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Facing the Realities of Security and Development Challenges in Borno State - Zulum

Nov 05, 2019   •   by   •   Source: Proshare   •   eye-icon 2200 views

Tuesday, November 05, 2019 / 08:07 AM / OpEd By Babagana Umara Zulum /  Header Image Credit: PremiumTimes

 

Being the full text of Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum's opening remarks on Saturday, October 19, 2019 at a two-day retreat convened for members of the State Executive Council (SEC) to implement the state's security and development agenda arising from the challenges of the Boko Haram insurgency. The meeting held in Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area.

 

Fellow members of the Borno State Executive Council (commissionersand others), I am sure most, if not everyone of you here, may be wonderingwhy I brought us to Damasak, of all places, to hold our first retreat.

 

Damasak, as we know, is one of the liberated strongholds of the BokoHaram insurgents. It was one of the areas they controlled as a sovereigncaliphate using laws that were violent and alien to Islam and humanity.

 

Damasak as we know it, is still a shadow of its era of prosperity. Manycitizens, including those from here, rarely visit. But we are here, and we arehere for a very important, and for me; a historic retreat. The first under myleadership.

 

If we are to go by traditions in both public and private sectors,retreats are held in the most serene and oftentimes, luxurious environments.The reason is for a corporate logic, that retreats are mixtures of formal andsocial gatherings used to review and strategize ways to attain organizationalobjectives. Retreats are meant for participants to contribute beautiful andoutside-the-box ideas.  For participants to think outside the box duringretreats, they need to be under serene environments.  This is the generalpractice.

 

However, ladies and gentlemen, holding retreats under serene atmosphereis reserved for those who live and operate under normal circumstances. 

 

Fellow council members, I will like to remind us very strongly that ourcircumstances in Borno State are not normal. If we had decided to hold ourretreat in Maiduguri, Abuja or perhaps at Obudu Cattle ranch in Cross Riversstate, we may not be totally true to ourselves and sensitive to the plight ofour own people.

 

The wisdom of convening this retreat in Damasak, headquarters of Mobbarlocal government area in the most troubled northern part of Borno State, is tobring all of us, face to face with the realities of our challenges in Borno.

 

Driving from Maiduguri to this place (Damasak), we have passed majortowns like Gubio and Kareto which have become near ghosts of what they used tobe. We have seen villages that are without human occupation. We have seen onthe road, soldiers at different points, clearly indicating that all is notnormal with Borno.

 

Damasak, where we are today, used to be one of Borno's agro-economiccentres. Damasak used to be a large-scale producer and exporter of farm producelike tomatoes, pepper and other vegetables. Thousands of wealthy farmers andtransporters, other fellow citizens have been killed, displaced to NigerRepublic and forced to become beggars. We are here to remind ourselves that theoath of offices we differently took in May, June, August and September 2019 isnot for luxury. Borno has serious challenges and we have individually swornwith the Holy Qur'an and the Holy Bible to do whatever we can in trying toaddress the challenges facing Borno State.

 

We are here to spend only few days in Damasak but there are thousands ofour fellow brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, who live here onpermanent basis. We are here to feel their stay and to remind us of their needsfor continued safety; their needs for shelter; their needs for medical care;their needs for water; their needs for schools; their needs for means oflivelihoods. When we drove into this lodge, we saw hundreds of our young sonsand daughters welcoming us happily. We saw wives, sisters, mothers and fathersjoining they welcome us. Whereas they all wore happy faces, we know thatmajority of them are in distress.

 

We should therefore regard Damasak as an example of the realities facingall of our 27 local government areas, particularly those in northernBorno.

 

Fellow council members, it was unusual that you were probably not awarethat our coming here as I left Maiduguri was meant for a retreat. Although youknew we were to spend some nights somewhere in the state, you neither knew ourdestination nor the purpose for which we embarked on this purposeful journey.Of course, I do know that preparatory to publicized retreats, participantsnormally consult their own minds and the minds of others, to come with them,some contributions they intend to make. I deliberately did not inform youbecause I want all of us to make contributions that will come from our hearts.I want us to make contributions that will be driven by the realities we see inDamasak and which are the realities in many of our communities.

 

Some people normally say that good thinking better happens under sereneenvironments. From my personal experience in life, however, I do share thethought, that sometimes, good thinking happens better and even faster, under anatmosphere of discomfort. Being face to face with challenging realities, tendto reveal the best in those who are determined to overcome the challenges theysee and feel.

 

I want every one of us to think outside the box. I want every one of usto think from the heart; to freely and honestly, make suggestions that arerealistic. I want everyone to contribute on how we can be more accountable;more prudent; more productive and more focused.

 

At this retreat, ladies and gentlemen, we shall not only come up withideas that are achievable but Insha'Allah, we shall be setting for ourselvestimelines within which we are to achieve every goal we aim. We shall allreaffirm our purposes of holding public trust and re-dedicate ourselves to theselfless and fearless service of the good people of Borno State.

 

Thank you. 


Proshare Nigeria Pvt. Ltd.

 

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