The Oasis Reporters

News on time, everytime

Editorials

The Necessity of Continuing Dankwambo’s Remarkable Political Journey (II)

Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Executive Governor of Gombe State.

The Oasis Reporters

December 18, 2018

By Abu-Ubaida Ibrahim Kuna

“I may not be able to change the topography of Gombe, but I can do something about the incessant road traffic accidents.”

– Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo

The amiable governor of the Jewel In The Savannah said the above quote as he explained the vision that drove the Urban Renewal Programme which changed the face of Gombe as the capital city.

No doubt the proper planning and careful arrangement of public places helped in no small way to make Gombe an oasis of peace, security and development. As His Excellency explained, the tanker bay and Central Bus Terminal have helped to reduce the risk, control the environment better, organize commuters better, and regulate transportation better.

That must be the reason movement in and out of Gombe is seamless and orderly, just as transporters provide the maximum service.

As an accountant, the economic opportunity for revenue to the state was not lost on the governor, because he indicated that in the long run the Tanker bay and other such facilities would become revenue generating projects, thereby self-sustaining. However, the governor has succeeded in providing the enabling environment for security operatives to secure the state.

Down the road, within the city centre, the governor converted what used to be his country home, family compound into a modern public school so that Gombe children would go to school and get good education. That is the height of public spiritedness and patriotism.

What about the hospital (Idi Maternity) where he was born in 1962 ?
Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo has expanded it into a Women and Children’s Hospital. Indeed, as a homeboy who grew up in the rusty Gombe, Dr. Dankwambo has brought his vision and good taste to bear on the environmental marvel that Gombe has come to be.

Commenting on the hospital, he said: “That was where I was born, that is my place. I am Governor of
Gombe State; I have the responsibility to cater for all the people of the state. I swore on oath to provide for all the people of Gombe State, irrespective of their religious belief, irrespective of their age, irrespective of their location.”

Talban Gombe explains that he does what he is doing as governor because “I have a responsibility to Gombe people, to provide them with infrastructure, security, all sorts of benefit that any other person from any section in Gombe State should be provided with, so I do it as a true citizen of Gombe State, it doesn’t matter where you come from.”

As a technocrat and trained administrator, knowledgeable in the importance of planning, what Dr. Dankwambo did on assumption of office as governor was to set up eleven committees, which undertook baseline assessment in the critical sectors of the economy of Gombe State.

The committees were mandated to suggest the sustainable ways, projecting into the far future of what the state should be in years to come. The committees’ reports, it is important to note, are the foundation of what the administration of Dankwambo is doing in Gombe State since 2011.

The religious implementation of the recommendation of the wise men has been earning the governor plaudits from within and outside Gombe State. How far Governor Dankwambo’s stylish embellishment of the metropolis and provision of top rate amenities, particularly the International Conference Centre, will help to promote tourism cannot be quantified.

Although Gombe appears as a small state, planning and development has expanded its coast, because apart from cement and marble, people have become its attractive assets. Little wonder the governor remarked that people would come to Gombe if not for the provision of unique amenities that make the place comparable to other international destinations.

“So, what we are doing is all part of the package of making Gombe an investable and pleasurable destination for people,” the Governor declared.

You got it, it pays to have a man of learning, good taste and style in leadership.

Kuna is Senior Special Assistant on New Media to Governor Dankwambo.

Greg Abolo

Blogger at The Oasis Reporters.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *