By; DAHIRU SULEIMAN, Dutse
Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State has said that despite being plagued by numerous political, religious and economic crises, the unity that was evident in the country in the past 61 years is worth celebrating as the future of the nation remains bright. A goodwill message to the nation on the occasion of its 61st independence anniversary signed by his Senior Special Assistant (Print Media), Ahmad Muhammad Danyaro, lauded the resoluteness and patriotism of Nigerians, which he said, is the reason the country has remained a single, united and sovereign nation. “Notwithstanding the problems of nation building which we may be grappling with at the moment, the Nigerian spirit is alive and kicking and should continue to be nourished as the vehicle of our national journey,” he said. The Jigawa State Governor added that, “I want to pay special tributes to all our past leaders for all the sacrifices they made to lay a solid foundation upon which those who succeeded them pursued and worked vigorously for the actualization of their dreams and the good vision they had for us”. Badaru advised the people of Jigawa State not to despair despite the challenges of the present times.
He urged them to rekindle their hope in the greatness of the state and the country.
Similarly, a Dutse based social critic has said that the country has come a long way and made a remarkable progress in the past 61 years.
Politically, the country has moved from paliamentry system of governance through mililtary governments to presidential system of government. The political administrative structure was transformed from 4 regions to the current structure of 36+1 states and 774 LGAs.
In an telephone interview on the country’s Independence day, he further stated that this arrangement allows broad based community participation in governance and equitable distribution of resources.
“Nigeria has made giant strides socially and economically in its quest for human development.
“Schools, universities. hospitals, stadia, water supply, power supply, communications, mass media, industries, roads and many social amenities are readily available in the nooks and cranies of Nigeria. Abuja the Federal Capital Territory was conceived and actualized,” he said.
Also, the Jigawa All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Alh. Muhammad Dukuma Umar said that the APC-led administration of Governor Badaru Abubakar has brought about series of developmental initiatives in areas of agricultural revolution in terms of boosting irrigation farming through Anchor Borrowers Scheme, empowering over 17,000 youth with gainful employment under State Economic Empowerment Scheme, provision of free ante-natal care for pregnant women, women, students and accident victims, among others.
” We’re confident that with the stipulated measures in place by the present administration, certainly we will overcome our predicaments,” he added.
On security challenges confronting the country, the Jigawa APC boss emphasised that with the level of success recorded so far by security agents, “I am confident that sooner or later the issues of kidnapping, banditry and the Boko Haram will be a matter of the past.”
