Gov. Kefas and His Committee on Facilitation of Developments and Investments
By Ibrahim Gaddafi Tanko
Since the announcement of the establishment of the committee that will help drive developments and investments into Taraba State by the visionary administration of Dr. Agbu Kefas, I have listened to hues and cries as well as positive commendations streaming in to justify and or condemn such a high-level task force.
The reasons, ranging from the jejune to the plausible, demonstrate that we are all involved and interested in the development of our dear state, Taraba, a treasure waiting to be unlocked.
I dare say that, with the benefit of hindsight, the importance of constituting such a panel far outweighs its demerits, considering the litany of abandoned projects in our dear state and the need to attract more.
Traveling from Adamawa into Jalingo barely a month ago, I saw firsthand the risk associated with plying that route and the brazen security threat it poses to our people, making a journey that ordinarily shouldn’t be more than an hour stretch to over three hours.
That road, as I was told in Mayo Lope where I stopped to refill our tank, is a danger zone, as one can be easily kidnapped or robbed without a whimper, as even the security operatives will have a difficult task coming to intervene due to the debilitating nature of the artery.
And this is a road that contract has been awarded, works started but has now been abandoned.
What of the Ibi bridge? A critical national infrastructure that is expected to link North Eastern Nigeria with the North Central as well as other states of the southern region.
The project, as I currently write, is in comatose, waiting to be resuscitated, as the contractors, Reynolds Construction Company Limited, a multinational firm reputed for constructing quality roads and bridges like that of Loko-Oweto, have also abandoned the site due to lack of continuous funding.
The Ibi bridge project, as well as that of the Numan-Jalingo road, were awarded by the Buhari regime at the cost of N50 billion and N11 billion, respectively.
But due to a clear case of lack of commitment by the contractors or the indifference of the awarding entity, the Federal Ministry of Works, these critical national infrastructures that are supposed to open up Taraba State with the rest of the country, attract investments, thereby reducing youths’ restiveness, are nowhere to be found.
The case of the Ibi bridge is even more disheartening, as I am told that some bad eggs in our society have resorted to destroying the pillars already erected in search of scrap irons to be sold at the black market at ridiculous prices.
This will, without doubt, subject the integrity of those pillars to question, as the contractors will definitely request for a variation of the contract.
The Mambilla hydro power project is another sour development, as nothing on the ground suggests that works have already begun.
That project is key to solving our nation’s electricity challenges that will invariably make our country the power headquarters of the West African sub-region.
So the work of the Senator Haruna Manu-led Development and Investments Facilitation Committee is well cut out, as there is an urgent need to engage with the federal authorities to fast-track these projects and bring them back to life for the benefit of our people.
Senator Manu, a reputed goal-getter, must not fail in this assignment, having served as Deputy Governor of the state in the last dispensation for an unbreakable period of eight years.
He is well aware of the issues surrounding our developmental challenges.
The choice of Barrister Uba Maigari to serve as alternate chair is another masterstroke, as a member of the Federal Executive Council and Minister of State for Regional Development.
He will definitely avail the committee with the necessary tools, contact, and networks to engage with his colleagues in the cabinet who are in charge of areas that will be of interest to the committee.
There is no doubt also that the likes of Hon. Sadiq Abbas Tafida, Member of the House of Representatives, an intellectual of no mean repute, who has taken up the Numan to Jalingo road as his own baby, will deploy his passion, readiness, and commitment to the success of the exercise.
Give it up for Governor Kefas; he understands that the development of the state is a joint task and a collective exercise.
That’s why the membership of the committee cuts across party lines. That’s the mindset we need to develop our state.
At this point, it is important to state that this assignment must be given the seriousness it deserves.
It must not be turned into another charade or a tea party which have been the fate of committees of this nature in the recent past.
Members have the onerous responsibility of justifying the confidence reposed in them as our people who are in dire need of redemption look up to them for salvation.
To those who say it is an instrument or a ploy to siphon the state’s resources, I believe members of the task force would be patriotic and see the job as a call to duty and operate pro-bono as it is time to give back to our dear Taraba.
The state has been so good to these individuals; from their submissions at the meeting with the China Civil Engineering Construction Company convened by Governor Kefas on Friday last week.
It is clear that Taraba’s progress and development trump all other considerations.
Gaddafi writes from Abuja, the nation’s capital. He can be reached at Gaddafi_i@yahoo.com.
