Something spectacular is happening in Taraba state but only those with any kind of discernment would have noticed. There is a recovery coming and the early signs are everywhere.As I write this residents are enjoying stable power supply and the dry taps have become wet again as water now gushes out of them instead of the hot air that used to be there. In a civil service state, many workers are happy again, looking forward to the return of decency and good governance. It is indeed a new day in Taraba courtesy the new administration headed by Arc. Darius Ishaku and his rescue team. Ishaku, a man who came to power after a lot of intrigues knows all eyes would be on him in terms of meeting the yearnings of the people. And he means business. Sources close to him say his new pattern consists of waking up early and going to bed late like a man on a historic mission. And indeed he is on a mission. He is the first governor from the Southern Zone of the state that clamoured for power to shift to it. And now that the power has moved there, Ishaku, perhaps, must now work twice his predecessor to convince the state that the south can deliver. Clearly, he does not have the luxury of failing. He just can’t fail. He won’t fail. The stakes are just too high. The campaigns were filled with all sorts of promises, not only to woo voters but to paint a picture of the kind of direction the new governor wanted to take Taraba. In various events, he had maintained that he was on a rescue mission- one that would see him thinking outside the box and not doing business as usual. The rescue would also cover a myriad of areas including the civil force, agriculture, roads, transportation, tourism etc. The architect turned power broker did not restrict himself to some few key areas as the case used to be where a governor would identify a 5 0r 10 point agenda. No. his was a rescue mission meant to cover all the sector.
With this mind, Governor Ishaku hit the ground running. After a magnificent inauguration program in Jalingo- the state capital, the eager- to- work governor swung into action by making key appointments knowing that aman could only be as good as the team he puts in place. For the very important office of the Secretary to The State Government (SSG), the governor showed his proclivity for substance rather than shadows. He went to great lengths to pick the venerable Hon. Anthony Jellason. It was an appointment that both excited and shocked many people. Suddenly it dawned on many critics of the new governor that Governor Ishaku indeed was ready for business. Jellason is not your everyday, run-off-the-mill politician and he is not someone you mess around with unless if you are serious-minded. A man who has traversed the state’s political terrain like a colossus across the decades, Jellason is not given to trivialities. Wizened and somewhat austere, Jellason is expected to bring in the needed courage of conviction, plain dealing and hardwork the government would be requiring to stablise. Jellasonis also suited for the job because of years of experience. He is arguably the oldest technocrat in the state today having come all the way from the North Eastern region era when he was already in the civil force.Jellason would thus bring maturity, a sense of history and a focus to the new government. It was an appointment that told the state that Governor Ishaku is not interested in sycophants who would be scared to tell him the truth. The governor needs forthright men who are not scared of losing a job for the general good. At the height of the UTC tyranny in Taraba, men like Jellason looked at power in the face and told it the truth. That is the way he is wired.
Next was the choice of the Speaker of the Hose of Assembly. Here again, Governor Ishaku showed that he would respect the principle of Separation of Powers in the coming years. The practice in the past was that of interference, but the governor resisted the temptation and allowed the members chose who they wanted. Hon. Abel Peter Diah emerged. In his early 40s, the new speaker is a balancing act in an administration that critics are already accusing of being peopled by gerontocrats. Young, dashing and urbane, Hon. Diah would bring zest, energy and fresh blood into the system.Diah would also stablise the House of Assembly with his years of experience in legislative matters. Already, himself and the governor have hit it off with the governor often seen in Diah’s company going round town to inspect projects.And the honey moon is expected to last a life time.
Taraba desperately needs that sort of synergy and stability right now. And as the governor sets down to rectify the past, many believe that he would be guided not only by the enormous task at hand but also by the sense of mission which he so beautifully expounded at the campaigns. All eyes are on Taraba; all eyes are on Southern Taraba; but most importantly, all eyes are on DDI.
Bello, former commissioner of information, sent this piece from Jalingo.