Columns
Mai Mala Buni: The Unsung Hero

Mai Mala Buni: The Unsung Hero
By: Ibrahim Jirgi
The universal definition of unsung hero is a person who has achieved great things or committed acts of bravery or self-sacrifice, yet is not celebrated or recognized. An unsung hero may be someone who acts bravely in battle without notice, or someone who sacrifices himself for the good of the group, without recognition.Situating the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni in this context, one sees a simple young man leading aa state through and out of a decade of devastating conflict into flourish.Largely unsung, Mai Mala Buni has recorded giant strikes in every developmental sector in the state he governs, though noiselessly.
Buni’s numerous achievements in Yobe that can be seen and felt remained however largely unsung until President Muhammadu’s recent visit to commission some of them. The President himself was elated as he was taken round the projects undertaken by Governor Buni across the state.President Buhari was so excited by the level of development he saw in Yobe that he could not help commending and recommending the Buni model at his next port of, Katsina State, the same week.They included the Damaturu ultra-modern market, Maternal and Child Health Complex at the Yobe State Teaching Hospital, the 2600 Housing Estate in Potiskum and the Damaturu Mega School at new Bra-Bra.
Others were the ultra-modern State Command Headquarters, the Police Tertiary Hospital and access roads, and Police Secondary School.These are just a few of the physical projects executed by Governor Buni that Buhari was able to commission in the short time available for his visit. Physical infrastructure aside, Buni has recorded gigantic achievements in the area of human development involving educational uplifting, training, empowerment of youth and women and skills acquisition.
Just recently for instance, Governor Buni approved the employment of 2,670 Degree, Diploma and NCE holders to provide graduates with job opportunities, and to fill existing gaps required for efficient service delivery in the state.The breakdown of the beneficiaries include 890 University Degree graduates, 890 Higher National Diploma and National Diploma holders, and 890 National Certificate of Education graduates.
The beneficiaries were drawn across the 178 political wards of the 17 local government councils.Thus the Buni government has provided all parts of the state with equal opportunity and sense of belonging and ownership of governance.Three years after he was sworn in as governor, Buni has been untiringly creating, restructuring, and reshaping the education sector of the state, and his projects have taken Yobe to another great level of excellent achievements from the basic to the higher levels.
In this regard, Buni has introduced various educational plans, scholarship programs, rehabilitation of school buildings, teachers’ welfare, and other standard implementations.He came up with a plan to build modern schools around the state. He began with the projects of model primary schools in the areas of Buni Yadi, Damaturu, Geidam, and Potiskum local governments. The schools were built with modern academic standards.
Each school has 48 well-furnished classrooms, 12 staff rooms, and several computers for E-learning and other facilities as a means of revamping the educational status of Yobe State.Buni has also focused on school feeding programs by disbursing billions of naira to support students’ meals, this serves the aim of encouraging children to be punctual and concentrate more on their studies.
On top of that, it also serves as an element to draw the attention of those out-of-school children to get enrolled in school. The school feeding program has helped thousands of pupils fight malnutrition and drastically reduced the number of out-of-school children in the state, if not eliminated.Similarly, the Governor has carefully looked at the welfare of teachers by ensuring stable payment of their salaries and promoting them based on their dedication.
Most of the teachers from the public schools have shared positive reviews on the receipt of adequate welfare, which encourages them to teach the pupils diligently. The Governor’s performance on promotion is another key role in revamping education in Yobe because every staff member faces equal treatment.Buni went ahead with school renovation, from basic to higher institutions.
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The projects which commenced across all the local government areas of Yobe State have led to reforms in the outlook of the most dreaded buildings, learning facilities, accommodation, and other academic amenities needed to carry out educational programs.Basic education has benefited from the rebuilding and transformation of school projects and from looking after the well-being of teachers.
Most of the schools with old buildings and excessive need for facilities benefited from the rebuilding projects all over the state. The teaching materials were also provided with enough space in buildings to accommodate thousands of students, for the essence of outgrowing education status in Yobe State.
The idea of reforming schools by the Buni administration is to change the system of education in Yobe and to bring about a new development policy of drawing back the minds of young children and their parents to get them enrolled in schools with a good standard of teaching and learning for a better future.
At the higher levels, Buni, has displayed an unbeatable performance in various institutions of the state. He provides new departmental buildings at Yobe State University, construction of laboratory rooms, lecture rooms, and roads in Shehu Sule College of Nursing and Midwifery, Damaturu, and similar projects in higher education fields.
Furthermore, there was a scholarship provided by the governor for 233 indigenous students of Yobe State to Glocal University in India, and hence to other countries such as Russia, England, and others. The scholarship program is to promote the system of education in Yobe State and acquire professional courses for helping people.Also, Buni has ordered the massive employment of 2,670 teachers with a Diploma in NCE, and Degree certificates with the number of unemployed graduates drastically reduced across the state.
In the field of politics, Buni as National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress, has without doubt succeeded in reviving, energizing and repositioning the party for victory in future elections.Under Buni, the fortunes of the party has been brightened by the re-organisation and reconciliation of members across the party, so that adding with the work done by the Buni committee, the party has bounced back to life.He was able to achieve this feat in the face of multiple crisis that engulfed the party leading to litigations and presenting a picture of selfishness and division.
***Jirgi, a journalist and Managing Director, Triple Cee Media, writes from Abuja.
Mai Mala Buni: The Unsung Hero
Columns
Africana First Publishers: Poor Reading Culture and the Challenges of Book Publishing in Nigeria

Africana First Publishers: Poor Reading Culture and the Challenges of Book Publishing in Nigeria
By: Balami Lazarus
I was going through my bookshelf looking for a particular bestselling novel when I saw a file that has some records of my work with Africana First Publishers Limited, Onitsha. Going through them was a nostalgia and flashback of traversing around the north to the south of the Niger.
Interestingly, I recalled my colleagues when we used to converge collectively and corporately twice a year for the ‘Epiphany Sales Conference’ in Onitsha at the Book House, the company head office, to assess and evaluate each territory and strategize. It was a period and time for booing and jesting at those lacking behind in discharging their duties in sales and marketing as area managers and educational sales representatives, who are considered the minting arm of the company. I was indeed having fun.
With the resumption of yet another school year, the 2025/2026 academic sessions. And looking back at the book publishing companies in Nigeria, the likes of Africana First Publishers Limited Onitsha, one of the big names in the industry in Nigeria, before the economy started frowning and when the reading culture was above average, and a time when schools and parents were buying books for their libraries and for their children at all levels.
My years of teaching literature in English, where reading is paramount, have given me a continuous tense in the three literary genres: prose, drama, and poetry, and it is a must for students to have all the
texts. This experience has made me see practically that the reading culture is in its coffin, waiting to be nailed finally for burial. I now agreed with one of my friends who recently met me engrossed in a novel and said, ‘Do Nigerians still read books?’Well, for me, you cannot take away books from my life because I love reading, and it is one of my hobbies.
The book publishing business was not of interest to Nigerians until a few decades ago, when some businessmen began to get involved by taking over the control and management of some foreign book publishing companies. Far East Publishers is now Africana First Publishers. Longman is now Learn Africa Publishers. Oxford University Press is today University Press Ibadan. And Macmillan London is addressed as Macmillan (Nigeria) Publishers, among a few others. This tells you that nearly all books used before the emergence of indigenous participation are published by foreign firms and authors.
I came to understand that the book publishing business is capital intensive for what it takes to establish a book publishing company, and being a player in this industry with the current economic difficulties and the very poor reading culture is not encouraging.
Are you aware that there are great differences between publishers and printers? But most people wrongly put them in the same basket, while they are not. Publishers are more of an element in the nature of knowledge contributing to the economy. While printers do the finishing work by printing and binding them into books.
It is a pity today that most book publishing companies are winding up as a result of poor reading culture, economic challenges, and the internet that has sent some packing.
Balami, a publisher/columnist. 08036779290
Africana First Publishers: Poor Reading Culture and the Challenges of Book Publishing in Nigeria
Columns
Deponents and the Consequences of Sworn Affidavits as Legal Documents

Deponents and the Consequences of Sworn Affidavits as Legal Documents
By: Balami Lazarus
In the course of writing this article, three names came to my mind who are legal gentlemen. Though one of them is no more. These men have contributed to my knowledge and understanding of the law in conducting my real estate business as a registered broker and how it works in the courts of law. However, I am not a lawyer, and I have never wished or aspired to be one despite the opportunities and privilege of being alive and in good health.
The understanding of some basic aspects of the laws is far away from many Nigerians. Well, my knowledge and fair understanding of some laws is from personal self-development. While my late brother Barr. John Kamdadi Balami and my good friend Barr. (Dr.) Nankin Samuel Bagudu, one of the radical human rights lawyers on the Plateau, were instrumental to my understanding of some aspects of the law/court procedures. And what to do in running my business and living life as a law-abiding citizen who respects constituted authorities/orders.
Another personality who is a friend and a brother by extension, a fine legal gentleman whose name I will not mention, is today a respected Honourable member of the Bench and has also played a significant role in my understanding of the law and what to do when and if the need arises.
My dealings with the courts of law have taught me patience, because courts under judges are a calm body of the judiciary. It is a place where you are given a fair hearing and judgement.
Furthermore, courts are where you can obtain signed legal documents on oath to different kinds of affidavits on civil matters/issues that directly concern the deponents, knowing fully well the consequences of lying while under lawful oath. This is because affidavits are official prescribed declarations of what one writes and claims to be true under oath. And that when and if the court finds out one is lying, you are liable for perjury.
Moreover, my association and interactions with human and civil rights organizations/associations, including my activities and contributions in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) matters for peacefully amicable settlements and/orconflict resolutions, have further exposed me to understanding of what affidavits are.
The courtrooms under judges are interesting places to be in seeking legal redress. But I have observed that many are not comfortable with the courts of law, not knowing they are hallmarks of legal protection, justice, and punishments under the laws of the land. Judges are known to be kind individuals with large hearts. They are men of privilege under and outside the law. It is at their discretion to temper justice with mercy in either civil or criminal cases. And it has also exposed me to who legal practitioners are with their legal rhetoric in court before a judge.
Therefore, courts are not only meant for fair hearings and judgments but also for where you find justice and legal protections through legal redress and sworn affidavits.
Balami, a publisher/columnist. 08036779290
Deponents and the Consequences of Sworn Affidavits as Legal Documents
Columns
Angry, Bitter, Frustrated Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe of Kanke and His Political Bandits

Angry, Bitter, Frustrated Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe of Kanke and His Political Bandits
By: Balami Lazarus
I disliked joining or responding to partisan issues or arguments with individuals or groups of persons in any form or manner for or against, as the case may be. This is because most times many out there are not objective in such matters. Rather, they are damned and condemned in totality without consideration or a second thought. But here am I, doing what I don’t like. I will then be brief with this work, believing it to be my first short write-up.
My concern as an individual in a democracy has always been any individual who can bring changes and deliver the dividends of democracy through good governance to his people, not the political party as a platform. But this has been the norm for many citizens, likeNentawe Yiltwada Goshwe of Kanke and his political bandits.
The late Waziri Ibrahim of Borno, once a leader of the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), had the watchword
“Politics without bitterness” has been the guiding principle of his party and members. Meaning politics is not a do-or-die affair. Unlike Nentawe and his men on the Plateau, who have been blowing fouls against Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang’s administration since 2023, until when? Only God knows.
I will hereby narrow this piece of work and its context to angry, bitter, and frustrated Nentawe and others who are deliberately refusing to come to reality with the positive developments on the Plateau because of their disjointed, myopic, and comatose state of mind that has not allowed them to see anything good done and/oraccomplished by the Mutfwang government.
Their intent through Nentawe is venomous, demonstrated in his political attitudes towards the government and the people-oriented projects carried out by the state down to his village, Dungung Ampang East District in Kanke Local Government Area. The citizens are witnesses to these laudable infrastructural/social amenities projects.
I will also appreciate answers to these questions:Who is Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe in the last 20 years of Plateau State? What are his political pedigrees in the state?Can this Kanke man be trusted with the mantle of the state leadership?
Speaking recently on the radio, he descended heavily with a sledgehammer on the administration of Governor Caleb Mutfwang with frivolous unsubstantiated statements oiled with dead lubricants of lies of anger and bitterness with sword-edged extensions to the doorsteps of the Caleb Mutfwang family. “With the allocations coming to the state, there is nothing to show for it.” According to him, Mutfwang and his brothers are siphoning public funds meant for the state. Haba! Nentawe of Dungung.
For me, Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe and his political gangsters/mobsters are enemies of the state who are working with anger, bitterness, and frustrations in an attempt to politically discourage the good citizens of the state from supporting the able, progressive, and focused Governor Caleb Mutfwang, who has shown and displayed a high sense of political maturity and purpose in governance in piloting the affairs of the state against all prevailing odds, including that of Nentawe and his frustrated political bandits who were voted out of Little Rayfield, Jos, the seat of power.
Balami, a publisher/columnist. 08036779290
Angry, Bitter, Frustrated Nentawe Yiltwada Goshwe of Kanke and His Political Bandits
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