Aliyu’s rough road to state building
By Baba Haruna
Leadership by example is a great virtue that deserves commendation by all. A true leader does not see himself as a superior human being to his subjects. He personalises the pains and happiness of his people tireslessly. This is what Governor of Sokoto state, Dr Ahmad Aliyu is doing in the Seat of Caliphate.
Since inauguration and assumption of office of the executive governor, he puts the welfare and wellbeing of the people of the state on his focal agenda .Day and night Aliyu is devising new ways to ease the life of residents in Sokoto. And one thing of note here is that his beneficence knows no political, religious or ethnic boundaries. Thus all residents of Sokoto are direct beneficiaries of the dividends of democracy through a selfless leader.
The Sokoto state government, under Gov Aliyu earmarked a whopping N6.7bn for the feeding of the poor and underprivileged persons in the state in the ongoing one month Ramadan fast.
Wasn’t it natural Gov Aliyu stirred the joy of Sokoto people during the flag-off of the distribution of grains to 18,400 orphans and the destitute across the state at Sokoto state government house?
He established 605 Ramadan fast breaking centres across the state and
gave the directive that the underprivileged persons be fed at the blessed feeding centres created by the state..
The breakdown of the expenditure shows that N1.2bn was allocated to 244 wards feeding centres while N797.9m was allocated to the existing 335 feeding centres across the state.
Also he sets aside N288m for 26 special feeding centres for people with disabilities.
Not yet done, Gov Aliyu ensures that each of the 18,400 orphans and destitute receives bags of rice and millet with N5,000 cash.
The Sultan of Sokoko, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar commended the governor for sustaining the Ramadan feeding programme, which interestingly, was initiated by Gov Aliyu’s mentor, Aliyu Wammako.
It is important for Nigerian leader to take a cue from Aliyu and begin to see and do what is right as leaders. When they do this, the people will pray for them and God will shower them more blessings.
Aliyu who is working a well drawn out nine-point agenda which is aimed at transforming the state and helping humanity is on the right course, even as he calls all well-meaning individuals in the state to show compassion to the needy.
He has also subsidised transportation in the state for seamless movement of goods and services for market women students as well as businessmen and women. All was part of efforts to cushion the effects of the high cost of food items and transportation due to the sudden removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 on residents of the state.
To ensure the palliatives gets to the people they are meant for, the governor set up a committee that would monitor the distribution of the foodstuffs across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Fortunately for the state, besides the vehicles, another 10 buses donated to the state by the BUA group come handy.
People who are aware of the progress Gov Aliyu is making in Sokoto have applauded his leadership style. He works tiresly towards the attainment of good governance and delivery of the dividends of democracy to people in the state. He goes about improving the people’s welfare as if the next day will be too late. Indeed, Gov Aliyu deserved commendation considering the number of landmark projects he executed with limited available resources within one hundred days in office.
Now that individuals and corporate organisations in the opposition, especially have seen the good things Gov Aliyu is presenting to his people, won’t it be right for them to come and join hands with his government to move the state forward? This is a call we must all answer for the future of our children.
For he has left nobody in doubt of his ability, commitment and sincerity to perform creditably and efficiently as the beginning of his administration has shown his grandplan and benevolence for the overall socio-economic development of the state.
Now we have clearly seen that Dr Aliyu will continue to provide the needed services to people in the state and implement all the necessary policies and programmes for sustainable growth and development in the state. Therefore, I call all and sundry to join hands with him to make his great work of state building easier.
Baba Haruna writes from Sokoto, Sokoto State.