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The Pathfinder Clocks 56

The Pathfinder Clocks 56
Zulum’s age showcases life in years, not years in life
By Dauda Iliya
What matters in the life of a man is not the number of years in his life but the quality of life in those years. This should even be more applicable to leaders than to the led in all aspects of human affairs.
Every person entrusted with the responsibility of political cum public office should be rich in the capacity to uphold the trust reposed in him by his people, and discharge the concomitant duties and responsibilities to them according to their needs and aspirations.
As he ages on in life, counting the number of years he has lived on Earth, should savour satisfaction from, and build his inner peace with, his accomplishments that purposefully and qualitatively impact the life of the people whose affairs he, by sheer divine providence, has been entrusted with the management of.
How rich is he in the capacity required for the discharge of his political cum public office duties and responsibilities to the people? How much has he accomplished in the discharge of those duties and responsibilities on the scale of the resources made available for the purpose, surmounting all towering challenges, and how has he converted challenges to opportunities, obstacles to stepping stones, in the course of service to the people?

How has he towered above board in the conduct of public service? How much enviable value has he added to the service of the society according to the needs and aspirations of its people? How well has he performed in building and sustaining his personality as a compass in the search for guidance towards purposeful and qualitative public service?
How high and remarkably does he stand out among all other leaders, in person and personae, before and after him in the history of purposeful and prosperous service to the humanity?
All these considerations factor vitally in determining the quality of life in the years he has lived on Earth, not merely the number of years he has lived in life.
It is pertinent to weigh the present Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on the scale of these vital factors in determining the quality of leadership and public service to his beleaguered Borno State and its peoples, as he attains the age of 56 in life on Earth, Monday, August 25.
As a pacesetter, Zulum is the first Professor to govern the state in its history. To some, this historic educational attainment may not be striking enough to warrant any spectacular recognition that should enviably stand him out of all other personalities that governed the state before him.

However, to others, this educational attainment is remarkably striking, because it serves as the most-desired foundation for him to conceive, craft and efficiently coordinate the deployment of the most-relevant, most-potent and, indeed, cutting age programmes and projects desired for the rescue of an entity out of its epochal humanitarian crisis which, hitherto threatened to crush it out of existence.
Gifted with rare foresight and proactivity, Zulum has governed a Borno ravaged in all sectors by a global-scale terror and its attendant humanitarian crisis over the last fifteen years, steering it out of the global-scale turbulence it has been floundering in, and repositioning it for comprehensive rehabilitation and reconstruction for a prosperity that fast restores its pre-Boko Haram/ISWAP terror glory.
The pathfinding Zulum has purposefully and efficiently deployed his intellectual prowess to craft and drive sustainable reforms for the rapid resuscitation of Borno. The Borno Model of societal recovery he crafted earned him dazzling praises from the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.
Most-spectacular of such reforms are the 25-year Development Plan, Borno State Strategy for Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement, the Borno Model for Peace, Reconciliation and Development, Transitional Justice Framework, under which he has closed all IDP camps that has littered Maiduguri over the last fifteen years, and returning the IDPs to their ancestral lands to rebuild their lives, with the prime purpose of fast-tracking the reconstruction and rapid growth of the state economy.

Faced with the stark reality that there is certainly no shortcut to the desired comprehensive restoration of the state in all sectors from the crisis, and such restoration cannot be achieved with hundreds of thousands of IDPs surviving on handouts from international donors and food palliatives by government, the Professor of Agricultural Engineering carefully coordinated the relocation of the entire IDP population to their ancestral communities to resume their farming, fishing and trading activities that built and sustained an enviable economy for Borno over the ages.
His foresight and vision led him to invest in the health sector, building quality healthcare delivery institutions, most notably the Borno State University Teaching Hospital, Orthopaedic Hospital, Dental and Eye Hospitals, and scholarship for hundreds of the state indigenes to train as medical doctors and other health related personnel.
Zulum’s six years as Borno State Governor are six years of purposeful leadership that reshaped state’s economic, social, and infrastructural landscape from the epicentre of insurgency to a hub for viable economic investments. Consequently, Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) ranks Borno among the top 10 ranking states in the federation on ease of doing business.

This remark is contained in a presentation on ” Sub national ease of doing business report” by the project manager SABER secretariat Abuja Ms Aimeya Okpebholo.
His humility, generosity, perseverance, simplicity, resilience and, uncommon commitment to justice and fairness in the distribution of development across Borno State and, above all, his impeccable passion for good governance to rescue the state from the sticky humanitarian crisis breathe bubbling life to the years he has lived on Earth.
His exemplary passion for service to humanity has enabled him to write his name in gold in the pages of history with regard to leadership and good governance in Nigeria.
At 56, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State proudly exhibits that what should matter in one’s age is the quality of life he has lived on Earth in his given capacity, rather than the mere number of years he has lived.
Happy birthday, Your Excellency
The Pathfinder Clocks 56
News
RHI Presents Food Items to Vulnerable Groups in Yobe State

RHI Presents Food Items to Vulnerable Groups in Yobe State
…Making it the 20th State to Benefit from the Support
By: Our Reporter
The Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Food Outreach Program, launched in Abuja in March 2024 to provide monthly support to vulnerable groups and persons with disabilities, has reached Yobe State—making it the 20th state to benefit from the initiative.
Since its inception, the program has covered Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, and Sokoto States before arriving in Yobe.
With generous support from the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa) and another industrialist who prefers to remain anonymous, assorted food items were delivered, bringing relief to many households, particularly those with disabilities.
The First Lady and Chairman of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, noted that donors provide two truckloads of food items to each beneficiary state for onward distribution. Represented by the Wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, she highlighted Yobe as a major beneficiary of RHI programs and interventions.
These include:

- The Tony Elumelu Foundation Women Economists Empowerment Program, which supported 500 women with ₦50,000 each.
- The RHI Women Agricultural Support Scheme, where 20 women received ₦500,000 each.
- A ₦68.9 million grant from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to the Young Farmers Club.
- Annual financial support to senior citizens, with 100 beneficiaries receiving ₦100,000 each in 2023 and 250 beneficiaries receiving ₦200,000 each.
- A ₦50 million financial grant to 1,000 petty traders.
- The Women in ICT Program, aimed at empowering women in the digital economy.
According to Senator Tinubu, these interventions are designed to complement the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni represented by his Deputy Governor, Alhaji Idi Barde Gubana reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the initiative, noting that the state has aligned with RHI through various empowerment programs for women, children, and vulnerable groups. These include the distribution of household items, skill acquisition schemes, and post-insurgency recovery programs that have economically empowered many women.
The State Coordinator of RHI and Wife of the Yobe State Governor, Hajiya Hafsat Kollere Buni, expressed gratitude to the First Lady for extending such impactful support to Yobe State. She also looked forward to stronger collaborations to further project the ideals of RHI and improve the lives of the people.
Also present at the event was Dr. Ubong Udoh, Managing Director of the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative, one of the key donors to the program.- RHI Presents Food Items to Vulnerable Groups in Yobe State


News
Monguno says lack of national cohesion fuels insurgency

Monguno says lack of national cohesion fuels insurgency
By: Zagazola Makama
Former National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), has warned that Nigeria’s fight against insurgency will remain elusive without national cohesion and a united front across society.
Monguno stated this in Abuja on Thursday at the launch of Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a new book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.).
He said Boko Haram and other violent groups had thrived by exploiting Nigeria’s divisions, stressing that disunity among citizens, political actors, and institutions weakened the country’s capacity to defeat terrorism.
“Without national cohesion, insurgency will not end. Terrorists feed on our fault lines – ethnic, religious, political – and they weaponise them against us. If we remain divided, no amount of military might will deliver lasting peace,” Monguno said.
He urged Nigerians to rise above parochial sentiments and embrace a spirit of patriotism, solidarity, and common purpose. According to him, the fight against insurgency must go beyond the battlefield to include reconciliation, justice, and inclusive governance.
The retired General emphasised that the scars left by Boko Haram were not just physical but also psychological and social, making unity a vital condition for national healing.
“The book reminds us that security is not just the work of soldiers. It is the responsibility of leaders, institutions, and citizens. Unless we build cohesion, insurgency will continue to mutate in different forms,” he added.
Monguno commended Gen. Irabor for documenting his experience, describing the work as a guide that combines history, strategy, and national lessons for the future.
The event was attended by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, the Minister of Defence, service chiefs, traditional rulers, diplomats, and senior government officials.
Monguno says lack of national cohesion fuels insurgency
News
Kukah says military operations alone cannot end insurgency, stresses soft power approach

Kukah says military operations alone cannot end insurgency, stresses soft power approach
By: Zagazola Makama
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said Nigeria cannot defeat insurgency through military operations alone, stressing the need to embrace soft power and address root causes of insecurity.
Kukah made this known in Abuja on Thursday while reviewing Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum, a new book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd.).
He said the country’s reliance on military doctrines and repeated counter-insurgency operations had failed to produce lasting peace because Boko Haram represented an ideology, not just an armed threat.
“For years, we have had Operation Lafiya Dole, Operation Restore Order, Operation Hadin Kai, Operation Safe Haven, and many others. Yet, when one operation fails, another is launched. These operations have not ended the insurgency because you cannot fight an idea with weapons alone,” Kukah said.
The cleric argued that describing the insurgency only in military terms forecloses other sources of information and non-kinetic solutions that are critical to peacebuilding.
According to him, Boko Haram’s struggle is framed as a jihad, and many of its fighters see death as martyrdom, making them indifferent to conventional deterrence.
“The challenge before us is not merely about defeating insurgents on the battlefield, but about understanding the soft issues of life and death. Guns cannot build peace; soft power must complement military power,” he said.
Kukah pointed to chapters 11, 12 and 13 of Irabor’s book, which emphasise reconciliation, good governance, justice, and national healing as critical conditions for security.
He praised the author’s reflections for going beyond military strategy, describing them as “the writings of a priest” that call for dialogue, reforms and moral renewal.
The bishop added that Nigeria must prioritise structural reforms, political inclusion, patriotism, and judicial integrity to tackle grievances that feed extremism.
“The urgency now is to invest in soft power – in human development, reconciliation, and building trust in institutions. Military operations can only create space; it is ideas and justice that will sustain peace,” Kukah said.
The event attracted former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, senior government officials, service chiefs, diplomats, and other dignitaries.
End
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