By Imam Imam<\/p>\n
The present democratic experiment clocks one year on May 29, 2016 and
\nall over the country, governments will roll out the drums to celebrate
\ntheir achievements and make renewed commitments to the citizenry.<\/p>\n
In Sokoto, it has been 365 days since the election of Aminu Waziri
\nTambuwal as Governor of the state. It has been a time different approach
\nto governance. While expectations were high following the ouster of the
\nformer ruling party at the national level, Tambuwal and his team
\nunderstood the need to render diligent service to the people. That
\ndiligence was spiced up with innovations that have not only made the
\nnecessary impact, but have galvanised the citizens into being part of
\nthe governance process.<\/p>\n
As a member of the new breed political class, it is safe to say that
\nTambuwal and his team know too well that doing things the old way is
\nnever an option. This is because in addition to the glaring failure of
\nthe past, the old ways have left a toxic feel in the political firmament
\nof the nation.<\/p>\n
To make the future secure, the present has to be ruffled. Far reaching
\n— and I dare add innovative — decisions were taken to ensure the
\nmistakes of the past were not repeated while at the same time making the
\nnecessary impact on the people. Key sectors in the state have felt the
\nimpact. As one columnist recently pointed out, in Sokoto, governance
\ntrumps politics because all the buttons of development have been
\npressed.<\/p>\n
The last one year has seen its fair share of emotional pain for the
\npeople of Sokoto. In September 2015, 114 pilgrims who were away for the
\nannual Muslim pilgrimage died during the now infamous Hajj stampede in
\nSaudi Arabia. 22 other citizens have been missing since then while two
\nsustained various degrees of injuries. They were treated and discharged.
\nReeling from this pain for a huge number of its citizens, Tambuwal
\nquickly stepped in by providing support to the families of the victims.
\nIn that regard, the sum of N500,000 was given to each family of the 138
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
In terms of social intervention, Sokoto is shoulders above its peers in
\nthe country. Even when the Federal Government was yet to decide on
\npayment of benefit allowances to the vulnerable members of the society,
\nSokoto had implemented the policy by giving the sum of N6,500 to
\nextremely poor citizens monthly. In addition to this, less privileged
\nmembers of the society do not have to pay for drugs in hospitals because
\nthe government sets aside N10 million monthly for provision of free
\nprescribed drugs to the sick who cannot afford to purchase the drugs.
\nThe funds are kept in selected hospitals and pharmaceutical stores in
\ndifferent parts of for easy access.<\/p>\n
In education, the impact made by Tambuwal is very visible. First, he
\ndeclared a state of emergency in the sector and followed that up with a
\nrelease of N1 billion for settlement of fees for Sokoto students
\nstudying in various schools across the globe. The school expansion and
\nrenovation project has already commenced in four schools namely: GGC
\nRabah, GGMSS Illela, GSS Tureta and GDSS Sabon Birni. The government
\nalso provided free forms to 8,000 beneficiaries who sat for the unified
\ntertiary institutions admissions examinations in April this year.
\nAs a demonstration of its new found commitment for the sector,
\ngovernment set aside 29% of its 2016 budget estimate to education, the
\nhighest allocation in the budget and far above the UNESCO-recommended
\n26%. Government thereafter flagged off a programme to enroll over one
\nmillion children into schools in the present academic calendar. Happily,
\nthe target has already been met after a total 1,193,760 pupils were
\nenrolled into basic education level for the 2015\/2016 academic session.
\nMore teachers have been recruited while a committee set up to proffer
\nsolution to the challenges confronting the sector has just submitted an
\ninterim report. Watch this space because more far reaching decisions are
\non the way.<\/p>\n
In addition to the provision of free drugs, government has passed
\nlegislation that has totally transformed the delivery of service in the
\nprimary healthcare sub-sector. The PHCs under-one-roof policy has
\nstreamlined control and removed unnecessary bureaucracy in the
\nimplementation of health goals in Sokoto state. In terms of
\nimmunization, after certifying the state polio, lassa and guinea worm
\nfree, one million children were immunized against measles in February
\nalone. In the fight against malaria, Sokoto has in the last one year
\nprovided more than six million doses of antimalaria drugs to the people.
\nSimilarly, 44,808 Artesunate injection vials were administered to
\npatients while more than 3.3 million rapid diagnostic kits were
\npurchased for use in hospitals and other health facilities.<\/p>\n
Within the first few months of the second year of the present
\nadministration, a signature policy, one that will transform healthcare
\ndelivery in the state for ever, will come into effect. About three
\nmillion citizens are expected to benefit from the Community Contributory
\nHealth Scheme. It will expand access to heathcare delivery, reduce the
\nnumber of those uninsured and importantly reduce medical costs at the
\nprimary, secondary and tertiary levels. This will form a giant leap
\ntowards the famed healthcare for all policy.<\/p>\n
One of Tambuwal\u2019s campaign promises was to enhance collaboration with
\nthe private sector and empower small businesses to deliver quality
\nservice to the populace. In that regard, the sum of N2 billion was set
\naside by the Government and the Bank of Industry (BoI) as intervention
\nfund for the development of micro, small and medium scale enterprises in
\nSokoto state. Another N2 billion set aside for the implementation of
\nUNICEF\u2019s 2016 Work Plan in Sokoto. The sectors are education, health,
\nenvironment, sanitation and nutrition.<\/p>\n
Not contented with that, the government signed an MoU with two firms,
\nErisco Foods Ltd and Prime Gold Fertilizer Company for the establishment
\nof a tomato processing factory and a fertilizer plant in Sokoto. Works
\ntoward implementation are at advanced stage. When completed, both
\nentities will provide employment opportunities to thousands of people
\nand open markets for farmers and their produce.<\/p>\n
Who can easily forget the impact of the ‘Light Up Sokoto’ initiative
\nthat has seen major streets illuminated at night? It not only prevents
\naccidents on the roads, it increases safety of towns and villages. In
\naddition to that, business activities have picked up in Sokoto’s famed
\nand ancient ‘Night Markets.’<\/p>\n
Tambuwal\u2019s innovative approach to leadership is more visible in the
\nmanagement of the state\u2019s environment. After reintroducing the monthly
\nsanitation exercise following a decade of suspension, the government
\nthen introduced a monetary incentive to have the cleanest neighbourhood
\nrewarded with cash. Without much prompting, people embraced the idea and
\nthe quantity of refuse churned out from inner streets within the few
\nweek of the implementation nearly overpowered evacuators. Residents have
\nnot looked back since. Sokoto has now regained its place as one of the
\ncleanest cities in the federation. To mitigate the effect of desert
\nencroachment, it now mandatory for any person building a new house in
\nSokoto to plant a tree within his\/her premises.<\/p>\n
No column space will properly capture what Tambuwal has done in the last
\none year. That is the duty of book writers to attempt, but it is worth
\nmentioning here that having created employment opportunity for close to
\n20,000 people in different sectors, notably agriculture, mining and the
\nstate civil service, and seeing to the creation of 1,000 new
\nmillionaires following the payment of N2.6 billion to nearly 2,000
\nretirees, the upward trajectory of impact on the economy of the state
\nwill only continue.<\/p>\n
After coming to power in a time of raging economic crisis, with many
\nstates struggling to even pay monthly salaries of their workers,
\nTambuwal has steadied the ship and prevented a wreck. In one year, he
\nhas engineered quite a few quiet revolutions that are today making loud
\nimpacts in his state. His approach to issues like legislative harmony,
\nyouth and women empowerment, environment, finance and civil service
\nreforms has reshaped governance and stood his administration out as a
\ngovernment of relentless activism.
\n_*IMAM IS THE SPECIAL ADVISER ON MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS TO GOVERNOR
\nTAMBUWAL. HE\u2019S ON TWITTER @IMAMDIMAM_<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Imam Imam The present democratic experiment clocks one year on May 29, 2016 and all over the country, governments will roll out the drums to celebrate their achievements and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n