Bindow: The Searching Sardauna of our Time

By Mairo Muhammad Mudi

I refer you back to my write up sometimes ago titled ‘Is Sardauna A Northerner?’ Posted on Mairo’s Blog.

It could be recalled that, I wanted a hero like Sardauna of blessed memory who died long before I was born yet I grew up adopting him as a hero after I got to know him from the monumental legacies he left behind and from Dankwairo’s numerous songs of praises for the great Sardauna.

I was hungry for someone like him in our present situation.

In my search, I am in the habit of monitoring attitudinal and developmental status of   different leaders in the North.

Whenever an assignment takes me to any part of the North, I first of all observe and listen, carefully appraising the situation on ground, then choose an option: to just report or perform what took me there and leave or sum it up with my opinion.

So far out of the states I have quietly visited, I wrote my opinion only on Kebbi State because I was greatly impressed by what the governor is doing in meaningfully impacting and transforming the lives of his people through rice farming, road network constructions and provision of constant power supply when most parts of the north are suffering because of constant power outage due to the activities of Niger Delta Avengers. Senator Bagudu got an alternative to this problem of electricity for his people

I recently visited Adamawa state and I concluded that, the state also deserves my opinion.

When a friend told me to visit Adamawa State to see development at its making, I was a bit sceptical about such a possibility in the North East. The thought of a place ravaged by Boko Haram activities readily came to my mind but my craving for travelling and journalistic instinct prevailed over my initial scepticism, impelling me to embark on this awe-inspiring journey.

I would have loved to go by road rather than by air so that I could have the opportunity of seeing a lot on my way but my husband wouldn’t agree to this my habitual adventure-seeking mode of travel.

So we landed at the Yola Airport which I learnt was first in the North and this was my first time in Yola. I like what I saw; the airport was well tarred and neatly kept even though it was said to be under construction.

We drove through the city smoothly to our lodge; the roads I must confess were shiny under the sun. My mind started to relax as I didn’t see any destroyed structures but was rather confronted by beautiful buildings.

I hurriedly dropped my luggage and came out to dispel or confirm my doubts about the much talked-about development in Yola and then stood in awe of what stared at me.

The beauty before my eyes looked like somewhere in Turkey. I called out to my friend and our guide. They had a good laugh but I didn’t care. I just couldn’t stop looking at the scenery. This is nature at work, I told myself. But the roads and buildings on the mountains were like the icing on the cake. I asked my guide about one white, beautiful imposing building standing on a mountain and he told me it is the first hotel in Northern Nigeria which was abandoned for more than 40 years but Governor Bindow is now renovating it to International standard. I asked to be taken there and in less than ten minutes I was looking at a building which the project manager informed me was at more than 60 percent level of completion.

I started taking notes. We went through network of roads and I was highly impressed. I saw a road that terminates at the gate of a cemetery and I also saw one that terminates at a riverbank and I jokingly asked my guide whether someone has challenged Bindow on road construction contest.

Well I was also taken to roads and bridge construction sites. I met men at work. I looked at my friend who was smiling knowing that my eyes betrayed me of losing the bet and she said you are yet to see anything.

She once told me that whenever the governor goes round the city, he would stop to converse with the people and you could also see him buying groundnuts or sugar cane from the street vendors. I wish I could capture such moments myself.

Whether planned or otherwise, I found our car trailing Governor Bindow’s convoy that evening but it didn’t look like a governor’s convoy to me without the siren-blaring vehicles or heavily armed uniformed men in sight. I made sure we kept a good distance. Though I couldn’t see him buying groundnuts or sugar cane but I saw adults and children shouting his name, displaying their eighth fingers at him.

In some occasions, he came out and took a walk followed by a lot of young people and children until he got on his car.

In another area the crowd that surrounded him was huge and that was when I edged forward and threw a question on security.

“Your Excellency, are you not conscious of your security as you mingle freely with the crowd?”

“I have no reason to distance myself from them. They are my bosses and why should I be afraid of those who gave me a job?
As long as they are happy with what I am doing, that’s all.”

Since this is my opinion, I will like to advise you
Sir, I like your style of connecting with your people but you need to be extra careful when it comes to security.

I didn’t get the chance for comprehensive interview that day. The following day was hectic for the governor since there was a council meeting. And I got a word to meet him for an interview at the airport where he would see the pilgrims off.

I took the opportunity and went round to some hospitals where renovation works were taking place. I saw men at work and then my favourite sector, agriculture.

My guide said, we know you love rice fields and we have the ones that are better than Kebbi. I told him that was impossible. I was taken to a place where I saw a lot of tractors and the director told me they were 300 in number ready for distribution to the local government areas. I was challenged to go to the rice fields but for lack of time, I declined. I had to meet the governor at the airport for the interview.

I went in good time and saw the governor standing by the plane talking to each and every pilgrim as they passed him for boarding. I thought I could also stand the scorching sun as my friend and I got a space at the governor’s side but the heat from the sun was too much for me to bear. I just couldn’t believe it was between 5 to 5.30 pm! We asked one of the aids for umbrella and we got one. At least, we got a little shade over our heads only for a palace guard who was with his Royal Highness politely ask us to do away with the umbrella as his Royal Highness had his umbrella held up already. This was new to me but we respected the tradition. The shoes I wore didn’t help matters so I left the governor’s side and got a place to sit. For more than two hours he stood there, exchanging greetings, prayers and pleasantries with the pilgrims, at a point one old Fulani man dipped his hand in his pocket and gave Governor Bindow money but he politely turned down the gift. Such love!

I couldn’t get him for the interview there and that was my second day in Yola. We waited and later followed his convey only to dicover that he was not there.

We were surprised to meet the governor at the lobby of our lodge waiting for us.

Then we sat for the interview. Here I just want to share some few points of the interview that deserve my opinion.

1. Someone on the street when responding to my question asked me, “tituna za mu ci?” to which I didn’t have an answer, but the governor responded that for any society to develop and have enough food to eat, it must have  very good roads for movement from one place to another.”

2. I read on social media that his plan to feed this year’s pilgrims from the state is a waste of limited resources, in response he told me that the pilgrims are in Saudi to perform an obligatory part of their religion and so need the support of their government to make life easier for them there. Hence his decision to get them five star accommodation and free feeding promising that the Christian pilgrims will enjoy the same privilege

3. I asked his sources of income because of the many projects he embarked on at the same time and the fear of some of his people of him accumulating debts for the state.

He requested me to go to the bank and make an enquiry on the debt profile of the state; he assured that I would find not a single debt against his state. He said he has never taken a kobo as debt for his state.

4. So with the dwindling state of economy, what is his secret?

“I am a businessman so I try to be prudent when it comes to managing funds, so I place supreme importance on getting the most out of the least. I want to see how, for example, one billion naira could do the work of 10 billion effectively and I am always after results.

“Also the money belongs to the state, I was just entrusted with it by the people of Adamawa and I promised them I won’t use it for my personal gain, so if I don’t bring development to them, what would I have done?

“Civil servants in some states are being owned salaries, what about yours?”

“I pay salaries as at when due and even cleared five months salary arrears being owned by the previous government.”

On the source of uninterrupted power on street lights in Yola Town. He has this to say, “Generators! To me the street lights is not all about beauty but the security of my people.”

With these points I started thinking that I am on my way to finding my Sardauna in Bindow if he could continue this way or improve on his performances.

I want to commend the people of Adamawa for what I have seen, they are generally neat people, I saw that in their streets and hospitals that I wonder whether they don’t use ‘pure water’ sachets at all.

As my contribution towards making the state capital more beautiful, I would like to advise the state to do something about that well built, impressive, roundabout in the middle of the capital city. Flowers should replace the grasses or the grasses should be trimmed.

I admire immensely the Adamawa people’s way of offering intensive prayers for others even in the streets. I saw this on many occasions from the governor and our visit to the young man whose both kidneys were removed by a doctor seemed to prove it conclusively. A lot of prayers were showered on us by his relatives and others around. I was highly impressed, I appreciate that a lot.

The governor was also full of praises for his people where he said without being forced, they pay their taxes which helped in developmental projects. That too is worth emulating.

I can’t forget the Margi Soup that was given to us by a friend of my friend. I always beat my chest that our traditional soup popularly called ‘miyar Lahadi’ can’t be found anywhere except in my town because of the uniqueness of the ingredients but I was pleasantly surprised to be given almost same in Adamawa.

I want you to know that In Shaa Allah in this project of mine of finding the present day Sardauna, I am not resting until I find one and present him or her. I promise that by the time I say, this is the Sardauna I am looking for, even the hardest critic will agree with me.

What I am looking for is very simple.

1. The people being served should be happy with what my prospective Sardauna is doing to them.

2. My prospective Sardauna should be someone that realises that in every capacity he or she is should know that he or she is there to serve the people not the other way round.

3. Humility and kindness towards the masses are the words for me.

Then it shall be my responsibility to pick my pen and convince every one of my findings.

This project is dedicated to the blessed memory of Sir Ahmadu Bello, former Premier of the Northern Nigeria.

Allah Ya gafarta wa Gamji dan kwarai, Ya bai wa ‘yan Arewa irinka da dama. Amin