President Muhammadu Buhari was in Borno State last Thursday. He was on a state visit. But he also left from Maiduguri Thursday evening to travel to the UK on a private visit. The president touched Maiduguri around 11am and departed at about 4pm.

 However, before departing the state, he inaugurated some projects executed by Governor Kashim Shettima. Apparently overwhelmed by what he saw, he was said to have looked into the eyes of the governor and said “Kashim, Allah Ya yi maka albarka’ (meaning Kashim Shettima, may God bless you)”.

 Buhari was expressing his innermost feelings after inaugurating some landmark projects of the Shettima’s administration.

 Some of the projects include an industrial park with 16 plants; eight mega schools (some with hostels) for 14,320 children orphaned by Boko Haram, an estate with 300 apartments in storey buildings, community inter-link roads, a diagnostic centre and a kidney dialysis centre.

 Interestingly, the president offered the prayer in the presence of former Secretary to the Government Federation (SGF), Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, prominent Borno elders and some members of the presidential delegation.

The inauguration of the projects began with the industrial park which had a Solar panels production plant with optimum capacity to annually produce panels that can generate 120 megawatts; another plant for manufacturing of elementary school desks and chairs and a plant for manufacturing of Drip irrigation pipes.

 The park also has PVC pipes production plant, Tomatoes processing plant, Onions and Ginger dehydration plant, Pilot juice processing plant, Cassava processing plant, Table water line plant, Corn chips production plant, Biscuits production plant, Grains and cement ‎sacks production plant, Green house nets production plant, Canopy shade nets production plant and a plant for production of plastic mats.

 Daily Sun gathered that although each of the 16 plants manufactures different products, some of them were assembled to share one factory hall under a modern integrated concept that ensures efficient space and other resource utilisation.

 In his comments after inaugurating the projects, the president said “it is a realistic project (rather than an elephant one)”.

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 From there, the president proceeded to inaugurate an estate with 300 apartments within dozens of two-story buildings, just as he also inaugurated eight mega schools, some of which were built with modern hostels to serve as boarding school for the education of 14, 320 children to be drawn from over 50,000 mostly unaccompanied orphans whose parents were killed by Boko Haram insurgents.

 Daily Sun recalls that the state government is building 50 mega schools across the state; with each to accommodate between 1,000 to 2,400 pupils at the distribution of 40 pupils per class.

 The president was also at Bolori area of the state, where he inaugurated different roads linking one another for communities which hitherto lived with challenges of flooding for several years.

President Buhari was also at the state Specialist hospital, where he inaugurated a diagnostic centre with state-of-the-art facilities and a kidney dialysis centre. Similarly, he was conducted round the two centres where he saw high tech equipment that include MRI machines, CT scans, equipment for cancer detection and many others, some of which are said not to be found elsewhere in Nigeria except at the newly inaugurated diagnostic centre in Maiduguri.

The president said he was particularly stunned with development in the education sector as well as industrial, health, agricultural and road projects he inaugurated, just as he expressed hope that the orphaned children for which some of the projects he inaugurated were made for would surely get quality education and brighter future.

 He also appreciated the people of Borno for their concern for him and commended them for their loyalty to his administration and he also reassured them of his continued support to the state and restoration of peace.

 Earlier, Governor Kashim Shettima said without the support and concern of President Buhari in the past four years of his administration, Borno State could have been history by now.

 “All that have been achieved in the state including relative peace and growth could not have been achieved in the state without the support of President Buhari. We appreciate the support and fatherly role played by the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Garbai Ibn El Kanemi in the restoration of peace in the state and the North East as a whole. Borno people are indeed highly indebted to Mr. President for his support and concern,” the governor said.