Muhammadu lnuwa Yahaya, the dynamic Governor of Gombe State is once again in the spotlight as the compassionate cheer giver with his constitution of a task force to urgently distribute over 86,000 bags of millet,rice and beans, 850 gallons of cooking oil, 2,400 packets of salt and 2,000 combo packs of pasta and other crucial food items to the less privileged and other vulnerable members of Gombe society.
Governor Yahaya cited the recent flood disasters that affected some parts of the state as well as the prevailing economic conditions as cogent factors that informed the distribution of the needed palliatives to the people: ‘We are not unmindful of the yearnings of the people.lt is therefore against this backdrop that we deemed it necessary to intervene in order to bring succour to the less privileged ones’ .
However, the Gombe State helmsman cautioned against any ilegal diversion of the food items warning that: ‘We will not take it lightly on anyone found wanting. I will personally ensure that such a person faces the wrath of the law’.
Unlike some leaders that do not care a hoot about the welfare of their toiling people preferring to amass stupendous wealth both at home and abroad, Governor lnuwa Yahaya is cut from a positively different cloth, preferring to invest in his people’s overall well-being rather than the pursuit of material lucre.
Provision and distribution of food items, relief materials, cash donations and empowerment materials is a regular feature of Governor Yahaya’s benevolent administration as he believes that it is not all about infrastructural development, construction of roads, bridges, houses etc but also by way of physical nourishment and the adequate supply of food that can raise the socio-economic indices of the people. Indeed, Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s administration was singled out for deserved commendations by the Federal Government and the various interventionist agencies for its proactive response towards ameliorating the plight of the people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period. For instance during the EndSars protests, unlike in other neighbouring states,Gombe State did not witness any of the looting and plundering of warehouses storing food items. While protesters,looters and other disgruntled elements broke open and looted warehouses storing sundry food items, none of such anomalies occured in Gombe State during the tumultuous period as exclusively reported by a leading national daily on the 31st October 2020.
Indeed the mass looting by the deprived populace points crucially to a critical disconnect between the people and government at all levels and there is a need for the adoption of decisive confidence building measures by the nation’s leaders in order to restore trust, hope and confidence in the institutions of governance and its administrators.
On this score, the Gombe state government under the people focused leadership of Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya is decidedly light years ahead of many others in terms of providing crucial dividends of democracy to the people and building the required confidence, trust and rapport between the citizens and the leaders that has squarely placed the state enviably as an oasis of calm, tranquility, stability, and solitude in an otherwise turbulent and tumultuous environment that has enveloped most parts of the country, Gombe State has been remarkably calm and peaceful as the citizens have gone about their normal business without fear or anxiety keenly aware that the state government has taken giant strides in improving their welfare and wellbeing. For instance on the sore point of palliative diversion and hoarding that has set many looters against their state governments, the Gombe State government is a crucial exception as Governor Inuwa Yahaya right from the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic set up a the Committee on Reliefs and Palliatives chaired by the highly revered Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu with a mandate to ensure the distribution of reliefs and palliatives provided by the state government to the 114 wards of the eleven local governments of the state. The palliatives included bags of rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, maize etc to cushion the harsh socio-economic effects of the lockdown and the associated COVID-19 pandemic.
In this regard the Gombe State government has already grasped the magnitude of the issues arising from any lapses or perceived deficiencies in palliative distribution and the damaging effect it would have on communal peace and social cohesion. It is this transparency and efficient distribution of palliatives and relief materials to all communities, particularly the most vulnerable segments of society that has so far shielded Gombe State.
Indeed there is a clear connect and meeting of minds between the Gombe people and government as the people rightly perceive their government as working for their overall benefit, an administration for the many and not the few .
From the foregoing and as the recent 86,000 bags of food items largesse shows, Gombe State will continue remaining calm, tranquil, stable, safe secure and prosperous thanks to Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s foresight, firmness,compassion and formidable leadership vigour, rigour, fortitude and benevolence.