Uncommon spirit drives Zulum to do much more than the over 1000 touchable accomplishments he showcases…
It is very striking to observe every elected public office holder across the three tiers government in Nigeria delivering purposeful accomplishments according to his or her political party’s manifesto and overall critical needs and aspirations of the entity he or she is elected to serve.
It is, however, more striking at this stage of democratic governance in Nigeria to observe the zest that fuels the elected public office holder to deliver the accomplishments with an astounding capacity and commitment according to every emerging crucial imperatives in the affairs of the entity he serves.
Delivering the service the people yearn for according to every emerging situations, and with the degree of gusto required for the achievement of the quality and quantity of the service delivered, are what should stand an elected public servant out of the pack.
This stands Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, solidly out, like the iconic Zuma Rock in the rocky and hilly terrain encircling Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.
The professor of Agricultural Engineering ascended the governorship position in May, 2019 with a 10 pact agenda. He glided into the second tenure of his eight-year gubernatorial stint after winning his return-bid election in 2023.
He came into the second term with a strategic target of post-conflict recovery through the 25-year development plan and 10- year strategic initiatives.
In the last five and a half years of his administration, Zulum has implemented over 1,200 legacy projects in critical sectors of security, education, healthcare, housing and infrastructure, transportation.
The most-astounding style of Prof Zulum’s governance is not even the exceptionally-soaring list of concrete accomplishments he showcases, in satisfaction of the critical needs of his about seven million terrorized and vulnerable Bornoans, but the sheer spirit that has driven him to strive to achieve a higher feat, unsatisfied with however long the list of enviable accomplishments he proudly showcases.
The soaring list of touchable accomplishments, and the smouldering gusto to do much more, has earned him national and global acclaim as an exemplar with regard to the reconstruction and repositioning of a terror-ravaged entity for the restoration of its eons-old enviable prosperity.
In the year 2024 that had just ended, Zulum recieved several prestigious awards including the Forbes Magazine African Leadership award for his outstanding and exemplary leadership qualities, integrity, innovation and impact driven projects.
This exceptional zest has unleashed him on his terrorized terrain, trotting around the state for the larger part of every year with the strength and vitality of the stallion, as the advertiser would say, ministering to the people, both according to the entire state’s collective critical needs, and according to the specific needs of every of its different sections.
Over the last five years since his ascension to the seat in 2019, Zulum has, through his masterstroke policies and programmes, treasured over 1,200 touchable projects, an unprecedented feat that seamlessly blends with the novel Borno Model of societal reconstruction, rehabilitation, resettlement and repositioning of over 200 communities displaced by the Boko Haram/ISWAP terror over the last 12 years at their ancestral locations; the de-radicalization of over 100,000 surrendered insurgents; and their subsequent reintegration in their home communities.
Over 30,000 model houses for the returnees have been build, constructed schools, healthcare facilities and public buildings which facilitate the voluntary return of over 1 million people to their ancestral homes.
With these, Prof Zulum has created a showpiece of democratic governance. With the marvelous blend of enviable accomplishments and the sheer zest to strive for more, he has not just raised the bar for whoever would succeed him as governor, but proudly stands out as a pathfinder in governance and a shining star among the state governors in the country’s current democratic experiment.
Succinctly put, Zulum is zulumifying governance in Borno State. Like the mountain climber, he goes on the ropes governing the state with his toolkit containing his 10-pact Agenda, 25-year Development Plan and 5-year Strategic Development Plan as his potent instruments, strapped to his shoulders.
The uncommon spirit nourishing and driving his personality has always kept him calm and comported even in terrifying circumstances that normally scare public servants to succumb to pressures and challenges and, consequently, chicken out of capacity and desired performance.
If Prof Zulum convinces himself that he has to square up to any tall challenge on his way to console and comfort his dear vulnerable Bornoans in the remotest of communities, execution of any project or implementation of any policy, he is ever ready to take the hard way, if it is the only way, as the film maker would say. He dares challenges on his way of discharging his duties and responsibilities, in the manner, not of Don Quixote fighting the wind mill, but of youthful David felling the towering Goliath of Gath with a sling.
Yes! With his uncommon spirit, he fells challenges on his way of discharging his constitutional duties and responsibilities to his people and state as would, David facing Goliath. Moved by the spirit to deliver unprecedented service to his state, he displays the uncommon capacity to contain and control emerging tragedies while managing and assuaging existing ones.
He showcased this capacity recently when an epochal flood that deluged about a half of the Maiduguri metropolis, September 10, 2024, affected over one million people, displaced over 101, 330 households and destroying properties worth billions of Naira according to flood disaster relief committee.
While containing and mitigating the all-encompassing impact of the massive calamity to console, comfort, rehabilitate and resettle the affected population, Zulum still continues his normal all-year-round trotting around the state to minister to its different sections in the implementation of the reconstruction, rehabilitation, resettlement, de-radicalization, reintegration and repositioning policies and programmes of the state for rapid post-insurgency, post-flood recovery and prosperity.
As we usher in 2025, more landmark projects, resettlement of communities, livelihood intervention, sustainable growth and development will continue to take center stage of Zulum’s administration. And so, Zulum is zulumifying governance in Borno State.
Dauda Iliya is the Special Adviser Media/Spokesperson to the Executive Governor of Borno State.
