Every passing day, some bizarre or outlandish social or political occurrence lends itself to commentary, and for an opinion columnist, it is an undoing experience. One does not want to be boxed into the corner of local politics. But the story of Adamawa State continues to run like a long blockbuster movie, with a suspense rolled over to each next day, forcing one to again dwell on the locality’s happenings. Unfortunately, Ada-mawa State today is Nigeria’s political laughing stock, and it is so bad that many prominent citizens feel, rightly, ashamed to publicly identify with it.
In the last 7 years, there have been swearing-in of governors, substantive or acting, 7 times, averaging 1 for each political year. Murtala Nyako was sworn-in May 2007. The Election Petition Appeal Tribunal nullified his election and House Speaker James Barka was sworn in as Acting Governor. In a fresh election that was run, Murtala Nyako was re-elected and was again sworn-in to resume office on April 29, 2008. Then again in 2012 the famous Supreme Court judgement forced the stepping down of 5 Governors which included Murtala Nyako, whose 1st term was thus abruptly terminated. House Speaker Umar Fintiri was sworn-in to hold forte. In February 2012, Murtala Nyako again contested and was elected for his 2nd term and was thus sworn-in. The tenure was not to end as provided for in the constitution as on July 15, 2014 Governor Murtala Nyako was impeached following allegations of financial and administrative misconduct that were levelled against him by the House of Assembly. House Speaker Umaru Fintiri then informed the House that the state’s deputy governor, Bala James Ngilari, had written him resigning from his position as Deputy Governor, and that he had accepted the resignation. Under those controversial circumstances, House Speaker Umar Ahmadu Fintiri was sworn-in to act and to conduct a bye-election which was fixed for October 11th. Then in a dramatic turn of events, the embattled Deputy Governor who had in court, disowned his resignation, secured a judgement declaring him the rightful person to be succeed Murtala Nyako and complete the truncated Nyako tenure. Thus for the 7th time in 7 years, a Governor substantive or acting, was sworn in.
In the meantime, ousted Governor Murtala Nyako is at a Federal High Court in Lagos, challenging his ouster. In the case, Murtala Nyako claims that his impeachment did not follow the constitutional process, and therefore desired his office back. Court adjourned till today for a hearing of the matter. Murtala Nyako has meanwhile expressed optimism that he would win his pending court case and return to his office, and should this happen, Adamawa State is set for an 8th swearing-in, within a period of 8 years.
Each of these ends and beginnings of tenures were marked by costly fanfare, changing of functionaries, to the detriment of continuity and sustained development.
Since 2007, Adamawa State has dominated the news, more for its crises than for a lot of the good attributes that abound. For it is otherwise, such a wonderful State, fully earning its slogan Land of Beauty, in its topography and peoples. The State is endowed with a lot of economic potential, enough to make the State self sufficient in resources and income. What with the Benue River running right down the middle of the state, traversing its entire length from Cameroon to Benue State! This leaves the state hundreds of thousands of hectares of irritable farming and grazing land. And it is endowed with a vibrant population of local farmers and cattle grazers. The state is not lowly rated in solid minerals either, there is no limit to what can be explored and exploited.
And Adamawa State has people-relatively of the most accomplished personalities in Nigeria. It is easy to find more than a handful in the top national ten, as indigenes of Adamawa State, each one of them, highly conscientious and playing dominant roles in national issues and excelling. Yet the home front Adamawa State is a disgraceful origin.
As Bala Ngilari moves to settle down to work, the erstwhile Acting Governor Ahmed Umar Fintiri is in court challenging the decision to restore Bala Ngilari, insisting that he acted right. Meanwhile allegations are in the air over the sum of N18bn said to have been shared by the State Members of the House of Assembly, as Constituency Project allowance, over which the Murtala Nyako Camp is urging investigation and appropriate State action. On the surface of it, you might wave the allegation aside given the short time Fintiri has served in Office, and the fact that Adamawa State’s accounts had been swept clean by the Nyako Administration as reported by the House of Assembly. But it is on record that during his running political battles with the Federal Government, Murtala Nyako had cried out that the Presidency was sitting on billions, belonging to the State, in satisfaction of whims and caprices of the enemies of his administration. Did Fintiri receive this money from Abuja, which had masterminded the ouster of Nyako and his takeover? Because there is a lot of passion for Fintiri in Adamawa State presently, in view of his prompt attention to the emotional matter of salaries of workers, urban renewal of Yola, and positive pronouncements on populist programmes that Murtala Nyako had discountenanced. He is somewhat a cult hero. The bane of Governance in Adamawa State is the brazen pillage of the State treasury that accounts for the State’s stunted growth and development. The State has a despicable political economic management culture through which Government officials crudely take government funds for sharing between the different arms. Adamawa indigenes with Presidential clout are in on this and accounts for the reason Adamawa politics is contentious and full of rancour. There is no accountability. Indeed more funds than that alleged N18bn denied Nyako, could be and could have been released to Adamawa hence the need to investigate and get to the veracity of the ongoing allegation, and first have the money accounted for. It would be disappointing if the interim Fintiri regime made itself guilty of the very same illegal acts for which it ousted Murtala Nyako and took his place.
The help Adamawa needs is one that leads to restoration, akin to a territory liberated through a war. Infrastructure is critically deficient, and affects power supply, water, and roads, all fundamental basic needs. The civil service has been owed two months of salary which the Acting Governor was positioning the Government to pay, but pensioners are also being owed. Adamawa needs a Marshall plan that will immediately restore public confidence, normalcy in administration, and humanistic governance action that would help shore up a buffer against the insurgents that threaten to include much of the State into the theatre of the atrocities.
The political climate in Adamawa State is currently charged. Governor Bala Ngilari walks a tight rope. In the 5 months left of the Nyako tenure that he is to complete, it is an onerous task determining what to address in the short time available. Fundamental however is the global goal of unifying the divergent and for now, rancorous interests and cleavages, in order to have the atmosphere of peace and harmonious existence, the prerequisite for meaningful progress. The elite of Adamawa State need to gather and chart a mutual agenda for the growth and progress of the State. This madness must stop.
