At a time when the world is suffering from the damage and pain of the Covid-19, and reasonable leaders and governors across the globe and Nigeria as a whole are hell bent in curbing the spread of the virus in the respective states and countries.
In Adamawa, the unfortunate choice of a governor is once again highlighted, as Governor Ahmadu Umar Fintiri has shown clearly that he cares more about his endless attacks and campaign of calumny against his predecessor, Senator Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow more than seeking solace for the Adamawa people against the ravaging Corona virus.
Instead of devoting the time and resources to put in place a TV and radio public enlightenment against the deadly corona virus, the governor has decided to pump large amount of money to TV and radio attack and calumny campaign against Senator Bindow for just no reason. Which with all sense of modesty, is the height of irresponsibility from a governor.
I think people close to Governor Fintiri should as a matter of urgency tell him that the days of campaign and stack politicking are over, he is the governor now not a candidate of a party seeking to be governor of the state, enough of these whinings and lies against the previous administration, because that’s all he seem to be doing since he assumed office; tell us how much Senator Bindow has failed in governance.
The most annoying of these hate campaigns against Senator Bindow was the malicious lie that Bindow had borrowed money to the tune of a 100 billion naira. This is the most ridiculous thing for anybody to say. To start with, according to the record by the Debt Management Office (DMO) released third quarter of last year (2019), Adamawa’s debt is N95, 604, 743, 892.60 (Ninety five billion, six hundred and four million, seven hundred and forty three thousand, eight hundred and ninety two naira, sixty kobo).
The most interesting thing about this is the fact that, the figure is the total debt accrued by Adamawa state since its creation in 1991 including the huge sum of money Fintiri also borrowed in his time as an acting governor for just three months in the state. And this is all available online or at the DMO’s office for verification, anybody can confirm this. It’s as simple as that. And yet these people have no shame to perpetuate such a lie that the amount was accrued during Senator Bindow’s tenure. How shameless! Infact, this is a blatant disregard and insult to the intellect of Adamawa people.
And the million dollar questions for Fintiri are; if Bindow has failed, whats has Governor Fintiri done in his time in office to make the lives of Adamawa people better and can Governor Fintiri even compare his achievements going into two years in office with that of Senator Bindow in the same duration? Does he even think the good people of Adamawa has forgotten the laudable progressive projects they witnessed during Bindow’s regime?
Adamawa has just recorded its index case of the corona virus, what’s has Governor Fintiri done to curb the spread of this virus in the state? What modalities does Governor Fintiri have in place to ensure that this index case doesn’t turn into an outbreak in the state or is the Governor still blaming Senator Bindow for not building an isolation center and providing test kits for the state too?
As much as we all know Governor Fintiri and his cohorts are jealous of Senator Bindow’s unprecedented achievements in Adamawa state, nothing they do or say will take away the fact that Bindow has been by far the most outstanding governor in the state.
I do not know of anybody in Adamawa who has held a leadership position from the state to the national level that has touched the lives of many people in the state like Bindow did. There is no politician here who hasn’t been influenced by the goodwill of Bindow’s administration and I am sure that many years from now all of us and generation after will remember Bindow as the man who transformed Adamawa and made it what it is today.
Bindow has shown that governance with the people in mind, with the common man in mind is possible and that it is possible to impact the lives of all our people if we are dedicated and committed. And all of this is evident in his laudable projects cutting across the health, education, infrastructure, youth and women empowerment, agriculture as well as security.
Pointing to Bindow’s strides in peace and security, infrastructure, education, agriculture, urban renewal, people’s welfare among others, one of the political bigwigs in the state said, he could only hope that present administration in the state could live up to the challenge of raising the bar of governance from where Bindow left it.
“Bindow administration’s strides were great, as he has done well in all ramifications in four years.
The present administration has promised to do many things and has done nothing going into two years, so we will be watching what they will do before they leave come 2023.
He added that the sustainable infrastructure, growth and peace enjoyed by residents of the state in Bindow’s four years were resultant effects of the several initiatives evolved by Bindow’s administration.
“I make bold to say that if all of these are the only achievement people will remember Bindow’s administration for, I am happy for it,” he said.
Arch Lukas Mathew wrote in from Yola and he can be reached on youngluke21@gmail.com
