The Man With The Olive Branch
By
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Nadada Umar, People's Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial candidate in Bauchi State, wants all aggrieved party leaders to forget the past and join him to build the state
By Anthony Akaeze
He is not a man of many words. But Nadada Umar, Bauchi State governorship candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, is a workaholic. As the immediate past secretary to the government of Adamu Mu'azu in Bauchi State, Nadada takes some credit for the tremendous success that the government has been.
Nadada, a lawyer, succeeded in a keenly contested PDP governorship primaries that saw some contestants protesting against its outcome. Reacting to the protest that greeted the primaries, he said there was actually no justification for the objection of his co-contestants. "Like every other election, there were rules which were followed. It was a wonderful election. Delegates participated. There was an initial problem of delegates being misled not to exercise their rights, but eventually, that was resolved and they were able to cast their votes," he said.
Nadada said there was absolutely no reason for the other candidates to protest against the outcome of the elections. He explained that right from the beginning, the other contestants knew that he was the front-runner, and when the expected happened, they had no answer than to protest. He noted that the incident has now been put behind and the party was set to win the governorship election in the state.
At what point did he decide to take part in mainstream politics? Nadada said: "I won't be able to tell you the particular day or month. But I can say that it's people close to me who first mutted the idea. It then gradually gained ground, up to the time it reached the point of no return, which is where we are today."
Nadada considers himself best suited for the gubernatorial seat, considering his experience. He insisted that, having closely worked with Mu'azu as the secretary to the state government, SSG, to his administration, a position that provided him opportunity to know the workings of government, he was set to improve on the performance of Muazu whom he said, had recorded tremendous success as governor since 1999. "Muazu is an intelligent, result oriented person. During the period I worked with him, I know the extent of sacrifice he made. He is a restless human being, and so, to meet, up with his standard, one would need to be restless, too. And I believe I've been the closest person to him in terms of the execution of those programmes by virtue of my former position. I was responsible for co-ordinating the agencies of government to achieve success. We would stay in the office together and work tirelessly. Normally, we would close by 4 or 5 a.m. and resume again by 8 a. m," he said.
And as one who believes in continuity, Nadada said he would continue from where Muazu would be stopping in May, this year. According to him, Muazu's developmental blueprint had focused on turning Bauchi State into an industrialised state so that jobs would be created and economic activities would improve. This involves working on infrastructural development, which, he said, is still ongoing. Nadada prayed for the opportunity to complete and help to transform Bauchi into an industrialised state.
Nadada hopes to achieve this by ensuring steady power supply, because of its importance to development. His ultimate goal is to develop an independent power source. He said Bauchi had the potential to generate hydropower. Harnessing such potential could even turn Bauchi into a source of power supply for other states.
Another area which the governorship aspirant hopes to focus on is farming. Again, this is related to the importance of agriculture to the nutritional and economic well-being of the people and nation. He explained: "If you engage farmers throughout the seasons, you will have dealt with poverty substantially. Farming will be the platform for industrialisation, farming that will allow for agro-based industries. Farmers should be prepared for a great time ahead."
The tourism sector will receive a boost. In that regard, the famous Yankari Games Reserve, which is now being managed by the Bauchi State government, would be uplifted to world standard, even as reformation work is currently ongoing there. According to Nadada, Yankari Games Reserve is not only a pride of the nation but that of Africa; and so it should be made to be the best in Africa.
Education would be a critical area of attention. The former SSG explained that priority would be given to education, in view of its role in the development and transformation of the human mind and society. Education is light, he said.
On his plans for the state's civil servants, Nadada promised that workers would be adequately remunerated. He believes that, to get the best out of a worker, you should provide a conducive environment for him to operate. "The take home pay should be one that adequately rewards workers," he said. The idea will be to ensure that the state's civil servants compete favourably with their peers in the private sector. "What we will do is to sit down with the civil servants and work out their remuneration and welfare package together. We will analyse the resources together, and agree on how much percentage labour should take." This will be a better approach than just coming up with announcements of a fantastic increase in salaries, which may not be realisable.
How does he hope to carry other party members along, considering the fact that some now feel aggrieved? Nadada said: "Other contestants are either my friends or brothers and our desire is to develop Bauchi State. They know that whatever programme I will draw up, they will be part of it. I will need their co-operation, which I have sought. I'm already getting it. We will all develop Bauchi together.
Against the backdrop of party rivalry, which had led to clashes between the People's Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Nigeria People's Party, ANPP, the governorship hopeful canvasses politics without bitterness. He described himself as a man of peace who would have nothing to do with violent people in the name of politics. Violent conduct, he said, is an evil that must be checked. He decried a situation whereby the youths are recruited by some politicians to help them realise their selfish intentions. "I have told the youth that anybody who is realistic and loves them would tell them that violence is not good for them. So, if you chose to engage in violence, a time will come when you will be dumped for another person. What would you do afterward?" He asked.
To him, political thuggery must be done away with. Any politician who believes in employing violence to win election should employ his own children for the job. "I tell the youths that the children of their so-called godfathers cannot be found among them. I tell them that they should only struggle-by which I mean work hard to be empowered."
Nadada said repeatedly, that his ambition to become governor, is not a "do-or-die affair." After all, man's ambition is dependent on God's plan, he said.
But if it pleases God to make him Governor, Nadada said he would extend a hand fellowship to all. "I will seek to be a bridge-builder and reach out to others. Bauchi State does not belong to one person, group or party. It belongs to all the citizens of Bauchi State. When I become governor, I will like everybody to join me in building it. So, I will go to any extent to seek the co-operation of all citizens, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic leaning," he said.
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