By Chidi Obineche
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State exemplifies the quintessential leader whose courage and leadership qualities transform to excellence and glory. He has brought courage to bear in his various assignments and has amplified it as governor today, in a state with a high degree of insecurity.
In 2015, when then Governor Kashim Shetima made Zulum Commissioner of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, the idea was for him to rebuild parts of the communities across the state ravaged by insecurity. While holding the position, his imprimatur was visible as he substantially completed the assignment. No wonder, the people of the state found him worthy to be elected governor in 2019.
For a man who does not see himself as a politician, his style and activities in government remain an inspiration. The daunting challenge of Boko Haram insurgency did not subdue his courage. Today, his imprints dot the entire landscape of the state.
In his “Ten-pact Transformation Agenda, he undertook 375 projects, beefed up security across the length and breadth of the state with over 300 patrol vehicles, established a Security Trust Fund, instituted a rapid security response team, provided a special protection component for farmers tagged Agro-Rangers, procured security gadgets and motivated security men.
Zulum, against all odds, has maintained regular visitations to high-risk security areas for citizens’ “needs assessments,” among others. Not dithered by security concerns, he also constructed 6,544 sub-urban and low cost houses for the resettlement of internally displaced persons and refugees. He established 21 new schools, 37 new primary healthcare centres and rehabilitated roads as well as the state’s first flyover in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Also council secretariats, lodges, police stations, courts and palaces of resident traditional rulers were built in addition to 213 new boreholes, 18 electrification projects, eight agricultural projects, and seven vocational skills and entrepreneurship development. These people-oriented projects have restored hope to the traumatised people in the midst of adversity. They are like a soothing balm to the morale and psyche of the people battered by insurgency.
Zulum attended Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri and obtained a National Diploma in Irrigation Engineering in 1998. He later proceeded to the University of Maiduguri for a degree in Agricultural Engineering. He studied at the University of Ibadan for his Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering and in 2009 got his PhD in Soil and Water Engineering.
For his courage to dare, in the midst of Boko Haram insurgency, he is winner of The Sun Courage in Leadership award.