By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo
Of recent in the office, I was engaged in a discussion about the Niger state Governor with a colleague who is also from Niger state. I held that, to the best of my knowledge, in the whole of the North Central Nigeria today, the new Governor of Niger state is one of the luckiest politicians. My colleague quickly agreed with me. The reason is simple: His Excellency is a Certified Management Specialist and a banker before he rose to limelight through the political platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He became House of Representatives member elected in 2011 under the platform of CPC, representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency, and in 2015 and 2019 under the platform of the All Progressive Change (APC). So he was a three- term House of Representatives member. I have been his fan for long since he is also in the same political party with Baba Buhari. He is one of the great political disciples of Former President Muhammadu Buhari just like our own Turaki of Ilorin, Senator Saliu Mustapha. If you like Buhari, I will also like you naturally. This transference is analogous to a man who fell in love with a woman, everybody around that woman would be liked by the man.Besides,he is a hardworking and detribalized political figure.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of prayer in human affairs cannot be over-emphasized. For an individual to think otherwise is tantamount to being a wanderer in the realm of self-deception. The story I heard about the Governor Bago’s prayer inclination was encouraging. I was reliably informed that the only thing he believes in is prayer, and by implication, one can say that Niger state has a prayer worrior as Governor. Alhamdulillahi. I base in Minna so anything about the Governor should be of interest to me. If Niger state is cool, I would be affected too.
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In 2019 he aspired for the position of the Speaker of House of Representatives of the 9th Assembly but the game then did not favour him, as he came second behind Femi Gbajabiamila. What did he do? He remained calm and went back to the drawing board. Today, he is now the Governor of Niger state. The big lesson is that in politics one must be patient, if one wants to go far in the game. It would be outrageous to move for the crumbling of the party because of your individual loss. What about tomorrow? You may need the same platform to aspire for a position in future. So endurance and patience are key to success in anything one is doing, not only in the political arena. People may want to frustrate you because of the potentials in you, but don’t be detered by their series of political coup against your personality. There were so many politically motivated unfounded allegations against him, one of which was that the youths love him so much and they might constitue nuisance to the security of Niger state after the election. It was all fallacy; there is no way you would be generous and people won’t get close to you. Indeed, part of the information I gathered about the Governor is that he is very generous. Once you are generous as a politician in this largest democracy landscape in Africa, then you are at an advantage. I got to know this through my late father kind gesture, even though he was not a politician but a God fearing Islamic Cleric, and the generous nature of Senator Saliu Mustapha, the Senator representing Kwara Central in the 10th Senate.
Interestingly, on Monday the 21st August, 2023 during the swearing in of Commissioners by His Excellency, he advised them not to avoid their neighbours, but to reach out to them. This is a testimony that the Governor is synonymous with responsibility and generosity. In this clime once people get political appointment they begin to avoid their closest friends and even neighbours. To some it is a natural phenomenon because of time and the propensity of the people to demand for what the appointees are not capable of providing. To me, intention matters; there’s no point in avoiding your friends and neighbours because your level “don” change. Against this backdrop, it is significant to say that the Governor of Niger state, Muhammed Umaru Bago is a religious person who believes in prayers and generosity. I stayed at Gurara Nyikamgbe in Minna for close to five years, Honourable Bago then gave us transformers on two different occasions. He loves giving all the time.
Essentially, the Governor’s magnanimity is assuring, so sharing of palliatives to appropriate quarters amid subsidy removal in Niger state is expected.The Governor is the father of the state, hence he has to ensure that the palliatives reach the poorest of the poor in the state. Gaskiya the effects of the subsidy removal is raining on every Nigerian household. This is why all our Governors must ensure even distribution of the palliatives.
In conclusion, Niger state and some few states in the North West are facing the challenge of banditry, apart from purchasing the military all the necessary equipments to tactically prosecute the war, prayer is also an essential ingredient to win any war, physical or spiritual. His Excellency should pray fervently as well. It is believed that prayers can go beyond the latitude where enemies can’t reach.
