By Muhammad Khalid Idris
Bauchi State entirely has been—and is still—a peaceful state among its counterparts – either you live as a stranger, or it is your origin, you might be a living witness to the fact that the state has survived numerous attempts to distort the peace, property and innocent people’s lives through political thuggery and ethnoreligious chauvinism in the past.
Such violent developments mostly started within Bauchi – some were even started within the Bauchi metropolis, and later spread to other northeastern States, like Boko Haram, which if not for divine intervention, it could have been the state’s nightmare.
When his Excellency Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed came onboard, political games were played against him in respect to such horrible events in the state by painting him as a person whose political ideology would promote such atrocities. It was the conclusion of many of us before the governor assumed office, but stance mostly changed when the governance began, and the reality of things unveil.
Most politicians seize two opportunities to bring the advantage of your disunity to their service. The plan A works effectively from the youth’s side, while the plan B works when party differences are given a priority in governance. By the time these two things are achieved, you will have no way to move your state forward to the level of the desired development.
If not for the initiated programs to improve the youth’s lives, we would have agreed to the theory stated above, but the governor’s obvious zeal of transforming the youth as he repeatedly echoes his concern and suggest plans in their favour in most of his official gatherings is an attestation to his unbiased intention towards our teeming youth across Bauchi State.
Apart from driving the state to the industrial state which will create more job opportunities than ever, to help reduce the idle minds among the youth, there are programs like BAUCHI ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AGENCY, COMMUNITY POLICING COMMITTEE, few amongst others, which when established the number of unemployed people will be minimally reduced as part of strengthening the internal peace in the state.
The recently conducted town hall meeting on security issues on 2/10/2020, that took place at the Multipurpose Sport Hall, Bauchi, where the Governor hosted Ministers of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and that of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Maryam Yalwaji Katagum and other critical stakeholders on a town hall meeting on security issues following endsars protest in the country is worthy of mentioning here.
The town hall meeting was to bring all stakeholders together to discuss issues on security challenges and to look for ways of discouraging youths and members of the public from indulging into violence which is part of this administration’s determination to the maintenance of peace, law and order with the aim of strengthening the internal security management in the state.
When the governor was making a remark, he also expressed gratitude to the entire youth in the state for not joining the #EndSARS protest and promised to reciprocate the gesture of introducing critical reforms beneficial to them complementing the idea that when relative peace exists in the state, it brings unity, and unity brings solid developments and peaceful coexistence, which are the keys for progress to thrive.
As other politicians known with using the insecurity situation to further create more challenges to already deteriorating state, we can say the governor is on the right track and he is alive and conscious to see that peace and stability is maintained in Bauchi State.