It’s now one year since when providence graciously made the dreams of the ordinary people of Sokoto state came true by investing Ahmed Aliyu with the governorship of the state. The walk to the government house was not only tortuous, convoluted but equally exciting with all the trappings of a keenly and fiercely contested race. Glory be to God as a lot of water has since passed under the bridge with so many groundbreaking scores to populate the one year anniversary scorecard of the Ahmadun-Alu administration. It will be an uneasy task to tabulate or enumerate the population of the projects and programmes of the current administration in a space of a modest and sparse writeup of this volume.
For Sokoto state, as obtained in other states, it’s almost conventional to attempt a showcase of the modest milestones reached within a space of 365 days to gauge how far and how well has the administration fared. What I find rather unique is how the present administration enabled itself to be juxtaposed between execution of welfare-oriented and physical development programmes. As I posited earlier on, the list of such laudable initiatives and projects is inexhaustible as it covers a wide spectrum of human and social engineering.
When one looks at the array of programmes and projects either completed (for those started by the immediate past administration) or started from scratch and completed or earnestly ongoing by the Ahmadun-Alu administration, it may not be easy to decide on where to start while engaging in a review of this nature. I hold the opinion that, the volume of the achievements recorded in the space of time being reviewed have surpassed what many people could not achieve in their eight years sojourn as governors!
The current administration in Sokoto state has continued to shame its detractors who obviously are still not free from the election-defeat-delusion which caught them pants down during and after 2023 general elections, and even through the various courts litigations that nailed the coffin of the opposition.
It would be recalled that, at the tail end of the immediate past administration, the state was tottering to a halt with almost no sector functioning ,it was in such a hopeless situation that the present administration came on board with a lot of expectations from the people. The first task of the APC administration was to stabilise the system, defray outstanding salaries, see to the restoration of electricity supply to the Shehu Kangiwa Secretariat and other government establishments, restore people’s confidence and hope.
The halted allowances due to people with disabilities, Imams and their deputies including Muezzims were restored and paid. For the first time in the state, a serving governor paid an unscheduled visit to the Sokoto Orphanage, and made a personal donation of a Toyota Avensis Station Wagon to be used in serving the inmates at the orphanage. The Specialist Hospital in the metropolis was visited by the governor at midnight where he had first hand information on the state of the facility ,the improtu visit prompted the governor to provide a powerful standby generator for the hospital to mitigate the electricity crisis there. Before the coming of this administration, heaps of refuse were left unevacuated all over the metropolis…a powerful committee was constituted and it dealt adequately with the sad situation of unevacuated mountains of refuse in the metropolis.
We recall with qualms how the monthly cash imprest to even critical MDAs was denied during the course of the past administration. It’s gladdening to relate that this administration has done well in reversing the wrong decision. Sokoto metropolis was in the grips of critical scarcity of potable water with taps dried for too long. The failure to release the monthly cash imprest to the Water Works and the dismantling and selling off of heavy-duty water pipes contributed largely to the intractable water shortage. This administration did remarkably well in seeing to the restoration of water supply to the metropolis particularly in its first one hundred days in office. This year’s Ramadan feeding exercise was expanded and even escalated to the local government areas, the programme was a redemption to the beneficiaries as last year there was no Ramadan feeding. To further project its redemptive status, the current administration for the first time in the history of the state civil service gave half salary gratis to all manner of salary earners including pensioners on the first day of the fasting period.
Even through the previous administration failed to properly hand over the reins of governance since there was nothing like handing over documents, Ahmed Aliyu had to sort of grope in the dark to know the true state of affairs even as the May 2023 salary was not paid by the previous administration without any explanation. It was this administration that did some homework and settled all outstanding salaries… since then salary payment has so been stabilised that between 19th to 20th every month salaries are paid.
When this administration came on board, the festering wound of insecurity was hopeless as some security operatives were not paid their entitled allowances running into more than five months by the then state government, the first task was therefore to settle such unpaid allowances and inject more morale into the security personnel statationed at various banditry flash points.
Within the first one hundred days in office, dozens of operational vehicles were provided to the various security formations to help in the fight against banditry and kidnapping which have remained the major headache of governments in the northwest . In another determined stride to stem the tide of banditry in the state, the Sokoto State Community Guards Corps comprising of more than 2000 able-bodied men was created and formerly inaugurated after rigorous training of the SSCGC personnel. 700 motorcycles and 70 hilux trucks were provided for use by the Community Guards Corps. There’s a limit to what governors could do in the fight against banditry and kidnapping, on his part, Ahmed Aliyu could be said to have done and is still doing whatever is within his reach in that direction. The creation, training, equipping and inauguration of the Guards Corps is a testament to how kinetic is the current administration squaring up to the heinous activities of bandits.
The essence of every government is to accord due attention to the overall development and well-being of the state and its people. So far so well as this administration is on all fours trying to bring renewal to all facets of our existence. As expected, there are dissenting voices from the camp of the opposition, however, such disgruntled opinions are mere vituperations of a people who are struggling to remain relevant by the roadside of politics.
Within a span of one year, this administration has gone remarkably far in the provision of infrastructure and welfare packages to the good people of the state so much so that it’s probable that by the end of its first tenure, Sokoto state would have been tremendously renewed in all spheres. The construction of 500 units of houses at Kalambaina is in earnest progress, hope is high that their completion will be timely. A lot of projects inherited from the previous administration have since been completed and put to use by this administration, notable amongst such were the Dandima and Diplomat flyover bridges.
Before the coming of the Ahmadun-Alu administration, all the intra-city roads were in a disappointingly deplorable state with the previous administration been unenthusiastic about adequately repairing them. All the roundabouts in the metropolis were in a serious condition of disrepair, the strategic ‘ round mairuwa’ was perhaps the worst in this regard.
Within the first one hundred days in office, all the metropolitan roads and roundabouts were repaired with all the gaping potholes filled and tarred. To further beautify the roundabouts, banks and corporate bodies lived up to their social responsibilities by ornamenting the roundabouts. Another innovation is the erection of fences in the middle of the roads both as a defense and decoration as obtained in other cities as Sokoto cannot afford to remain buried in the past. Streetlights now adorn the roads in the metropolis and even extending to suburbs of the state capital as a lampost of renewal.
The transport sector received an unprecedented boost with the provision of dozens of saloon cars and buses for intra-city transportation, while the womenfolk were allocated with air-conditioned cars ,the general public could enjoy similar ease of transport as buses were provided for a small amount of money. As I put this down, those vehicles are busy plying the city roads conveying people to from their engagements.
The State Mass Transport Authority has for long remained in a critical state of near-malfunction as all vehicles in its fleet were old and rickety with frequent break-down as they plied inter-state routes. The last time the Transport Authority enjoyed attention was during the days of the Magatakarda administration when a fleet of dozens of vehicles was
acquired for mass transit system. Within the first one hundred days in office, Ahmed Aliyu took a bold decision by procuring a fleet of dozens of vehicles for use in the inter-state sector, as I write this, the transport system in the state is unarguably basking in the renewal touch of Ahmed Aliyu.
The Sahara area in the state capital is a vigorous business hub accommodating hundreds of shops dealing in auto parts, something more interesting about the Sahara area is that bulk of its shop owners and inhabitants are people from the southeast of Nigeria. Before the coming of this administration, all the roads in the are in a sorry state of disrepair and almost impassable during the rainy season.
Immediately after taking over the reins of administration, Aliyu swung into action and ensured the total renovation of all the roads in the area to the loud applause and approval of the people particularly those conducting business there. In a similar fashion, the road connecting the Diplomat flyover bridge with the Shehu Kangiwa square was reported to have been constructed during the days of late Shehu Kangiwa while he was the state governor, and since then there was no serious attempt to reconstruct the Abarshi road until in the first one hundred days of the current administration that fully reconstructed and reconditioned the road. The same treatment is applied to Nagwamatse and Bodinga roads both in the state capital.
Similarly, the Gawon-Nama community in the metropolis had road networks that were begging for attention and renovation ,the previous administration had obviously no passion for projects that relate to renovation and reconstruction of roads in both the urban and rural areas. On assumption of office, this administration moved in swiftly and in record time reconstructed all the roads networking the whole of the community.
The Tudun wada Community in the state capital stretching from the fringes of Fakon idi to Akalawa, Unguwar rogo extending up to Minanata area has for ages been in dire need of good networks of roads. Most of the roads within the area are as good as broad footpaths without hope or prospects of constructing them into motorable roads. Today however, the renewal drive of this administration has since commenced the total renovation and construction of all such neglected roads, since in recent years there wasn’t any concerted, full scale move to embark on such a huge project where roads numbering up to 48 are being constructed or reconstructed in one fell swoop. In addition to this gigantic move,roads in the Runjin sambo area of the state capital are also receiving similar attention in earnest. From the earthworks already completed, it’s palpable that quality will not be compromised in the final stages of the road projects including drainages as disclosed by the Commissioner of Lands and Housing, people living in the concerned communities are all witnesses to this.
The rural areas are not excised from this journey of renewal as there are reconstruction projects of roads going on in such areas across the state. One year in office is definitely ample enough to weigh and gauge the direction of any serious administration in its 4-year tenure. The 36.2km road traversing Kaffe-Gidan gyado-Kaddi-Gidan hashimu-Tsitse in Gada local government area is earnestly nearing completion. We cannot overstress the significance of good roads in rural communities as they make agriculture, commerce and social interactions easier. In the same vein, the 7.6km road connecting Illela, Kalmalo, Munwadata and Tashar rugga in Illela local government are is another laudable project of this administration which will go extra miles in making life more bearable to the people of those communities.
The Tashar gawo to Darhela road stretching to 11.6km located in Bodinga local government area is another people-centred project that will provide a reason for the people there to add their voices in commending the current administration for moving to improve their lives through the provision of physical infrastructure. Silame local government area is equally covered in this rural renewal strategy of this administration as the Maje-Gwahitto- Fako road is provided to bring ease to the people in the transportation of farm produce, movement of goods and services to and from community markets and the overall improvement in their social and economic transactions.
Gaskiar magana dai Ahmadun-Alu ya ci gari, wherever one looks at it’s one ongoing project or the other ,or one mass transit vehicle or the other transiting people either outside the metropolis or plying the inter-state routes. He has achieved within one year what couldn’t have been achieved by some who were governors like him in the state and in other states at least within their first one year in office.
As genuine and keen observers of events, we wish this administration well and hope to witness more of such trailblazing achievements in the course of this first tenure and beyond, particularly in the area of rural development, renovation of schools and colleges, repairs to health facilities ,consistent payment of gratuities, more welfare packages to the civil servants and the general public. Mu na fata da rokon Sarki Allah ya taimaka , ya ba Ahmed Aliyu strength and political will to continue earnestly in the direction of redeeming his campaign undertakings.
Binji is with the Administration and General Services Department, Cabinet Office, Sokoto.
