By Levinus Nwabughiogu

His early days in office  were very annoying. He was so slow and elicited an impression in some quarters that he had no agenda for the state. Months passed, he did not appoint commissioner. The opposition at a time even threatened to evoke appropriate provisions of the 1999 Constitution to force him to assemble his Cabinet.

Amid severe criticisms, he admitted that he was a green horn in politics. That was Ibrahim Dankwambo, the present Governor of Gombe State who resigned from being the Accountant-General of the Federation in December 2010 to contest 2011 gubernatorial election. He won and was sworn in as Governor on May 29, 2011.

But unknown to many, Dankwambo was learning the ropes. In those first days in office in 2011, he convened a meeting of stakeholders and Gombe indigenes and constituted about 14 different Committees.

The mandate of the Committees was to do thorough and analytical investigation of all the critical sectors of the state economy which included Education, Agriculture, Health, Commerce and Industry, etc, and make far-reaching recommendations that would form the nucleus of his administration. Of course, many people saw that as a waste of time.

Gov Dankwambo

That singular move may, however, have paid off as virtually all the government has achieved so far are hinged on recommendations of the various Committees. It was only later in December 2011, that the Governor appointed his Commissioners to help him realize the set objectives.

Education:
After two years Dakwambo has left an imprint in the education sector. When he took office, he visited many primary and secondary schools in the state and was greeted with many dilapidated structures. Prompted by that, he vowed to modernize some schools especially those in the urban areas.

To this end, he pulled down what used to be the old Hassan Memorial Central School located at the heart of the city and got Vice President Namadi Sambo to perform the foundation laying ceremony. Today, there are not only edifices standing there but beautiful serenity which have all the trappings that make learning an attraction. Again, Dankwambo saw the need to establish a state owned Polytechnic and College of Education.

According to sources, the bill to secure the Polytechnic, at Bajoga, Funakaye local Government Area, Gombe North and the College at Biliri Local Government Area, Gombe South respectively had been passed by the State House of Assembly. The sites have been secured and work will soon be in full swing. At the Gombe State University, the Governor is doing some strides. So far, he has commenced the building of College of Medical Sciences and over N200 worth of medical equipment has been purchased.

The administration has also done much in uplifting the road network and established an International Conference Centre in the state capital. The idea is to keep floating the State as the economic epicenter of the Northeastern geo-political zone of the country.

Peace and Peace
Gombe under Dankwambo has been seriously challenged by the spate of insecurity arising from the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic insurgents. However, the administration has through its cooperation with the security agencies been able to check the insurgents.

Knocks for Dankwambo
Delayed conduct of Local Government of Local Government Election and Dankwambo’s influence has made progress in the political arena too. He is almost his own man today having totally left the shadows of his mentor and benefactor, Senator Mohammed Goje, his predecessor.

He has taken time to build his own structures and this accounted for the delay in the conduct of local government elections as he allowed his own men to mature.

To many people, that was a big minus of his government as he was not seen as a democrat. But the elections finally held in February this year and the opposition was generally seen to have been muzzled out of the race while the ruling PDP swept the entire polls.

No opposition in Gombe
Officially opposition is virtually dead in Gombe. Those who would have kicked against unfriendly actions and policies of the government have also relocated to the ruling PDP and so, joined the bandwagon. A few persons left are caged from talking.

Former Secretary of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the state, Barrister Luka Haruna who assessed Governor Dankwambo’s performance in the last two years while describing them as commendable, however, called on him to channel hisenergies towards building bridges to the people.

Bottomline
Given the level of work in Gombe in the last two years, many are optimistic that before the next round of elections in 2015, the Governor would have changed the status of the state to earn himself a political platform to stand as his own man.