By RAYYANU BALA
In about 13 weeks from now, Nigerians would be electing their
political leaders for various levels of government. In Nasarawa state
all seems set for the elections as all the political parties have
submitted the names of their candidates for various positions in the
forthcoming general elections after successful completion of the party
primaries. Happily, reports from all the political parties in Nasarawa
state indicate that all of the parties have concluded all the
nitty-gritty of the electoral body as it ( electoral body) released names of all candidates from the state aspiring for various political positions in all the parties. However, the three major political parties in the state namely, All Progressives
Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives
Grand Alliance (APGA) are all laying claim to sweeping the polls
particularly the governorship election in the state. From the APC, the
chorus is, ‘Engr A.A Sule is the candidate to beat’, citing his
pedigree in the private sector and the success story of the APC
government in the state. For the PDP the rhyme is, ‘Devematics
Ombagadu is of the new breed out to bring past efforts into focus,
while from the APGA, the slogan, ‘Maku is the only answer to Nasarawa
state’. From these narratives, one can deduce that these two parties
(PDP and APGA) would run their 2019 campaigns in the state on
‘promises’ instead of their past achievements.
The PDP in Nasarawa state had been in the saddle of governance for
almost 12 years (1999 to 2011) but regrettably they have only
‘promises’ to offer to people of Nasarawa state ahead of the 2019
elections. APGA which has Laraban Maku as its candidate too has
nothing to fall back on despite the fact that he (Maku) served both
the state and the federal government in various capacities, ranging
from commissioner through deputy governor to minister of the federal
republic; if it were in other climes, both the PDP and APGA aught to
have buried themselves in shame instead coming out to canvass for the
people’s mandate.
Yes, in an advanced and civilized clime, political parties’ that
formed government in the past run their campaigns for elections on
basis of what they had provided not on basis of what they will
provide. It is justifiable for a political party that has never been
in government to run its campaign on ‘promises’ But the PDP in
Nasarawa state just like APGA have no justification whatsoever to run
their 2019 campaigns on ‘promises’; to do that amounts to an insult
on the collective intelligence of the people of Nasarawa state.
What is more, the 12 years of PDP in Nasarawa state was unmitigated
disaster. For the 12 years that the PDP held sway in the state, we
witnessed the worst government ever in the state. The PDP government
then was characterized by corruption and impunity. Apart from this,
there was also dearth of infrastructural development in the state
during their time. For the 12 years, the state did not record any
single road construction worth celebrating in any of the three
senatorial districts of the state, neither on health and education
sectors nor on youth employment and empowerment. There was nothing
worth celebrating in the whole of the 12 years of PDP in the state.
The whole of PDP years were a waste, at least to the people of the
state.
However, the coming of APC government in 2011 has changed all these
deplorable narratives. The APC government came up with many policies
and programmes which lifted the people of the state out of
underdevelopment which the PDP government saddled them with. For the
first time in the history of the state, the people started seeing
asphalt roads constructed by the state government. All the
headquarters of the 13 local government councils have benefited from
government’s policy on construction of township roads hitherto
abandoned by the PDP government in the state. Under APC government’s
policy on road constructions, no fewer than 150 roads have either been
constructed or rehabilitated across the state, covering over 3000
kilometers. Under this policy all intra-state roads have either been
constructed or under construction. There was no state road that the
APC government in Nasarawa state has not touched upon for the
betterment of the people. Is it the Awe- Tunga road, Obi- Keana road,
Agyaragu-Doma road or Adudu- Azara- Wuse road? Toto –Umaisha road,
Gitata-Panda- Kugwaru- Karu road or Unguwar Hashimu- Karu road? The
list is inexhaustible but one fact is that virtually all state roads
have been constructed/ rehabilitated or work is on-going there.
Lafia, the state capital was not left out as the city also benefited
immensely from this policy of road constructions, even a visitor to
Lafia could attest to the changes that took place in Lafia in terms of
roads expansion. Candidly, Lafia the state capital was transformed by
this government and can now compete favourably with older state
capitals in the country.
At this juncture one may be tempted to ask: Why the APC government
places much emphasis on road constructions? Yes the focus on road
constructions by the APC government is in tandem with the old-age
adage which says: ‘Development follows the road’ However, the success
of APC government in Nasarawa state did not only stop at roads
construction alone; in fact it transcended to other areas like, health
and education, youth empowerment, rural water supply, etc.
On health for example, the APC government has constructed/ renovated
101 primary health care facilities across the state. This is besides
construction of 160-bed ultra- modern hospitals in Lafia, Akwanga and
Nasarawa as well as renovation of general hospitals in Awe, Toto,
Mararaba, Doma, Gurku and Keana, and provisions of other medical
equipments to boast the health care of the people of the state.
The giant stride the APC government made in areas of education in
Nasarawa state is overwhelming. Renovations/ constructions of class
room’s blocks in primary schools as well as constructions of hostel
blocks in our higher institutions were not only a common sight but
stunningly amazing. There is no town in Nasarawa state that one can
not see a gigantic edifice fully equipped with instructional materials
adorning such a town, solely for qualitative and conducive learning.
The recent engagement of over two thousand teachers by this APC
government in the state was also part of demonstration of the
commitment of government towards getting at the solution to falling
standard of education in the state.
The achievements recorded by the APC government in Nasarawa state are,
as said earlier, inexhaustible, time and space however, can not permit
us to highlight them all here. But one fact that can not be disputed
even by the APC adversaries in Nasarawa state is that the APC
government under the leadership of Umaru Tanko Al-makura has in the
last seven and half years paid it dues to the people of Nasarawa state
through provisions of dividend of democracy. What is require now
especially as we approach 2019 elections is for us to reciprocate, by
voting the party (APC) back to power in the state.
Surely, APC as party in Nasarawa state will run its 2019 campaigns on
the basis of what it has achieved thus far. Let the opposition parties
too run theirs on the basis of what they have done to the people of
the state when they held sway. People are now fed up with PDP’s
Shenanigans.