2023: APC, a defeat waiting to happen in Gombe

BY JUNAIDU USMAN ABUBAKAR

Governance is the bridge that separates poverty and wealth. When it is good, wealth is created for the people but when it is bad, the people and poverty may become inseparable twins. Sadly, the latter has become the case for Gombe state under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The point is that there will be no end to poverty without better governance. This is why the stakes ahead of the 2023 general election in Gombe state should be incredibly high in view of the need to ensure that the current administration of Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya is not returned as doing that will amount to a reinforcement of poverty for another 1,461 days.

At a time when the World Bank and other international organisations are working so hard to end poverty and ensure that wealth is created for ordinary people at the grassroots as measures to help them recover economically from the global shocks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the APC-led government in Gombe state has done their best and still on that course to ensure that more persons are pushed en masse into poverty and untold hardship.

The 2021/2022 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and National Immunization Coverage Survey (NICS) recently read by Stanley Garuba, the planning, and monitoring specialist with the UNICEF Bauchi state office, showed that Gombe state is below national and northeast zonal averages in some key life indicators on women and children in the areas of health, education, poverty, and gender equality. Today, Gombe is ranked amongst the poorest states in the country; a sad reality for those who reside in Gombe state and sees it as the Jewel in the Savannah.

With all the above, it is conspicuous that the Gombe state APC-led government had embarked on a journey of no return and by their poor performances, determined their fate as a defeat waiting to happen in 2023.

For now, Danbarde is the best leadership option available to the Gombe people if the essence of the next election is to elect the man that will do the job to the admiration and aspiration of the people. For the ex-banker with a proven record in empowering thousands of employees across the country, it is clear that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Gombe state will ensure shared prosperity.

Ending poverty and delivering good governance is not accidental but a product of massive infrastructural investments, increased agricultural productivity, better business environments, good education, quality health care, and job creation; these are what Danbarde is known for and will bring on board for Gombe citizens to have shared prosperity and not this present government of family and friends that is engendering poverty and hunger in the land with excessive borrowings.

All these indices and more showed the extent of bad governance being spearheaded by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state which has progressively increased the level of hardship and poverty in Gombe.

Gombe state has all the ingredients by way of resources both human and material which when properly harnessed could make governance profitable to the good people of Gombe state. Danbarde is a tested and trusted fellow, an astute professional per excellence that is ever ready, young, and energetically unique in his style of using available resources to create the best in the interest of humanity: by this, he is an asset to Gombe state and the best electoral value for any potential voter in the state. With Danbarde, there will be good returns on electoral investments by voters through good governance and development.

It is common knowledge that the huge level of ‘silent’ and systemic corruption being allegedly perpetrated by this current administration in terms of the manner in which projects especially road projects are being awarded to associates and family members to the enriching of those close to the governor. With this style of governance, the circulation of money will be restricted and jobs will not be created as expected. The essence of the government’s deliberate awards of contracts to private and genuine contractors is to ensure wealth circulation through direct and indirect jobs that will be created but Gombe’s case is pitifully different and the people now know better.

As it stands, the people are already fed up with the unhealthy governance structure in the state and are yearning for change. This is why in recent times, many bigwigs of the APC and even close political associates and cabinet members of Governor Inuwa have been jumping off the dangerous train of the APC which many have described as a train waiting to hit the rocks in 2023.

On daily basis, the PDP in Gombe state are receiving decampees whose eyes have been opened to the fact that a wrong route will not lead to the right destination in terms of good governance, hence they decided to join the “man wey sabi”; Jibrin Danbarde.

The truth is since the emergence of Danbarde as the PDP gubernatorial candidate for Gombe state, it became clear that the APC now has a bigger political opponent who is a political strategist, trailblazer, and astute economist that is ready to lay down his expertise for the development of the state.

Danbarde is one leader who is not concerned about publicising good deeds done to others, hence there is that tendency for the ruling party who are masters in showcasing any deed just for the world to know, to spread fake news that Danbarde has done nothing. Come to think of it, is it possible for someone who established a commercial bank in Nigeria with more than N200 billion capital base having branches spread in various locations within Nigeria and other African countries, not to have done anything for humanity?

Inasmuch as politics tends to make people do different kinds of things of which lying is the chief; is it not shocking for the APC to have warehoused the truth from the public domain so as to appear as the only “saint” in Gombe politics but it is now too late because the people are now wiser than in 2019; after all, nothing teaches a man or woman unforgettable lessons like poverty and hunger.

Gombe state would be very lucky if they can trust Danbarde with their votes and make him the next governor. It is very important for the people of Gombe state to make a U-turn against this current APC-led administration that had only excelled in borrowing away the future of the state with little or nothing to show for it in terms of its corresponding impact on the well-being and welfare of the ordinary citizens. Go to the state-owned health facilities at night, you will hardly find doctors even on weekends. Many doctors have had to leave the state for greener pastures and to where they will be better appreciated and paid.

As it stands today, many residents have had to patronise alternative medicines to treat themselves and avoid falling into the hands of quacks at health centres. The indices are not also encouraging for education as thousands of out-of-school children have remained in the street on a business-as-usual basis.

Enough damage had been done and it is time for patriots like Danbarde, a leader with the know-how to bring in some quick-fix measures to salvage the state from imminent financial and economic collapse while rolling out long time policies and programmes that will result in better governance to the state.

From the level of “dirty” politics being played by the desperate APC-led government in the state, it will not be surprising if we see lots of intimidation from the ruling party to create fear in the hearts of PDP members. This plan by the ruling party has been defeated and that is why Gombe state’s potential voters must wake up and be alive to their responsibilities in 2023.

Abubakar is the deputy director general on new media to Gombe state PDP presidential and gubernatorial candidates