Bauchi State

By Muhammad Sabiu

A car crash along the Kafin Madaki-Ningi route in the Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State claimed the lives of six persons on Christmas Day.

The accident, which occurred at 11.50 a.m., also injured sixteen other people to varying degrees.

Yusuf Abdullahi, the state’s FRSC Sector Commander, stated that a white Toyota Hiace bus owned by the Bauchi State Government was involved in the fatal collision.

He said, “Immediately we got the call, our men rushed to the scene within 20 minutes for a rescue operation. They evacuated the victims and rushed them to the Kafin Madaki General Hospital.

“It was when they got there that a medical doctor confirmed six people dead. Sixteen others sustained various degrees of injuries.

“There were a total of 22 people consisting two male adults, four male children, 10 female adults and six female children in the bus when it crashed.

“The lone fatal crash involved a Bauchi State Government vehicle, a Toyota Hiace Bus, white in colour.

“Those killed included two female adults, two male children and two female children.

“Those who sustained bruises and fractures are two male adults, two male children, eight female adults and four female children.”

By Abdulrahman Yunusa

“Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson

Of course, it’s not obscure to anyone with an in-depth understanding of Politics and Democracy that strategy and astute plans play a pivotal role in setting a candidate on the track to success. And once one fails to plan well, the outcome becomes blurry and unappreciative.

My name is Abdulrahman Yunusa Darazo. I’m a staunch fan of Baba Sadieque Air Marshal and, at the same time, a State member of the Air Marshal campaign council who is additionally yearning to see the success of Amb. Air Marshal to uplift the status of Bauchi state in the sight of both indigenes and non-indigenes.

However, it came to our notice with tremendous and utmost dismay that in the recent campaign of our candidate on Thursday, 22 December 2023, which is the most crucial step in his political voyage. He and his cohort have goofed tremendously this time at the beginning of the game, for they could have made an attractive move. Yet facing one of the most shrewd political actor-cum-incumbent governors of the state. 

Though I must acknowledge that they gathered a mammoth crowd in his first official political campaign, that is not the only way to sell a product. Having many eyes with a dearth of good marketing strategies brought nothing good to the seller. However, when the product is qualitative and still accompanied by good packing, it stands a better chance of being sold quickly.

Sorry to say this, but to my knowledge, the recent outing is one of the most haphazard,  unstructured,  and virtually ill-organized campaigns to have ever taken place in Bauchi state. Therefore the Campaign DG and his team need to wake up and adjust for a better war which is imminent against us. They should discard the holier-than though attitude of feeling they can do it alone.

The dark horse often lurks and waits for a chance to pick and use it against poor managers and political strategists. This tells a lot about the future of this ambitious journey.

More so, the event was packed with lacunae as some stakeholders needed to be carried along in the process. In short, the Campaign Committee should have honoured the members ranging from Local government to the state level with a bit of exception as both have never been briefed ahead of the campaign exercise. Thus,  even some groups among the Artisans were busy complaining covertly for the inconvenience meted yesterday at the Campaign ground.

Hence giving the wrong impression that they have all it takes to go a long way with such a poorly designated team. What are they trying to insinuate, for God’s sake, is rendering our kerfuffle, registering and voicing our grievances as diehard supporters of Baba Sadieque an offence? Let it be if it is, but we must speak for the goodness of Sadieq Baba’s candidature.

Nevertheless, I have a question to ask at this juncture, which requires no response. What are they planning to gain with such a poor outing? What do they stand to achieve with such a gang of uninformed men surrounding our future governor if they tend to go this hazy way? Just ponder on these two questions in soliloquy.   

As a matter of urgency, we need to build something gigantic and reliable that can stand the test of time. Something which even our foes would find hard to fathom, let alone penetrating to score some political points against us. Until we become wary and intelligent of our affairs, our contending parties could take advantage of our parochial approach and use it against us. God forbid.

Conclusively,  it is evident that there is another crucial task to undertake, particularly in the Election. And ignoring some figures thinking they have no relevance whatsoever, won’t be a brilliant idea because they could be the ones to root for massive votes for our giant candidate Amb. Saqieque Air Marshal.

A stitch in time, save nine.

Abdulrahman Yunusa writes from Bauchi and can be reached via adulrahmanyunusa10@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Two new commissioners, caretaker chairmen and special advisers have been appointed and sworn in by Bauchi State Governor Alhaji Bala Muhammad. 

Media Aide to Bauchi State Governor Lawal Muazu Bauchi disclosed this in a statement on Friday. 

Jamila Mohammed Dahiru and Amina Muhammad Katagum were appointed to head the state education and rural development ministries, while Yusuf Garba and Abdullahi T. Musa were sworn-in as special advisers. 

The Governor also appointed Caretaker Committee Chairmen of the twenty Local Government Areas of the state and their deputies.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at Multipurpose Indoor Sports Hall Bauchi, the Governor advised the new commissioners to work hand in hand with permanent secretaries and staff of their ministries for the effective implementation of policies and programmes of government. 

He further admonished all the new appointees that his administration had no tolerance for corruption or sabotage. He said they are expected to participate actively in the actualization of the Bauchi renewal project. 

Speaking on behalf of the sworn-in Caretaker Chairman, the Caretaker Chairman of Katagum Local Government, Umar Hassan, thanked the Governor for the honour and promised to justify the confidence reposed in them.

By Ibrahim Garba

The discovery of oil in the north is a national development that is worth celebrating as it would bring about several national developments, provide many employment opportunities to citizens, and enhance the nation’s economic state.

Nigerians, especially northerners, celebrated the news break of the success recorded in Bauchi, north-eastern Nigeria, hoping that the citizens are going to benefit from such a remarkable achievement of president Buhari’s led administration as the Federal Government signed an agreement of establishing a power plant and fertilizer-producing company in the area.

Besides, for oil to be discovered, it has to go through specific series of activities, an operation called SEISMIC, A geological data acquisition operation that leads to the discovery of a hydrocarbon reservoir, which is the key foundation to any success recorded in oil discovery, hence it requires rigorous activities of hard work with persistence and perseverance from the management function and indeed the labourers who are responsible for the entire hard work surrounding the seismic operations.

Also, Seismic is such a difficult job that comes with a series of hard work ranging from carrying and laying heavy loads of cable, drilling machines, and stems, among other equipment and material needed for the operation. It is usual for seismicity to work from 6 am to 6 pm, seven days every week, without any complaints because that is the nature of the work. Still, to JV209, a seismic joint venture between the subsidiary of NNPC Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL) and that of China National Petroleum Corporation CNPC, Bureau Geophysical Prospecting (BGP)  workers, the case is different, as the company introduces and succeeded in night operation.

Wholeheartedly the workers stand through thick and thin, thereby enduring the extreme cold weather and highly scorching sunshine of the region as the work cuts across the entire season, where workers often get drenched due to heavy rainfall during the wet season.

The workers on the field are left with no option of which route to follow while working in the bush because the lines to work on are preassigned and therefore have to pass through every nook and cranny, thereby climbing mountains, entering water bodies penetrating through thick forest in the course of discharging their duty.

Notwithstanding, the sacrifices of the workers did not go in vain as the crew recorded the highest production ever in the country and yielded positive results of quality data, and was able to complete an estimated two years project in just a year, which should have been paid for if extended to the said period.

Unfortunately, some workers lament that they were promised a certain amount of money after work by the crew management, which is yet to be fulfilled. Almost every worker was admitted to a crew clinic and some to a medical centre in the state capital during the operation only the sacrifice of staying a year away from our family with a lower salary should be rewarded” and cite their ability to finish two years project in one which if extended to that period they would be paid for it. 

Above all, the government should try and fulfil such promises, as failure is a significant threat to the nation’s security. We are not done with militants, bandits, and insurgents, among other security challenges bedevilling the country’s growth and required development.

The workers should follow the right way of pressing home their demands. This may hinder the progress to the logical conclusion of the project, which will be detrimental to all and sundry.

Ibrahim Garba writes From Bauchi.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Bauchi State Government appointed Professor Fatima Tahir as the new Vice Chancellor of Sa’adu Zungur University, Gadau.

Professor Fatima is the first female vice chancellor at the university and was appointmented Monday, December 12, 2022.

The immediate-past Commissioner of Education and Higher Education in the State, Dr Aliyu Tilde, disclosed this in a statement.

It was gathered that Prof. Fatima Tahir is the younger sister of the renowned scholar, late Dr. Ibrahim Tahir and has been a lecturer with the university.

Tilde said, “Bauchi State Government has just released the appointment of Professor Fatima Tahir as the new Vice Chancellor of Sa’adu Zungur University, Gadau.”

The statement added that the new VC came first on the list of 12 applicants, who were shortlisted and interviewed for the position a month and a half ago.

Since her appointment by the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, the newly appointed VC’s relatives have taken to their various social media platforms to jubilate.

By Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani

In a democratic setting like ours, leaders are expected to set guiding principles from which followers are expected to learn good conduct and moral behaviour. Sadly, the Bauchi state government is setting a bad precedent, which won’t augur well for the unborn generation.

I was compelled by a video going viral on the internet at the instance of the Bauchi state governor, his commissioners, and top government appointees watching as a car painted with the pictures of APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmad Tinubu, the Bauchi State APC governorship candidate, Ambassador Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar rtd. CFR and his deputy, Aliyu Musa Barden Gabas, were destroyed while they were watching with admiration.

Electoral market volatility makes them susceptible to negative campaigns since “voters have loosened their ties with their party.” Not only that, the people of Bauchi are tired of the misrule of the PDP, yet they resort to diverting attention to their abysmal failure. Education is comatose, infrastructural decay, salary has now become a privilege, pensioners are crying wolf etc.

 As patriotic citizens of Bauchi, we strongly condemn the ruling party’s abysmal attitude. However, it’s expected that they set a pace for the younger generation while noting that Bauchi, as a civilised state is much aware of the happenings in the city. What we desire is a rancorous-free campaign, and we, therefore, urge the APC not to tear the line of the ruling party; let us emphasise to our supporters to shun violence in whatever guise while, at the same time, mobilising people to turn out in mass to vote for the APC at all levels.

As a people-focused grassroots party, APC has continued to champion the cause of issue-based politics while snubbing every temptation by the PDP to lower our standards by joining them in their infamous style of uncouth politics fraught with crass incivility. To put the records straight, Sadique had never been found wanting in such negativity.

As the leading opposition in Bauchi state, we are conscious of our responsibility to be law-abiding and concentrate on the issue-based campaign. We shall do everything possible to discharge that responsibility with total commitment to the rule of law and the sanctity of our nascent democracy. Often, we call on Bauchi State not to be deterred by the lawlessness of the PDP; it’s imperative to use our PVC and send them out of Ramat House because this irresponsibility has no place in our nascent democracy.

The many ills that bedevilled our state include corruption, economic underperformance, abject poverty, and a dysfunctional educational system derived from the action of the ruling PDP. How does a government that benefited from the freedom of expression and association to rise to the highest echelons in the state become so insensitive and uncaring to free campaigns? 2023 we need a purpose-driving and visionary government with a mission to transform the state for the benefit of all and sundry. With Sadique as the 2023 governor, the above is assured. 

Tajuddeen Ahmad Tijjani writes from Galadima Mahmoud Street, Kasuwar Kaji Azare, Bauchi State.

By Ibrahim Garba.

Since the announcement of the success of oil discovery by the Muhammad Buhari-led administration through Nigeria National Petroleum Company, NNPC Ltd., people from different parts of the country rejoiced over the milestone achievement.

However, the development came with many controversies by the citizens who are, in one way or another other, have a direct or indirect connection to the development that is from some groups of people and individuals from the host community.

Immediately after the ground-breaking ceremony, which was attended by his Excellency President Muhammad Buhari, Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammed, the Group Managing Director NNPC Mele Kyari, among other dignitaries in Nigeria, an argument broke between the neighbouring states, Gombe and its mother state Bauchi, about who owns the Kolmani oil well.

Besides, Bauchi may be right to claim the ownership of Kolmani oil because the oil well is located in Barambu, a village under the Alkaleri local government area of Bauchi state. Bauchi cites the presence of their governor at the breaking ceremony as one of the reasons that they own the oil well.

Gombe state, on the other hand, has more than a reason to claim the ownership because of their closeness to the point where the oil was drilled. Therefore oil as liquid stuff cannot just be for Bauchi alone.

Unfortunately, farmers operating within the host community of MaiMadi, Kwaimawa, among the other 7sevencommunities, complained that they were not paid for the damage done to their farmlands during the oil drill.

Among them, one claimed the ownership of the Kolmani oil well, which according to him, was inherited from his father and yet to be compensated. Also, the report indicates that workers who served during the seismic operation were not adequately paid but only promised to be paid on unspecified dates.

Farmers and other people from the host community should be well informed about the operation of that kind to seek entitlement associated with the oil drill operation in their localities.

With the allegations above, one must note with dismay challenging the Public Relations section of that particular for failing the Social responsibility service expected to render to those communities.

Above all, what Nigerians need to know is how much we need to poster national development above our interest to build Nigeria of our dream. We should also learn from the experience of our people down the south. There is a need for cooperation and mutual understanding between the two states, the farmers, and the entire host community to benefit from such a remarkable achievement. 

Ibrahim Garba writes from Bauchi.

By Mukhtar Jarmajo

Surely enough, one of the banes of our society is that, in most cases, whom we have at the helm of affairs, whether in power or at the community level, are rulers, not leaders. There is a clear distinction between rulers and leaders. Rulers do not listen to their people. They rather authoritatively give directives that must be obeyed without any hesitations and whether or not the result of taking such action will be in the best interest of the greater majority.

While leaders are good listeners who walk and work together with their people in the greater interest of society. And as John Quincy Adams, the 6th US President who served between 1825 and 1829, would say: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Thus, by the words of John Quincy, leaders are motivators who not only reposition the society to greater heights but also make the people become better in themselves. And that is why it is said that one of the functions of a leader is to build more leaders. Thus, if building people is rightly one of the functions of a leader, then Mallam Isa Yuguda is a true leader.

Deliberately, the Matawallen Bauchi has, over the years, built people as he journeyed from the banking sector through the federal executive council to the Bauchi state government house. Without putting much emphasis on how he transformed the defunct Inland Bank from regional to national and indeed his excellent performance at the aviation and transport ministries as well as in Bauchi state when he held sway between 2007-2015, Yuguda is also an excellent team player who coaches the people that work with him. With the needed dose of confidence characterized by conviction and determination, he is humility and modesty personified. This is why Isa Yuguda is imparting positive behaviours to many and, thus, a role model.

Today, Mallam Isa Yuguda stands tall on the ladder of success. But unusually, Yuguda`s success is, among other reasons, simply because of the number of people he has trained and built. He is second to none in Bauchi state in this regard. In the tripod stand, either directly or indirectly, the Matawallen Bauchi has positively impacted the lives of as many people as possible. For instance, including the incumbent governor Bala Muhammed of Bauchi state, Matawallen Bauchi has played essential roles in the lives of almost any shining star in the Pearl of Tourism.

And while his virtues are extolled in appreciation of Isa Yuguda`s immense contributions to the growth of humanity, it is also right to urge other community and political leaders to emulate the Matawallen Bauchi. After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher and essayist, would say, the essence “of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

Jarmajo wrote from Wuse 2, Abuja.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Bauchi State Commissioner for Education, Aliyu Tilde, has resigned from the Bauchi State Executive Council.

Mr Aliyu Tilde announced his resignation as the State Commissioner for Education in a Facebook post on Monday.

According to Mr Tilde, the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Muhammad, has approved his letter of resignation and same have been communicated to him through the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government.

Stating his reason for resignation, he said he resigned in order to attend to a call of an associate who direly needs his services.

Part of the statement reads : “A few minutes ago, Today, 5 December 2022, I received a letter from the Secretary to the Government conveying my release by His Excellency.

“In it, the Secretary conveyed ‘the appreciation of the Executive Governor for your contribution to the Education Sector and wish you well in your future endeavor…’”

“With this, my tenure as Commissioner of Education has come to an end. I am happy to see the peaceful ending of what have been very exacting but fruitful years and will ever remain grateful to God who stood by me until the last minute.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

A 12-year-old boy has been detained by officers of the Bauchi State Police Command for allegedly abducting a three-year-old daughter.

The girl’s father informed the police that his daughter had been abducted after receiving an anonymous phone call notifying him of it.

The caller demanded N150,000 from the father of the girl as a ransom before releasing his daughter.

These were revealed in a media statement issued to journalists in the state on Saturday by Ahmed Wakil, the public relations officer for the Bauchi State Police Command.

After questioning the suspect, SP Wakili stated that the kidnapper teenager confessed that he learned about kidnapping when his friend was kidnapped some years ago, and money had to be paid as a ransom before he was released.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect stated that he is from Kano state and came to Bauchi state in search of petty business with his siblings. From the little he earned while hawking fried yam in Magama Gumau, he raised money and bought a mobile phone, the Tecno Camon model.

“The investigation also revealed that the suspect got to know about kidnapping when some time ago his friend was kidnapped in Kano state until a ransom was paid before he was released from his captors, that is how he learned about kidnapping and money must be paid to set a victim free.

“He also said he would have used the ransom money to buy his desired clothes and phones, but cut short upon his arrest by the Police operatives,” the police said.