By Bashir Aliyu
Governor Bala Muhammad of Bauchi was on the news once more criticizing President Bola Ahmad in a desperate move to play to people’s fantasy by shielding his failure to alleviate our suffering in Bauchi.
Kaura’s voyeuristic fixation with the public criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is borne out of his desire to subtly achieve two political objectives: to nurture his political ambition as the battle for the 2027 general elections is about to begin. The second goal is to musk his apparent failure to bring real developments and bring the kind of people-centric trappings of democracy to Bauchi State by pointing accusing fingers at the president who is too preoccupied with fulfilling his electoral promises to pay any heed to Kaura’s craving for public attention.
As a politician who may like to run for president, criticizing President Tinubu is a tactical political action to boost his rating anytime an opportunity presents itself. The question is, does Governor Bala Muhammad seem to ignore Bauchi’s pitiable state of affairs? As a resident of Bauchi, I don’t need bandy words explaining how Bauchi under Governor Bala Muhammad has been in reverse gear since he became our governor.
One key policy agenda of President Bola Tinubu is to rejig Nigeria’s economy, and subsidy removal has been massive so far. On the other hand, here in Bauchi, our youths have been stranded with no job prospects. Our state is the most expensive state to live in in Nigeria, as per the NBS’ latest report, and the growing dissatisfaction with the governor’s administration is an indication that the Bauchi people need action, not rhetoric.
Despite the billions the governor has been receiving in monthly allocation, Bala Muhammad has woefully failed to uplift the people of Bauchi. Unemployment in Bauchi has reached an apogee with people resorting to menial jobs and leaving the state in droves in search of greener pasture in other states. instead of investing in agriculture, health, education, and youth empowerment, Bala Muhammad has been gallivanting from one project to another without specifically showcasing any serious achievement to the voters.
Since President Bola Ahmad Tinubu came to power, he has been able to reform the country’s economy by removing the institutional bottlenecks that stopped investors from coming to Nigeria.
One of the positive indications of President Tinubu’s fiscal reforms is that Governor Bala Muhammad has been receiving more money in federal allocations since fuel subsidy removal, but unfortunately, Bauchi remains stagnant under the governor with no serious initiatives to help the hapless Bauchi residents who have been abandoned and left to their fate.
As a concerned citizen of Bauchi State, I urge Governor Bala Muhammad to focus on building our youths who are economically depressed with no job prospects. It makes no political sense to accuse President Tinubu of failures while you are inundated with unsolved problems at home.
