Of Zulum and 2023: The usual drama as election year returns in Borno

Of Zulum and 2023: The usual drama as election year returns in Borno

By James Bwala

To say that the Borno state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum is an overrated, clueless, and corrupt Governor at this time when election year is approaching is nothing but the usual dramatism of political year. Perhaps the writer, who did not do justice to put down his full name on the article: Zulum: An overrated, clueless, and corrupt Governor may have been as clueless of the situation in Borno state as he attempted to paint the governor in the buildup for 2023.

Characters as such, recently have been coming out  with corrupt dripping pens trying to justify their pay masters, who may have fallen apart with the Zulum administration in the state. Recently they have made attempts to pull some strings around the governor and his predecessor and senator representing Borno Central at the hollow chambers of Nigeria’s highest political law making body. They try to sell mischief in the way they know it, but never thought that time has passed on such occasions.

According to the writer, who only identifies himself as AB Asinamai, governor Babagana Umara Zulum is many things to different people, which I tend to agree with him on. However, while the good job Zulum has been doing in Borno is raising and derailing people like this writer who sees achievements as clueless and development as corruption, I would like to draw his attention to over 700 public oriented achievements under the Zulum administration in Borno state and this is still counting.

While I would have loved this writer to dwell on issues rather than tissues, I would want him to go back if he has any of the press releases the governor’s media aids have released to cross check with facts on ground or see to where they have implicated themselves or the governor on his developmental and achievements drive in the last three years.

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Not only to the beneficiaries of the Zulum administration, who see him as a Messiah, many visitors to Borno state have rated Professor Babagana Umara Zulum in the context of heroes who stood against enemies’ brick wall of development. That is also the reason why Zulum’s predecessor and former governor of Borno state Senator Kashim Shettima is being celebrated today. Indeed, it takes a man with focus and great vision to bring people like Zulum to fruition.

Whether Zulum is a saint or the devil himself as this writer tries to portray. It is only justifiable that his image makers do the job they are employed to do. Therefore, to accused them of fashioning Zulum as a good blade to the people he served is most uncharitable to the pen profession on which the writer also is riding to present his worries of the man he neither know too deeply to comment on at least from his analysis of the situation about governance and development in Borno state.

On whether the governor is friendly or unfriendly in the handling of civil servants in the state, the matter he is trying to raise lies on the Borno civil servants to come out through a press conference to address. That should be more acceptable rather than hiding under whatever guise to discuss matters of Borno state civil servants from the point of timidity as the writer did.

The rest of his lines are a vibrating pack, which he tries to portray himself as neutral in his assumptions. But I also thank him for not lying about some of the achievements the governor has made over the last three years of his stewardship of Borno state. I believe Zulum remains a key magnifier in breaking down the real meaning of governance as we see of his stand with the people. 

Of Zulum and 2023: The usual drama as election year returns in Borno