By:
Williams Ayooso
It’s too early to start clapping for Dr Agbu Kefas, the Executive Governor of Taraba State. But we can begin to appreciate him on the steps he has taken, especially that they symbolize the beginning of a new era, a sign of good things to come.
Optimism had hurt some of us. You will invest your hope, your trust and your confidence into a person’s capacity to deliver on the standard of services delivery. But when you cash your cheque to withdraw your investment, you find a deficit account.
Not long ago, one Darius Ishaku invaded our political space. He had a gait of a natural leader. What a good-looking man he was. Armed with a good quality of education and knowledge on contemporary issues, he intimated his competitors with his cosmopolitan background and a messianic approach to issues. This man packaged himself as a global political icon. He hypnotized us. We invested all that we had in him and made him our Governor. At the end, we got nothing. We were scammed.
It was just close to the end of the show that we discovered that the man was just but a gifted orator and motivational speaker. He never matched his words with action. Our hard-earned hope, aspirations and confidence in him, went down the drain.
That is why I’m starting my journey with Dr Agbu Kefas with a pessimistic mindset. I noticed that those who adopted this approach on Darius Ishaku had less emotional stress compared to some of us. They invested no hope in the man’s leadership capabilities and they were not disappointed when nothing good came out of him. To them, it was an obvious occurrence.
On a plain view, Dr Agbu Kefas is the governor of our dream. His less than two months in office, has given the people, a hope for a better Taraba, visible signs of a state of their dream. Some perceptions and mindset of the people are going through serious stages of reformation.
Gone are the days that an official event starts sometimes four to five hours behind schedule on the account of the Governors’ lateness. Dr Kefas sits at the exact time, without a minute late. This body language has given Tarabans a sense of time consciousness. Also, with him, decency and decorum are returning to the state civil service environment.
It is on record that Darius Ishaku never visited the state secretariat in all his years as the governor. But Agbu kefas was there. A source from his entourage confirmed that he frowned at what he saw. Infrastructural decay, worker apathy and truancy of the highest order. In the famed Taraba State Transport Corporation, Kefas was said to be shocked when he discovered that none of the buses belong to the state government, but a high-profile civil servant in the state has more than 100 buses on the fleet.
On the many offices he has visited, he does so within a short notice. This has healed the dereliction that perverted the civil service structure. Civil servants have returned to their abandoned work premises and offices. At the moment, a sense of decent environment and cleanliness is introduced. Not less than 3000 youths and women are engaged with the mandate to make Jalingo metropolis a clean place. The measure is also a lifeline to those that are engaged. The body language of the governor is gradually restoring sanity to the state.
With these groundbreaking initiatives, one must be tempted to clap for kefas. After all, a brood that will grow to be a cock will be spotted the very day it is hatched.
I have no doubt in Dr Kefas’ capacity and political will to place Taraba on the podium of the most developed states in the country. Consequently, I have resolved to join the good people of Taraba State, who are praying for him to succeed. I will also use what I have and even deploy a bit of my energy to support his administration, in so far as he is consistent in carrying out the good work that he has started.
The only thing that I will hold back, a little while, is the investment of my optimism, confidence and trust. I will watch how he swims through the vicissitudes of power and the exigencies of leadership. I will also watch how he surmounts the challenge of unhealthy political influence that weaves around such positions of power. In a few days from now, he will appoint people in his cabinet as commissioners. The caliber of people he selects, will provide an idea on the direction of his government.
I will watch through all these antecedents as they unfold, before committing myself, so as to avoid what happened to my investment during the Darius Ishaku regime, for once beaten, twice shy.
Williams is a Publisher based in Jalingo, Taraba State
