulum having gathered governance experience from former Governor Kassim Shettima, is among the leaders who are positively redefining governance narratives in Nigeria. This explains why he was able to execute over 326 projects in his first year in office.
And this is something instructive. No wonder he is drawing admiration, within and outside Borno state, for his giant strides in all aspects of governance, with his visionary, people-focused, articulated development agenda which he christened: 10-Pact Transformation Agenda.
Being an academic leader he fully understands the new purposes that scholars have now begun to classify as PPP: People, Planet, Plurality. This shows us new dynamics in different economic regions of the world, focusing on different priorities. For instance, Europe already defines the inauguration of the green revolution, the P for Planet, as its post pandemic. The USA, involved in the presidential elections, places plurality and its diversity, therefore the P for Plurality is its concern with insertive civil society. Leaders in Africa, frightened by the increase in extreme poverty and social losses, focus on reducing the social impact of misery and unemployment on the continent, putting the issue of people ahead. Therefore, Africa preferred concern to focus upon.
But surprisingly, Zulum-a professor of soil science is concerned with all these three Ps. As a result, he is working tirelessly to shape the future, bring back confidence and restore hope to his people, and never the one to gamble away his state’s stability and economic security , and never one to engage in sabre-rattling. As he is concerned with humanitarian and security issues, so is he concerned with food security, agriculture and climate change, as well as human resources development.
Even with the Boko Haram insurgents activities that have rendered many hopeless and homeless, Governor Zulum remains focused on delivering education as a dividend of democracy to his people. He has been going about to resettle people, once forced to flee their homes as a result of BokoHaram activities, in different towns and villages in Borno state, leading other government officials in the distribution of food and non-food items to those in critical humanitarian needs. Risking personal safety, he regularly visits disturbed locations where a large number of people have been displaced to wipe of tears from people faces and infuse them with hope and confidence. While supervising aid distribution to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and vulnerable members of society, he is equally concerned about their need for shelter.
Governor Zulum laying the foundation of a building project
A look at Zulum’s performance in office in just one year makes people marvel. He embarked on 375 projects.
To ensure peace and security become permanent features of Borno social and cultural life, Zulum places premium on the security of the citizenry. That is why he has been able to make several sustained efforts in tackling security challenges in the state. With 300 patrol vehicles purchased and distributed to CJTF, military and other sister agencies, establishment of security trust fund, formation of rapid security response team, special protection component for farmers tagged agro-rangers, created, procured security gadgets to CJTF and the upward review of their allowances, visitations to high-risk security areas for citizens’ needs assessments, among many other efforts has shown how focused and determined Zulum is, on security matters.
Aware that education is the key to scientific and technological advancement, the means to combat unemployment and the foundation of social equity, Zulum put it on his priority list. His outstanding achievements in the area of education within the one year in office, is breathtaking. 76 verifiable projects were undertsken across 21 Local government areas. 49 projects are already completed while 27 ongoing in the education sector. Zulum embarked on massive construction, rehabilitation and renovations of hundreds of blocks of classrooms and offices in schools.
In the health sector he has recorded huge transformation , too. The sector benefited 46 physical projects in 19 LGAs out of which 37 are newly built primary, comprehensive and maternity healthcare centres with some few still ongoing. The governor was aware of the unmitigated disaster dearth of equipment could pose to the people’s wellbeing and therefore, promptly procured several equipment of world class standard and essential drugs for most of the healthcare centres in the state, among many others.
He equally seeks to promote commerce and industry in order to boost the state’s economy and its development. He has brought about great transformation for enhanced services and efficiency of state-owned companies such as BOPLAS, BOSCO, Borno wire and nail industry. This is in addition to construction of a new modern market in Kwaya-Kusar and market stalls in many LGAs. Agriculture, ecology and biodiversity were greatly considered as Firgi (dry season) farming, installation of rice mill Zabarmari, procurement and repair of modern farm implements, establishment of woodloot plantation, construction of drainage systems to counter erosion and flooding, 2.7 million trees raised, and many others.
Rural/ Urban Development has numerous footprints of Zulum. He has clearly shown his committed resolve to build Borno State as he has embarked on massive construction of over 6000 housing units, installed litany of electrification and transformers on notably rural communities across the all local government areas. He drilled hundreds of solar powered boreholes, constructed and reconstructed several vocational centres or skills acquisition centres for job creation, constructed 53 municipal buildings in 12 local government areas, in a view to speed up his civil authority restoration processes in the recaptured LGAs.
The transport sector also receives the attention of the governor. In addition to the massive road construction projects, there has been remarkable improvements as Borno Express, the state-owned transport company, is witnessing rapid transformation.
In terms of reconstruction and psychological healing, Zulum is also firing on in all cylinders. This is because Borno state houses over two million internally displaced people (IDPs) forcefully chased out of their communities by Boko Haram in camps and host communities with women and children been the most affected due to their vulnerabilities. And this presents a huge challenge. But Zulum is up to the task.
Zulum who is also a humanitarian decided to get directly involved in coordination and supervision of distribution of food, clothes and conditional cash to displaced persons in many communities across the local government areas of the state. and since coming to office over one year ago, Zulum has personally supervised and distributed palliatives to hundreds of thousand individuals and families in 14 local government areas.
To address policy inconsistencies and lack of coordination in humanitarian response,the Governor established Agency for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Response with the mandate of coordinating activities of non-governmental organisations, among many other interventions rendered in the area of humanitarian support and social protection.
In June, this concern forced him to revoke the allocations of houses that remained unoccupied at the Indimi Housing Estate (INHE) in Bama Local Government Area. The governor was on a working visit to Bama when he gave the revocation order. The allocated houses at Bama has remained to be occupied for over a year.
Bama had severally been attacked and destruction of over 90 of houses and public buildings by Boko Haram terrorists, before troops re-captured it in 2016. On that particular day, Governor Zulum also supervised aid distribution to more than 25,000 IDPs and vulnerable members of the host community in Bama. The IDPs, staying in Bama town, were mostly from villages sacked by insurgents in Banki, Gulumba, and Ngurosoye of Bama Local Government Area. He told the IDPs that:
“I want to sympathize with you; you have been in a very difficult situation. The insurgents have displaced you from your houses and communities, without any means of livelihoods.The food items you see here are jointly provided by the Borno State Government and the Federal Government. President Muhammadu Buhari is very compassionate about your plights, may God bless him.”
He also announced the re-opening of three secondary schools in Bama. The re-opening, according to him, was to enable primary school pupils to continue with their education. “I will soon come back to Bama. I will personally supervise the enrollment of students.
“We’ve to reopen Government Day Secondary School; the Mega School will also be converted to a Secondary School, while a Girls’ Secondary School will be sited in Shettimari Primary School temporarily.”
At palace of the Shehu of Bama, Zulum informed the royal father of government’s plan to resettle people at Ngurosoye village and Banki, a border town with Cameroon.He said while the IDPs in Menawo and Kirawa taking refuge in Cameroon; will be repatriated to return Banki.
Earlier in August 2019, in his bid to ensure total restoration of civil authority to the local government areas previously ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency, Zulum had ordered immediate relocation of Shehu of Bama and his Dikwa counterpart back to their respective palaces.
He also made possible the immediate return of all local government staff and primary school teachers to their respective local government areas of postings.
The two traditional rulers had fled their homes to Maiduguri at the peak of the Boko Haram crisis between 2014 and 2015.It could be recalled that the Shehu of Bama escaped death by whiskers when the terrorists invaded his palace then.
But with the restoration of peace by the security agencies, civilian joint taskforce and subsequent return of the displaced persons from the areas who were earlier taking refuge in Maiduguri back to their ancestral homes through the rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement programme of Borno State government, Zulum moves to ensure that the monarchs are also home to boost the morale of their subjects.
But who is Governor Zulum? What experience shaped him? And why is able to do all these things, reconstructing lives in Borno state? He has leadership qualities and enough experience. He understands that shaping the future essentially means planning to build a robust, prosperous and sustainable economy, as well as a successful development model that meets the competitive demands of the global economy.
This ensures that the concerned state or country excels in various areas of development compared to its counterparts worldwide.
He has been tested and trusted in the proper management of men and materials in his previous public positions. His wealth of experience and laudable achievements as the then Rector of Ramat Polytechnic and pioneer Commissioner Ministry for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), put him on a good footing and this is brought to bear in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the state.
The good people of Borno state believe that with his unrivaled passion and concern for the plight of the common man, Borno state was about to witness a tremendous shared prosperity in all its ramifications having Zulum as the governor.
In 2015, Zulum was appointed pioneer Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement by Shettima. Despite being in control of billions of naira for the reconstruction of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals, he neither bought a personal house nor a personal car for himself. He also came under attack from Boko Haram twice but didn’t stop in his efforts to rebuild substantial parts of Borno.
It is also interesting to note that, as a don, Zulum had more than enough family challenges that he couldn’t even afford to build a personal house and lived in rented apartments with his families even when he was appointed Rector, Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri and subsequently, Commissioner of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), one of the newly created State Ministries by former Governor Kashim Shettima in his second tenure in office.
“Governor Shettima told me in September 2015 that he was trusting me with so much funds for the rebuilding of hundreds of communities destroyed by Boko Haram, and he was worried about the displacement of more than two million people of the state.
That appointment was one major challenge, and I took it up ready to die doing it or trying. Yes, at some point, there was the issue of safety since insurgents can spring surprises, but we had the overwhelming support of the military and the police in particular, as well as other security agencies, and volunteers. The rebuilding was something that needed to be done. As the governor said, we couldn’t wait forever. I’m happy that he succeeded in his determination to rebuild many communities, particularly places like Bama. Today, the government has resettled victims in most of the LGAs, including Bama, Kaga, Dikwa, Gwoza, Askira Uba and others.” Said Zulum in an interview before he became governor in 2019.
Early in life, Zulum had to join his father in tilling the ground at a tender age in Loskuri village, Mafa Council of Borno State. “Every day, I trekked for seven kilometres to reach my father’s farm from our home,” he recalled. He combined farming with his primary and school in Mafa and Monguno from 1975 to 1980 and 1980 to 85, respectively.”
When Zulum was in class five in a secondary school in Monguno, he began to fully cater to his education. “I became a commercial driver of taxis, particularly Peugeot 404. At some point, I also drove buses carrying passengers to different villages and neighbouring states. At a later time, I drove commercial pickup trucks carrying firewood from forests. While working as a commercial driver, I learned how to fix any vehicle I drove,” he said.
In 1986, Zulum gained admission into Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri, owned by the state government, to study for a National Diploma in Irrigation Engineering, and lived with relatives off-campus in Kofa Biyu, a densely populated area.
“I trekked for eight kilometres from Kofa Biyu to Ramat Polytechnic and back whenever I had lectures. But I was already used to long walk all my life, as I couldn’t afford transport to school. Whenever I drove taxis and returned the vehicles to owners, I used what I got for my basic school needs. I later also became a commercial operator of grinding machine, and I owned one in Mafa, and during weekends I went there to serve customers,” he added.
Then, from 1990 to 1994, he studied at the University of Maiduguri, where he obtained a degree in Agriculture Engineering, after which he served as a youth corps member with Katsina State Polytechnic. He proceeded to the University of Ibadan from 1997 to 1998, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Agriculture Engineering. In 2005, he enrolled for a PhD in Soil and Water Engineering with the University of Maiduguri, which he completed in 2009.
The courageous decision by His Excellence , Professor Zulum, to initiate actions that build peace for the prosperity of the people reflects a much-needed, pragmatic vision for the future of Borno State and entire North-East region.
Operating within the template of his 10-Pact Transformation Agenda within one year of being Borno governor, Zulum undertook 375 projects, of which 326 are physical projects. The remaining 49 as capital-intensive programmes and policies. An average of one project per day that is the performance of a man popularly called “Governor Workaholic”.
Today , humanity is on the threshold of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, around which global economic development of the future will pivot. Governor Zulum is trying to gather his people for global economic development, so that they are not left behind in the scheme of things. Under him, governance in Borno State has evolved into the finest relationship mechanism that binds the citizens and the leaders in a shared vision of progress and welfare of the people. The same sense of pride and passion for national excellence marks President Buhari ‘s working style, which has a frank and uncompromising approach to policies and their impact on progress, is also noticeable in Zulum leadership
This provides an echo of old Kanem Bornu Empire, which comes to mind when the issue of tolerance was mentioned. Then the region was in its brightest times tolerant of the other and receptive to the other, courtesy, peace prevailed , the world-attracting scholars, traders and tourists from places like Sudan to Egypt, Baghdad to Damascus, Mali to Senegal to the Bornu Empire. Its people were beacons of knowledge, industry and civilization because they were based on real values that govern their relations with all civilisations, cultures and religions around them.
Governor Zulum bonding with the survivors and victims’ of BokoHaram attacks provides for them an opportunity to ease their pain and suffering. And in all of their sadness, there is joy too — with Governor Zulum’s commitments to touching and transforming lives, showing the true spirit of Islam, its compassion, its peace and its joy, attributes devoid of bitterness, acrimony, distrust and violence.
Add a Comment