AN OPEN LETTER TO ADAMAWA STATE CITIZENS

The idea to write this open letter was conceived by this writer, while driving round the capital city of Jimeta-Yola.

Adamawa State was one of the state, that was really opportuned to be at the scheme of things in this country by virtue of having eminents citizens that hold sensitive positions of authority since this great country attained independence from the British
colonial masters. Today, it is roughly thirty-one(31) solid years since the creation of the state by the Murtala administration but, the state is yet to reach the promise land.

The people of the state are so depressed by the attitude of the elites of the state. It is an irony of life that a state that produced eminent sons, who in way or the other held sensitive positions that if, they have the love of the state, they could have removed it from its present shackles of underdevelopment. Looking at the disposition of these elites and the positions, they occupied in the corporate world and the public service, Adamawa State could have been a paradise for not only the citizens of the state but, for others from different parts of this great country.

Adamawa State is the only state in the history of this country that has produced two Service Chiefs and Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of this country-these are the late Lt.Gen. Gibson Jalo as the Chief of Defence Staff, Air-Marshall Abdullahi Dominic Bello as Chief of Air Staff and late, Alhaji Adamu Suleiman as Inspector-General of Police in the Shehu Shagari administration.

It is also a credit to Adamawa State to have produced two Service Chiefs in the Babangida administration in
the persons of late, Air-Marshall Ibrahim Alfa as Chief of Air Staff and Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta as the Inspector-General of Police. Also, Adamawa State paraded some senior Military and Police officers such as Brig-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa, Col. mahmud Santuraki, Brig-Gen. Mohammed Mana now a Senator, Brig-Gen.Aliyu Kama, Air Marshall Winston Aleyedeino, Air-Marshall Dilli, Deputy-Inspector General Abdullahi Jika who died recently,Deputy Inspector-General Kieran, Commissioner of Police Ahmed Ibrahim of the Police Academy Wudil, Deputy Commissioner of Police Danjuma Ibrahim, Asst Inspector-General Nuhu Ribadu and a host of other top ranking Military and Police officers who are still in service.

In the public service, the state has produced some seasoned bureaucrats and technocrats like Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Late, Ahmadu Ribadu, Chief Jeram Joel Fwa the present first class Emir of Mbula, Alhaji Ahidjo Bamanga, Alhaji HammanAdama Tukur, Dr. Mahmud Tukur, Prof Jibril Aminu now a Senator, Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, Alhaji Abubakar Jijiwa Director-General of the Voice
of Nigeria, Alhaji Saad Suleiman Gurin, Alhaji Suleiman Abdullahi, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Alhaji Mahmud Waziri, Alhaji Hassan Adamu and others too numerous to mentioned them in this piece.

Despite producing thses eminent citizens, the state is really backward in all ramifications. Uninterestingly, the people are yet to come to term that, they have the fundamental right to asked for what was the contributions of these people towards uplifting it to the promise land especially when they came asking for the people to vote them as Governors, Senators, Members of the House of Representative. That is why these people find it more easy to scale through either as Governors, Senators or Members of
the House of Representative by simply giving out money for the people during the electioneering period after, they discarded the people by saying publicly without any form of fear that they use their money to be voted thereby no any aggendum for the transformation of the state.

It is therefore necessary now, for the citizens of Adamawa State to asked what does one do to uplift the state when he or she is in the public service or as a person in the corporate world, what has he or she does for the state to uplift it economically.

The people of the state are quite aware on how some of these people, who initially set up industries in the state in order to boost the state's economic activities suddenly closed them and shift base to either Lagos or Port Harcourt thereby depriving thousands the avenue of where they can get earnings to support their families.

it is therefore, necessary to accord a place for the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for the commitment he has so far made in the  opening of some industries like the Faro Bottling Company, Abti Printing Press, Abti Nursering and Primary School, Con
Oil Filling Station. Also Admiral Murtala for his zeal in the establishing of the Sebore Farms in Mayo-Belwa. My good people of Adamawa State, you seriously needs to rise up and face the onerous challenge by asking for the contributions made by any person, who came asking for your precious votes. Our state is really backward and the time, to redressed this is now not untill we die thereby shifting the burden to the generation coming behind or yet unborn.

The Almighty God has a good reason for making us great by this enormous wisdom in making our people so great
in different field of endeavour and calling. It is incumbent on those that, find themselves as leaders to reciprocate this gesture by doing what would moved our state forward so that the citizens can live. The people of Adamawa State should all put hands on
deck in the crusade of moving the state forward to catches up with its contemporaries like Bauchi, Benue as the state is lacking behind. Lets the people that would be shouldered with responsibilities as leaders in the state be just and upright in the management of the state.

As Gen. Buhari once said"we don't have any other country than Nigeria" let the people of Adamawa State and the elites have it at the back of their minds that Adamawa State belonged to us and we must have stay and salvaged it collectively irrespective of religion inclination and tribe. We need to all of us be our brother's keeper so that our state would prosper and reach the promise land that our children childrens would be proud of.

 

BY
USMAN GARBA SANTURAKI
A PUBLIC AFFIARS COMMENTATOR.
NO74, TAFIDA STREET,
JIMETA-YOLA.
E-mail:usbaturaki@yahoo.com
08036180958