It is often said that a leader without legacies for the society he leads is a failure by any standard. This forms part of why the Governor of Bauchi State, Muhammed A. Abubakar, who catapulted to leadership by providence, is setting the pace in service delivery. Most leaders preoccupy themselves with trivial issues, forgetting to make hay when the sun shines and end up getting confused without focus in governance until the hour of need, election period, to trade parochial, juvenile lies and deceit.
In Bauchi State, like in other places, there are those claiming loyalty to the ruling party, APC and subscribers to the ideals of the change mantra but the opposite is the case if carefully assessed. Some are afraid of the rising political influence of others and so desperate and inpatient to ridicule those they fear and envy. They operate under the guise of politicking while recruiting miscreants and political merchants to dent the reputation of others as others are running from coast to coast recruiting all manner of people to repackage them for acceptability having missed the steps to good governance.
In the two years of his administration, apart from acquitting himself in service delivery, M.A Abubakar is painstakingly grooming several credible politicians on his peculiar leadership ostensibly for continuity of profitable service to humanity. In 2010, he made his first bold attempt to the Senate on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not minding the circumstance. He tried to carry the electorate of his constituency to enjoy his service which was scuttled but he remained committed to his ideals of democracy.
Contrary to blackmail and mischief, M.A Abubakar remains a senior stakeholder in the APC project to reposition Bauchi State in the main stream national politics for greater developmental strides. After his victory at the party’s primary election, generality of the electorate including majority of members of the PDP were sympathetic to his cause showing the magnitude of his followership in his state. Record shows that there is no member of the APC today in Bauchi that never voted for M.A Abubakar at the 2015 elections. Most of those now parading themselves as party chieftains, etc are beneficiaries of his largesse at the time of need, with some now trying to bite those fingers that fed them for unsubstantiated reasons.
The overwhelming support he enjoys from the people across the party divide shows his place in history as a political titan sacrificing his life to midwife the state to greatness and total emancipation with security to lives and property. Having acquitted himself and set the pace in the state, he deserves support while relegating miscreants and political turncoats to the dustbin of history as he forges ahead to greater days.
His antagonists and their myopic thinking mustered courage to challenge his possible re-election bid in 2019 through unpleasant campaigns. He should not be fast in forgetting that he was a victim of internal hypocrisy and conspiracy and the ongoing challenges to scuttle his efforts to develop the state and Nigeria. He needs to understand the body language of his home party members claiming loyalty to his ideals. Those who are abusing his trust deserve no further trust to avoid political crisis which may affect the system. So far, M.A Abubakar remains a credible leader avoiding to fall prey to political mudslinging. Let him take a look at the antics of those opponents as a clue to this alert based on an in-depth knowledge of their body language and mischievous plans. Bauchi State in unison is proud to have M.A Abubakar as an illustrious son representing credible leadership, good governance and the ideals of President Muhammadu Buhari. He stood by Buhari at the trying period while his detractors were on the other side of the divide.
In her words, Dr. Halima Mukaddas, a consultant-gynecologist who was at the flag-off of one of M.A Abubakar’s free eye- care programmes in Bauchi said, “Honorable M.A’s iron determination to uphold justice with unbending and unyielding resolve as well as his undoubted fidelity and undivided devotion to the cause of service to humanity is the greatest booster against untoward attitudes of our time”. In recognition of his service to humanity, an Abuja based weekly international magazine managed by frontline journalists, Verbatim Magazine, plans honoring him with an international award as the best performing governor in rural development in 2017.
Maigamo is the Dattuwa Mangan Wunti.
