Letter To Abubakar Sani Bello

Your Excellency Sir,

I humbly rejoice with you sir as you await the official announcement and swearing in as the governor of this great state. However, I found it extremely vital to put forth some issues troubling the indigenes of Niger state.
However,I must state at this juncture that the INEC under the chairmanship ofProf. Attahiru Jega has given every eligible voter the reasons to believe that his/her vote would count in as far as the card reader is put into use. I said this so as to remind you that our PVC will be highly guarded till 2019 when you'll either be re-elected or be shown the way out. So, it'll be your choice to decide whether to wake the state from its slumber or contribute to killing it the more.

History has shown that Niger state has never been lucky in getting a steward to govern it through achieving its potential. From the period of Murtala Nyako, to Engr. Kure whose administration was laden with saturation of wealths and uncompleted contracts down to the just completed administration whose candidature in 2007 brought a breath of hope even from his choice of title “Chief Servant” which people believed would be the messiah they had waited for. But it is clear that at the end of his eight years in government he didn't justify his name as the chief servant but rather as ”thief servant”. It is my prayer for you, that at the end of four years, people of Niger State would not say “ Abu felo Abu Felo Ya wa wo bea” which would mean “Abu go away, Abu go away, we don't want you anymore.” It will be a replica of the song a famous local artist (Ndako Kutigi) sang for the opposition to fuel to your campaign.

Now Nigerlites have made their decision owing to the believe they have in you and the reasons flying around about why you left the present administration. You've got a herculean task ahead, for no Nigerlite will forgive you if you fail to meet their aspirations.

Before I pencil down some of the things Nigerlites expect from you, there is one thing the chief servant succeeded in doing and for that, I love him till he lleaves government. That single thing is the recognition he gave to writers and writing as a whole. If you haven't known that Niger State is endowed with a lot of writers and literary activist, then you should and also note that, they hold a great weapon to either making or marring your administration. It is my kind advice that you find a way of integrating them into your government. A lot of people have regarded the annual colloquium held by the Chief Servant as a way to siphon resources, but I see it as a major success of the administration, for a lot of us studied texts while in school and never got any opportunity to meet with authors. For me, seeing Professor Wole Soyinka during one of the event proved a point which lives within me I urge you to make research and affirm why Niger State is the headquarters of literary intellectualism.

Coming back to what the indigenes of the state expect from you, even though some still hold their reservation about you and the change you couldn't bring to the state as an individual being one of the wealthiest. They hope you will bring smiles to their faces.“I cant believe students still study in classes like this” sir! This is a quotation from a friend whom was invited to one of the secondary schools here in Minna. It pierces one's thought to see a school once regarded as a “model” school suffering from lack of basic study materials like desks and instructional materials which is a basis for comprehensive learning. How well have the teachers in the schools around the state fared to guarantee qualitative education where you find English teachers battling with understanding lexical structures and simple clauses of the course? I feel your administration should have an overhaul of the educational system of the state so as to rebuild the confidence of the people in public schools. Sir, I can bet that schools having buses in the state that are functional aren't up to five . I plead you look into it.

It beats imagination that, in the capital of the state, there is only a single general hospital that offers medical services. This isn't only epileptic, but also a death warrant. For even in the hospital there isn't sufficient medical gadgets to cater for every need. I crave that you find it worthy of a task to pick, once you assume office.

I feel God has favoured Niger State with a lot of resources that are not tapped. Today football is seen as a major sport that drives a society. Niger have seen her children grow to be professional footballers amongst which is “Muhammad Alfa” who hails from Bida and now playing abroad, “Aliyu” of Minna, popularly known as “Amokachi” who also plays for the Flying Eagles of Nigeria. But each time these young men return home, they hardly find a pitch that suits the kind of football they play. Even though we have seen stadiums onbillboards, I dare to say that Niger State doesn't have a stadium for good football. You will be doing a great deal of job if you give Niger a good footballing pitch.

Finally, as a business mogul, Nigerlites look forward to seeing you bring your wealth of experience to bear in giving us functional factories and industries. They anticipate the revival of textile industries and even sugarcane plantations that have gone extinct.

These and more, Nigerlites await. With the hope that it wont be too much to accomplish.

Once more congratulations Sir Abubakar Sani Bello (LOLO)

Musa Yunusa Wrote From Minna