In my column last week, I was making reference to Nigerian politicians and their endless drama and shenanigans, when I made mention of Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum in passing, and as an antithesis to the norm. Now, I have to stress that while I have never met the man, I’ve had to follow his career closely because of the many years I’ve spent as one of the editors of a major Nigerian newspaper. It’s impossible to ignore him, when he keeps on commissioning project after project, making many other governors look like underachievers (which, to be honest, is kind of easy to do).
But nothing Prof. Zulum does is easy. For some days last week, the front pages of Daily Trust were plastered with advertorials showing what many of us already know: the infrastructural growth, the gains in security, the improvement in the lot of the people of Borno State, and more. We are not talking of oddly-shaped culverts and cheap boreholes, no. We are talking about schools, hospitals, and housing projects. We are talking about care for IDPs, military widows and orphans, and so much more. But the truth is that I’m not surprised. My question, ‘what kind of man is Zulum anyway?’ stems from some factors, including the fact that he has survived numerous assassination attempts which have done nothing to slow him down.
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My main notice of Prof. Zulum began when I received and was editing an excellent interview conducted by Malam Hamza Idris, then the Borno State Bureau Chief, and now General Editor of Daily Trust. In it, the then-candidate revealed that he was a commercial driver from 1984 to 1999, and how he rose from a humble beginning to educate himself, to the point of becoming a professor of Irrigation Engineering at the University of Maiduguri. Perhaps it is this journey that moulded him into the man who was in 2015 appointed by then-governor Kashim Shettima as pioneer Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement. It didn’t surprise anyone when he clinched the APC governorship ticket, leading to where he is today.
Do not forget that any governor who comes after one like Senator Shettima has his work cut out for him. But even Prof. Zulum’s predecessor has doffed his cap for him. Yes, his public persona is larger-than-life. But that is inevitable when you are governing a state that’s as troubled by security issues as Borno is. While I’m personally not a fan of his sometimes very public criticism of military operations in his state, I’m willing to forgive those faux pas whenever they occur, given that he is not a Janus-faced politician. In any case, that is balanced by his well-known support for security forces working in his state, cooperating with them at every level.
Even on Twitter – before the infamous ban, that is – there’s a silent, unspoken consensus on his governing style and performance. Netizens from all over Nigeria would openly tweet that they wish he was their governor. My childhood friend, Ibrahim Yakubu, who is the fiercest and most acerbic critic of politicians I know, would nod in approval time after time on Facebook, shocking all who know him. Social media, that inhospitable space for Nigerian politicians, would prove to be a haven for Zulum, elevating him to a folk hero of sorts on a large scale. But weirdly enough, I am aware of some prominent Nigerian politicians (names withheld, of course) who grumble about Prof. Zulum’s ‘overachievement’, or even roll their eyes at the mere mention of his name – which is almost always followed by the mention of one project or the other completed by the governor.
As usual, those people miss the whole point, as well as the opportunity to witness, in real-time, how governance can be executed effectively in Nigeria, as well as how the best campaign for a second term is a masterfully-executed first. Which brings us to Prof. Zulum’s inevitable second go for office. And the question that after that, will he go the much-trodden route of heading to the Senate? Maybe. But as someone who has shown he has no time for time-wasting or shenanigans, he might just surprise everyone by doing something totally left-field. What that will be exactly, remains to be seen. For now, though, the people of Borno State sleep soundly even in the midst of the strife caused by insurgency, because they have a leader who actually leads.
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