Zamfara @ 30: A Whole New World

I have had to rely on information from independent security correspondents and intel from security operatives in Zamfara to get updates on the situation in the state, until I was recently allowed to visit for a friend’s wedding. The long drive from Abuja to Gusau was quite smooth, aside from the bumpy, uncompleted parts of the Abuja-Kaduna highway. The construction of the dual carriageway from Zaria through Gusau to Sokoto had progressed, especially from the Gusau end. The drive from Zaria to Funtua was, as usual, the same as it was several years ago.

However, the drive from Funtua through Mairuwa, Tsafe, Kwatarkwashi, and Gida Biyu to Gusau had an appreciable security presence, with joint security task teams stationed along the road and armoured personnel carriers. I was really awed by what I saw on getting to Gusau, the Zamfara state capital.

To say I was wowed by the massive infrastructure developments I had witnessed is to put it lightly. I muttered to myself that if this momentum is sustained, Zamfara is going to be the finest city in the north. By 2 pm, I was already in Gusau, and I decided to embark on a sightseeing mission. Virtually all the major streets in the metropolis have been developed into dual carriageways, equipped with drainage, streetlights and traffic lights. Gusau has become a brand-new town. I could not believe my eyes.

At the heart of the town is the Yeriman Bakura Specialist Hospital, which has been upgraded to a state-of-the-art medical facility with modern diagnostic equipment, including operational CT and MRI machines, brand-new radiology and laboratory complexes, an expanded obstetrics and gynaecology department, a tranquil patient relaxation area, newly built doctor and staff quarters, internal road networks for patient and emergency mobility, cutting-edge tools for radiology, dialysis, surgery, ENT, ophthalmology, dentistry, echocardiography, and physiotherapy, and a globally standardised hygiene and waste management system. It is considered one of the best in Northern Nigeria. The specialist hospital at Anka, I hear, is also undergoing the same transformation. The Gusau General Hospital has also been remodelled, renovated, and equipped.

In Zamfara’s 30-year history, it has never had an airport. Gov. Dauda Lawal has changed that by building an airport in the state capital. I drove to the airport to see for myself, and I was amazed and could not believe what I was seeing. An airport built in 3 years? The airport is now operational and has met all NCAA regulations. This development will boost Zamfara’s economic activities, as the state governor recently commissioned a $200 million lithium processing plant. This plant would certainly provide thousands of jobs for Zamfara indigenes as it aims to domesticate the lithium mining value chain. The state government has an agreement with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to site a hangar at the Gusau International Airport.

During my sightseeing, I saw the Zamfara Investment House, a massive construction site that clearly signals the industrialisation coming the way of Zamfara through the liberalisation of its mining sector. Other structures I saw included the state secretariat, which is being remodelled with new complexes, renovated blocks, new roads, drainage, and a new mosque. The govt house was also befitting, straddling the city centre.

From some of the newly built schools I saw around the metropolis, I learnt that the state governor had awarded contracts worth N12 billion for the upgrade and renovation of about 322 public schools under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) program. The state government was also employing an additional 2,000 teachers, strategically targeting Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, ICT and Entrepreneurial Studies.

The governor had also paid all fees owed to WAEC and NECO, freeing results for thousands of Zamfara State students that had been withheld for over 5 years. The backlog of pensions and gratuities, which had been unpaid for over 10 years and amounted to N14 billion, was also paid in full by the governor. Women’s empowerment was also on the state’s scorecard, as hundreds of women received between N300,000 and N500,000 in cash. Hundreds of women also received 2,000 birds each, along with bags of feed and other equipment, as startup support for agripreneurs.

The security personnel and equipment I had seen on my way to Gusau, notably at Tsafe, as well as those stationed within the metropolis, were evidence of Governor Dauda Lawal’s commitment to restoring security in Zamfara. He had provided 140 Hilux vans, 25 armoured personnel carriers, 600 specialised motorcycles, and drones for the joint security teams operating in the state. Zamfara has not witnessed this kind of fast-paced development in its entire history, as it has in the last 3½ years.

I was highly impressed by what I had seen, and if this momentum is sustained, Zamfara is in pole position to overtake states in their 40s and 50s in terms of development. In Dauda Lawal, Zamfara has found an ambitious and transformative leader who is rapidly changing the state’s infrastructural landscape. He is also boosting the economy by domesticating the processing of minerals mined in the state. Finally, at 30, Zamfara is beginning to live up to its slogan or motto: the Fertile State.