The writer demands accountability from the Governor.
July 10th, 2017.
His Excellency,
Senator Jibrila Bindow,
Executive Governor of Adamawa State,
Office of the Governor,
Adamawan State Government House,
Adamawa state.
Your Excellency,
Where are the dividends of democracy you promised us in Adamawa-State?
Subjects:
i. Domestication of Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. ii. Your campaign promises. iii. Other Related matters.
Your Excellency; please permit me to make this an open letter.
I have to state clearly that I cast my vote for you during the 2015 general election not because I totally believed in your government to bring the needed change to Adamawa State but because, just like other people, I didn’t want the previous administration to remain in power (the decision I don’t regret till this day) because the administration is believed to be non-performing. Also, looking at Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State and you being elected on different party platform (APC), I was hopeful you will borrow ideas from him on how he transformed Gombe State. Looking at the scenario then, as somebody who wants a change in Adamawa State, I encouraged some people to also cast their votes for you but I wish to say that I am disappointed by some of your administration’s policies so far.
Sir, to start with, I don’t understand why it is difficult for your administration to “domesticate” the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
On many occasions, your administration claimed to be transparent, accountable and have respect for the rule of law and yet denied the press the major tool needed to access information and justify the true colour of your administration while you are still in office.
Sir, I challenge your administration to work with the House of Assemble and domesticate the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act in Adamawa state (without watering it down), if your administration is truly different from previous administration in terms of corruption.
Secondly, Sir, I wish to remind you some of your promises before the election specifically the ones you made during the 2015 gubernatorial campaign and to know about your performance on each of the promises so far:
1. Road: Your Excellency Sir, you promised to open up rural areas for our agricultural produce to get to the city. Sir, how many of these roads have been open up since you got to office and where? You promised to dualise all major roads leading to the city. Sir, how many of our major cities road have been dualised so far and where? You promised to construct most of these roads with direct labour. Can you please state how many direct labour acts your administration employed in constructing these roads? Please sir, what is your administration’s progress report on this?
2. Power: Sir, on power generation for the state, build tarmac stations through industrial clusters, The Kiri Dam is in Guyuk local government area of Adamawa State in the north east of Nigeria, damming the Gongola River. It is a 1.2 km long, 20 m high zoned embankment with an internal clay blanket.The dam was mainly completed in 1982. The reservoir has a capacity of 615 million m³ to generate power for the citizens and for our economic developments. What is your administration doing on this and what is the present situation report?
3. Water and Housing: you confirmed the fact that less than 70 per cent of Adamawa State residents have access to clean water in 2015 and we expect to see improvement on that by building mini water works in every local government in the state, along with other water programs. Sir, what have you done to improve on this status putting in mind. On Housing; in 2015 administration build housing units for civil servants (2-bedroom flats and 3-bedroom flats and also it has open up housing estates in the state. What are your administration’s achievements in this regard?
4. Security of lives and property: Sir, during the immediate past administration deliberately put this on four different levels. Job creation through agriculture, commerce, trading and skills acquisitions centers in each local government; social inclusion; social safety net; and security of law enforcement. It is very well commended. Your administration on the security of Adamawa-state. At least we can proudly say that the security has greatly improved during the immediate past administration than what it used to be now on your administrations. Sir, we are now leaving insecure, a person can stand by a road side to make call they will come with knife on him/her and collect his phone, you cannot
withdraw cash from ATM to go back safely; they will point a Gun on a person and collect his money so also inside Keke Napep they collect phones and Money, a group of boys (called Yan Shila) working round the town pointing knife on people robing every were in Adamawa-state. But sir, apart from this achievement of road construction you made in Yola North, Yola South, Numan and Mubi. I wish to know how many direct and indirect jobs your administration has provided within the past 3 years? What have you done about the social safety net? What is going on with the police men on security and safety net of citizens?
5. Economy: You promised to minimize corruption, develop and encourage trading, industrial and commercial activities, resuscitate farm settlements by providing social amenities to encourage youth involvement in agriculture and also transparency and accountability. Sir, though I think your responses on economy are vague, but to what percentage have you been able to reduced corruption in the state? How far have you been able to develop and encourage trading, commercial, and industrial activities; giving the fact that your administration has demolished most of our markets (Yola-Town Market in particular) and it lead to frustrating the poor people while they are holding on to their daily businesses. Sir, what did you do about it? I wish to state clearly here that I’m in total support of demolition of illegal structures, shops and markets especially those on the road and other dangerous zones but I believe a responsible and people - oriented government should have built other alternative markets for people (like in the Boni Haruna’s Jimeta Ultra Mordern Market and the Jimeta Shopping Complex) before embarking on that kind of exercise. I want to believe your administration is working against the common people that cast their votes for you. Sir, by what percentage has your administration improved the state’s IGR (Internally Generated Revenue) and what are its positive impacts on the state?
6. Education: Sir, during the first quarter of this year you declared a state of emergency on education and thereby promised to restore educational infrastructure in the state. You categorically stated in an interview with the media that 77 schools across the three political zones had been built under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Please what have you been able to do on education. Our education is very poor compare to the past administration, there is no any structure build rather than mishandling it. From Primary, Secondary, Polytechnics and University teachers are suffering most especially Post Primary Teachers, suffering for none payment of salaries for three to six months. However, 2019 general election is almost around the corner, and soon you will need the votes of the civil savants and the mercies of the state your administration does not feel concerned. Since your children are enjoying their studies abroad, your administration can afford to waste the time of these youth until whenever you are ready. What is the present state of education you used to campaign? I hope they now have chairs and roof? How many teachers have you been able to recruit within the last 3 years of your administration? It is so funny that your generation benefited from the free education
provided by the generation before you and yet your administration does not see the need to do something drastically to improve on the status of education in our state.
Finally, before I draw the curtain, I wish to seek clarification on some other related issues:
 Sir, what is happening to the N9.5 billion of Paris club given by federal government bond that your administration is proposing? Since your people keep preaching that your administration has not incurred any debt or perhaps I don’t understand the meaning of bond. Please, is bond a debt or a gift?  Sir, do you think Bazza Bridge of Michika LGA is serving its purpose since the Boko Haram Bomb last hit it?  You completely forgot Michika and Madagali as if they hadn’t voted for you during the 2015 general election. You ostentatiously and offensively adopted an ascetic manner of living as if you are not from the same zone; what a shame.
Your Excellency sir, I wish to state clearly that this letter is not in support of any of your opposition but in sole support of what is good for this state. I don’t think you, Senator Jibirilla Bindow deserve another term in office. On your part, we hoped for a better government under your administration, but it now clearly shows that we will get nothing more than empty promises and cheap propaganda. We can only pray that we don’t experience the immediate past administration again. As a person, I have a personal respect for you but when it comes to leadership, you are quite a leader full of flaws. This really has a negative impact on your credibility. Some of us believe you’re now too anxious for power to prove a point that is not in the interest of the masses but for personal reasons.
In conclusion, some of the questions that will be going through Your Excellency’s minds are why did I write this? And what do I want? I personally believe we have to grow beyond sentiments about those that govern us if we really want to move in the right direction; I think your administration has performed below what is expected of you. We want a government that is based on ethical and not personal values; understands the true meaning of democracy and has the political will to pursue the desired change.
Your administration embarked on the “Health” propaganda yet refused to upgrade the existing health facilities. New state Gombe is a good example, why did your administration use the same resources that can be used to upgrade the hospital to build another “Health Facilities” just because your administration wants us to think it performing more than the previous administration. Sir is this truly for the benefit to the masses or to serve the ego of your administration?
Sir, I believe a good leader is the one that looks beyond the present to the future. The previous administration was better, your administration is mere a symdrome of failure, and I believe the next administration will be something else. I sincerely don’t believe this state belongs to either of you alone but to every one of us and you don’t have the right to name it after yourselves but to give us a general identity we can all buy into.
We need a leader that thinks beyond the next term in office and how to build a legacy that the next generation will be proud of. The idea that you are an “Awaits” is laughable. If Admiral Murtal H. Nyako were to think like most of our new crop of politicians, he would have named the German Hospital after himself, or not to build up Skills and Acquisitions Centers in 21 local governments of the state and still to paying each of the trainees for empowerment.
I believe strongly that this administration is not better than the previous administration except for the Road and I am very sure.
We will be exposed to the level of corruption in this administration as soon as another government takes over just the way we miss the previous administrations.
I challenge your administration to domesticate the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act if this administration is truly what it looks like.
Your Excellency Sir, I will be expecting your open reply to my letter.
Yours in nation building,

Joshua Shalakwan K.
(A.K.A Double G)
08031325631
shalakwanjoshua@gmail.com

Open letter to Governor Muhammed Jibrilla Bindow. By Joshua Shalakwan K. (A.K.A Double G) click the link below and read
http:///2teaz57