By Kala Mohammed
It is often said that prophets are not revered at home. One man has proved this saying wrong as he is revered both at home and abroad. Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Leader of the 8th Senate, was from a humble background which also was responsible for his humble beginning.
He is our son. We know him very well, and despite the height he has attained in the society, he is never far from us. He is always available and has an already-waiting listening ear for our numerous complaints and problems. It is his aggressive legislative advocacy right from his sojourn in the House of Representatives that earned him the name “Comrade Honourable”.
He hasn’t just provided us a “voice” but a “very strong voice” at that, as issues that concern Gwoza, Borno South, and the entire North East geo-political zone of Nigeria has been thrust to national visibility courtesy of Senator Ndume. He has provided us quality representation, as he has many bills and motions to his credit, notable among them was the motion he moved on the floor of the 7th Senate concerning the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) voting in the 2015 general elections. Thereafter, IDPs that were mostly dislodged from their homes by insurgency exercised their constitutional right of voting. This singular exercise helped in bringing about the ‘change’ we are all enjoying today.
Senator Ndume has in no small measure empowered the indigenes of Gwoza, as his transport scheme gave out over 300 Volkswagen Golf cars to Gwoza youths for the purpose of commercial transportation. So many indigent students of Gwoza are beneficiaries of his unofficial scholarship intervention. Not long ago in Abuja, he provided sewing machines with start-up capital for 120 internally-displaced women to enable them commence the trade they learnt in a scheme championed by Sunday Wabba, a constituent of Senator Ndume. He also provided capital another 120 Gwoza women to enable them start small-scale business.
Through the openings allowed legislators in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which metamorphosed into Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), he facilitated rural electrification in Gwoza West. Some 130 units of solar street lights have been installed in Gwoza Township, Izge and Wala/Warabe/Dure through his intervention. He installed several units of transformers in Gwoza Town, Gwoza East and Gadamayo.
Ndume facilitated the construction of feeder roads and drainage channels at Gadamayo-Gudulf and Dandal Way Extension.
Classroom blocks at Sabongari, Pulka, Izge and Luvwa Primary Schools were constructed under his auspices. Mobile police training camp at Limankara was cordoned with perimeter fencing courtesy of Senator Ndume. Also, the 101 wards in Southern Borno got a minimum of one motorised borehole, as some wards got even more.
Although similar projects are scattered all over the nine local government areas of Southern Borno, courtesy of Senator Ndume, I choose to point out only some of these in Gwoza alone because not long ago, a loner and impersonator went on air via Channels television to fabricate lies about Senator Ndume.
What the impostor said had no semblance of reality as Senator Ndume is and has always been in touch with the Gwoza people. If not for the civilisation and peace-loving nature of the Gwoza people, the impostor would have been declared persona non grata by our teeming youths. His character, attitude and conduct is not the identity of Gwoza. We, as normal human beings, have issues; but the use of media to malign people is never in our character, especially as it concerns a distinguished son of Gwoza like Ndume.
When a little bird dances on a lonely bush path, it won’t be wrong if you assume the drummer is somewhere in the nearby bush. We in Gwoza are of the firm belief that this unfortunate situation came from outside of our domain, and we are not surprised as some people are already fixated on 2019.
We warn the general public to beware of these people, as the only thing they have in their kitty is campaign of calumny and character assassination. We are also optimistic that this could be one out of many vitriolic attacks that will come from them. We know our son and our son knows us. He is with us and we are with him, now and always.
Mohammed, All Progressives Congress (APC) Youth Leader in Borno South Senatorial District, wrote from Maiduguri