The first professor of banking and finance in the North East Region and former dean at the University of Maiduguri, Adamu Garba Alooma, was elected as Chairman, Damboa Local Government Area, Borno State recently. He explains his plan of action in this interview.
There are apparently few academics in politics in Borno State. What are the factors that motivated you to become active in politics?
Let me clear that impression that I am just coming from a classroom; I have been in politics long before 2007. I even contested for member representing Gwoza, Chibok and Damboa federal constituency at the House of Representatives in 2007 and 2018, and I was born into the family of a renowned politician in my locality. So, I learnt politics from my farther who retired from politics after he was appointed as village head.
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When the local government election was announced, I thought I could participate and contribute to grassroots development. My local government had been in existence since 1976, one of the oldest, but it appears that it is not better than those created in recent times in terms of development because of crumbling infrastructure. So, I thought I could come in and make a meaningful contribution to my people in terms of water supply, improved healthcare and security. We are worst hit in terms of educational devastation; most of our schools were burnt down by insurgents and people were displaced from their houses.Almost everybody is at the centre; Danboa, which is overstretched in terms of provision of social services.
Unfortunately, many of the teachers required in the area have relocated to other states and students are always in schools with the enthusiasm for learning. I attended public schools and rose from a graduate assistant in the university to the rank of professor and I want other kids to have quality education. I want to improve the quality of the system.
Our area has fertile soil for agriculture and we produced the best farm products before the start of insurgency. We want to help the farmers to continue to ensure that the area remains the ‘food basket of the state.’ Most people who have left their farmlands are in poverty and I feel there is the need for poverty alleviation programme to take away the unemployed from the streets. Skills acquisition centres could be established to offer skills to youths whose education was disrupted by insurgency. Graduates could also learn skills from these centres and start their businesses because the white collar job is not available.
It looks as if you have a plan on what to pursue in office…
Yes! In the area of healthcare, we need an operational primary healthcare centre which I intend to build. The Maiduguri-Damboa road is not accessible due to insecurity and you can only travel by it with armed soldiers as escort. If you have to follow Gwoza, you must spend two days and you require four days to go and return. You can also follow Chibok, Askira Uba, Mubi, Gombi, before Biu, then Gombe to Damaturu and Maiduguri. And because of insecurity on the road, there is no doctor in the public hospital, though the state is making effort to hire one. Another thing is that the displaced persons have occupied the general hospital that was renovated by the state and it has become a challenge to move them away. So, we intend to build a 50-bed primary healthcare centre that will attend to the needs of patients. The hospital will have screening facilities and a laboratory that can conduct tests for common diseases such as malaria and typhoid; patients need not to travel anywhere for tests. The hospital will have a VIP section while patients who could not be handled will be referred to tertiary hospitals.
Your local government area is still facing insurgency; do you think health personnel and other essential service providers will agree to go there and work?
I have said earlier that we are still facing the challenge of accessibility in the sense that the Maiduguri-Damboa road is infested with insurgents who often mount road blocks, abduct people until ransoms are paid before they free them. The best route is to follow Askira-Uba to Chibok and then Damboa. Well-Known people are frequently kidnapped on the Damboa-Biu road especially between Damboa and Wajroko to Sabon Gari area. The insurgents were at one time taking the photographs of travellers. Governor Babagana Zulum is trying to reconstruct the Damboa-Chibok road and has supported the army to fill the potholes along Maidiuguri-Damboa road where the insurgents usually plant explosives, with cement and gravel. The insecurity situation will hopefully improve and people can ply the road again. We have security outfit in Blablin and more patrols will be moved to Dalwa area with the support of the governor.
The biggest challenge now is how to persuade people to come and work in the area but as we speak, the state has recruited a medical officer who declined to go to Damboa and another effort is being made to get another one even from another country. I am confident of having a doctor in the area. Nurses have been posted there already but they could not go there because there was no doctor and the hospital was occupied by displaced persons but they will soon go and I will be with them to give them the necessary support.
Many people have relocated to Maiduguri and other places because of insecurity. Will you stay in Damboa?
I will! I cannot perform my duties without being there. I can’t do it by means of remote control. I will only come to Maiduguri when the need arises.
Local governments are apparently facing financial problems mostly due to dwindling revenue sources. How will you finance your projects?
I know most of the problems of the people there but I do not know amount of money allocated or generated by the local government monthly. However, as the first professor of Banking and Finance in the North East Region, I will not constrain myself to what the council generates; I will work with organisations in different parts of this country and attract resources to help my people.
You are a researcher and still supervise postgraduate students. On the face of it, will you be a part-time local council chairman?
Definitely not; I have left the university system for now. I will concentrate on the local administration as an elected chairman. I may have some PhDs to supervise which I can handle online. I am supervising a PhD student in Adamawa State University whom I have never seen physically; she sends her work online and is about to defend her project. I can supervise a postgraduate student abroad, it does not matter, but I cannot attend to undergraduates.
Do you intend to leave local council politics to state and federal levels?
My ambition had never been to local government level because I contested to represent my people at the House of Representatives twice but only God knows the future. The major task I am facing now is how to help my people at the grassroots.
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