ADAMAWA: Insecurity and Governor Fintiri's Magic Wand By Adamu Zarna Ganye

Sometime, not too long ago, around 2013 up to 2016, Adamawa state was one of the terrorists ravaged states, in the country. Within that time, life was very nasty in that part of the country, with several communities fallen to the firm grips of terrorists. Towns, communities and villages were sacked. People were chased out of their homes, and resorted to waiting for philanthropy at the Internally Displaced Peoples Camps. Even after the restoration of peace by the Military especially since Preaident Muhammadu Buhari took over the helm of affairs of the country in 2015, life has been gradually returning to normalcy with several of the IDPs returning to their homes and starting life afresh, having lost their homes and habitation.

But, at no time did the people of Adamawa witness unparalleled peace in the past ten years, than during the ascendancy to the Executive Governorship of Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the current Executive Governor of the state. Fintiri came into office with the determination to turn things around for the better, not just for people living in the urban areas, bit for those in the rural communities.

Since he assumed office in 2019, he not only provided needed support to the security agencies, including the Military, the Police, Department of State Services, and Civil Defence, but also to the paramilitary services, including the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Correctional Service. Although the above-mentioned are federal agencies, Governor Fintiri has no doubt in his mind that creating that synergy with them, as much as he can, would translate to peace of mind, not just for the entire people of Adamawa State, but for the visitors, some of who are international visitors, even across the neighbouring Republic of Cameroon.

To provide fillip to the efforts to sustain peace in the state, the Governor embarked on massive infrastructural development, rehabilitating roads which were hitherto rendered unstable through the activities of terrorists and bandits, but also due to the wear and tear that gravitate around construction efforts. Consequently, Governor Fintiri embarked upon and completed 10 key rural roads, among which are: 27.91km Yolde Pate Prison – Yadim road; 18.09km Parda Muninga – Fufore road; 19.71 Longa Ewa – W/Yombe road; 15.58km Kwanan Yaji – Amdur road; 25.58km Hong – Mijili – Kuva Gaya road; 16.93km Shelleng – Bakta road and 13.14 Polewire – Ndikon road, among others, spanning across the three Senatorial Zones in the state.

All these were done, not neglecting township roads like Gwaida Mallam – Izala – Rafael road in Numan LGA; European Quarters Road in Hong LGA; Gulak Township road in Madagali LGA; Kiri – Shelleng road in Shelleng LGA; Jada Township roads in Jada LGA; Michika Township road in Michika LGA; Buwangal – Sangasumi road in Ganye LGA; ADSU Road in Mubi; Pella – Maiha road in Hong. Maiha LGA; Mubi-South road in Mubi-South LGA; Lamurde Road in Lamurde LGA, as well as Guyuk Phase 11 road in Guyuk LGA, among others.

Not left behind are the urban roads in the state capital, where he has completely turned around the landscape, introducing beauty and panache to the lives of the people of Adamawa State and the entire residents in general. On this score, Governor Fintiri embarked upon and completed several flyover bridges, the first of its kind in the entire North-West geopolitical zone of the country. For instance, it is on record that Governor Fintiri has completed the Flyover bridge at Total Junction, constructed an Interchange with underpass at the popular Police Roundabout, Mambila and Jambutu Road send links, Yolde Pate – Nyibanga Road with two span bridges, Brochure Road, Damare – Badarisa NYSC Camp Road and NEPA Road, among several others which have lifted the urbane nature of Yola, the state capital, to compare favourably with other state capitals with well-endowed resources in the country.

All these, the Governor deliberately embarked upon not just in fulfillment of his campaign promises, but to usher in a new lease of life to the Adamawa people and residents.

All these were achieved because the Governor has the apple cart in getting the buy-in of the people towards supporting and owing all those development projects. He not only holds series of talks with the leadership of the various senatorial zones, LGAs and communities, but carries them along in the execution and commissioning of projects.

This is precisely why, Adamawa transformed from the status of a state once ravaged by crises to an oasis of peace. Of all the states in the North-West zone, Adamawa is unarguably, the most peaceful state. The crescendo of peace achieved just within the span of three years and few months, are unsurmountable in the annals of the state.

And to ensure his message of peace transcends to every person in the state, he makes them own the massive construction sites he has turned Adamawa State to. For instance, during the commissioning of the Lamido Aliyu Musdafa Flyover, he invited the numero uno political juggernaut in the state, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa, and the current Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to commission the project. People did not see anything extraordinary in inviting the political armada to cut the tape, but the real game-changer emerged when the Governor invited a Septuagenarian, Alhaji Ahijo Bamanga, to cut the tapes during the commissioning of the Damare – NYSC Camp Road. Also, another senior citizen, Rev. Clarkson Bansi cut the tapes to declare the newly constructed and rehabilitated Jada Township roads open. The same verve was rekindled when another senior citizen, Chief Mrs. Fibi Nancy Nadah, cut the tapes to commission the 3.2km Nyibango-Yolde Pate Road, which was constructed to standard with span bridges and concrete drainage.

With the involvement of the rural ordinary folks in the razzmatazz of his administration, as well as engaging community and youth leaders in issues of security and general administration, Governor Fintiri opened a phase which have continued to usher peace, tranquility and progress across the state. The people of Adamawa, irrespective of their political leaning and affiliations, have seen in the Governor, a role model and emancipator, who should be encouraged to transform the state to apogee of his dreams. All these have no doubt culminated in the visible peace being enjoyed by everybody in the state, which, according to police statistics, put Adamawa at the lowest rungs in crime statistics in the country.

Having deployed both his intellectual sagacity and native intelligence in handling security issues, coupled with what some residents described as “his brazen quest to transform the state to competing industrial hub of the nation”, the state is today witnessing the level of peace, which had eluded it for nearly a decade. At the moment, people can traverse the length and breath of the state without the fear of the undesirables striking at any moment, investors and business men have the confidence to invest and ply their trade, while farmers have no qualms tilling and cultivating their farmland without molestation or harassment.

The level of peace being enjoyed today in Adamawa is unparalleled and kudos to the dexterity of a man who is seen as a visionary, and who understands that hardly would any meaningful development come to any place without amity, peace and concord. Governor Fintiri is not just a visionary, he is a man of great wisdom and foresight. He practicalised his vision of peace for his people; his people are happily enjoying the peace to the glory of God and prosperity of the Adamawa people.

Ganye writes from Yola, Adamawa State