A man used to Lagos and its free spirit had qualms when the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posted him to Gombe State after he graduated from university.
To his surprise, despite the threats of jihadist insurgents, Reporter HENRY ODUAH finds a friendly people; even with their different kind of lifestyle.
Lagos, with all its money, fame, and prestige – and quick fixes – has a lot going for it. But he discovers, too, that Gombe is better; in at least one aspect.
Deployment to Gombe State by the NYSC seemed to cut my excitement short at a time when the victory of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 2015 election, Muhammadu Buhari, was still fresh in the mind.
He prevailed in a fierce contest against a sitting President, Goodluck Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a first of its kind in Nigeria.
Initial anxieties
Being a stern supporter of Buhari, my celebration of his victory was short-lived. Gombe at that time was blacklisted by many as a Boko Haram territory.
The evidence on the ground lent weight to the consensus. And such a deployment was sure to come with anxiety, disbelief, disappointment, and fear.
It was frightening. But courage eventually led me by the hand.
Between graduation and NYSC call up, I freelanced for TheNiche, to further cut my teeth in journalism after industrial training with other media houses in both my two hundred and three hundred levels in the university.
I told my colleagues at TheNiche, with shoulders suspended in thin air and a seemingly bold look, that I was accepting the offer to serve in the North East.
Like a journey to a far country
I was used to travelling long distances by road as I live in Lagos and studied at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State – a transit of eight hours. But sitting on a bus for nearly 24 hours travelling to the North East was a shocker.
The journey was certainly going to be long, and tiring, and I thought I would let go of the stress and anxiety by starting a conversation with my female seat partner. Disappointingly, she ignored my presence by throwing her face towards the window.
Like the Mosaic law of an eye for an eye, to amuse myself, I patiently and shrewdly waited for the break of day after the night-long drive from Lagos to Jigawa, just to see the worn-out face and faded makeup of my unfriendly seat partner.
I met fellow corps members in the Jigawa orientation camp of the NYSC, most of them from the South, who confessed that they hitherto had no clue of where Gombe State is on the Nigerian map.
It was like being in another country altogether.
And with that scant knowledge of Gombe State, we were discharged from camp on June 22, 2015 and my primary assignment in Gombe city kicked off.
Welcoming arms
Unlike the hostile idea I had nursed about the North, the people were very receptive and seemed to be very comfortable with other Nigerians coming to the state to serve the green-white-green.
Young men who operated motorcycle taxis (okadas) would enthusiastically want to engage you in a conversation the moment they saw the famous NYSC “khaki” uniform.
They practically struggled among themselves to have the honour of taking the privileged corps member to his destination.
Even a cut in the normal fare for a trip for the benefit of the corps member would not discourage them. Who wouldn’t feel on top of the world with such treatment?
But not long into the service year, I began to observe the weaknesses. The language barrier stuck in.
One time I was taken round the small state capital by an okada man who pretended he understood English and knew where I was headed. After a frustrating long ride I realised he was just driving me round town with no direction.
To my chagrin, he asked for more money, claiming that our previous bargain was not enough for the ‘treat’ he had just given me. Taking me to my exact destination mattered little to him.
Quite disturbingly, the motorcycle riders moved with such great speed that my heart would literally be in my mouth. I prayed to God several times the day I rode with one who did not care about a possible crash.
Allowance and rumours
The Gombe State government, under the watch of Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, did not help matters.
We had hoped the government would prioritise the welfare of corps members and pay state allowance regularly. Gombe is among the least paying states with N1, 000 as basic allowance.
We could only envy our colleagues in other parts of Nigeria receiving N7,000 or more a month from state governments. Throughout my service year, Gombe mustered three months’ payment and went to sleep.
Stories of a proposed increase in the federal allowance of corps members being tabled for deliberation in the National Assembly (NASS) filled the air. Federal allowance is currently N19,800 per month.
Gombe State NYSC officials kept mute, preferring to allow speculation fly around – the way Buhari jets around the world.
Corps members danced with excitement only to be disappointed as the rumour peddlers had had their fill.
Boko Haram up close
The activities of Boko Haram tell greatly on the state.
I was on a visit to a friend in July 2015 when Gombe city came under attack again by the insurgents. Twin blasts occurred at Dadin/Kowa and Dukku motor parks killing over 30 people.
It was my first experience of an explosion of that magnitude.
There was always an air of suspicion of everybody, and of everything inside a polythene bag. Even security checks were mounted at the entrance of motor parks.
The first explosion occurred at Dadin/Kowa park some minutes before eight o’clock. It shook the building where I was. About two hours later, another one went off at Dukku park, a considerable distance away.
Fear gripped me. At once the living took to their heels.
Buried in fear, I stayed indoors all night. At dawn I was hoping to see for the first time human parts scattered around the streets with blood everywhere. But everything had been cleared up.
I marvelled at the way people went about their businesses that morning as though nothing had happened the previous night. They were used to the bombings, I thought.
ATM crowd
My most frustrating moments were usually at the end of the month.
Gombe city is filled with government parastatals and a considerably high number of residents are civil servants. Before the month ends, say around the 27th, queues would start building up at the automated teller machines (ATMs) of banks.
Unlike in other major cities where banks are closer to one’s doorstep, banking in Gombe is a herculean task.
For example, only First Bank is brave enough to have a branch in the entire Kaltungo Council. All other banks are in one location in Gombe city for fear of the fundamentalists.
Those who need to make transactions see the crowd at First Bank and are discouraged and decide to go to Gombe city.
They drive one hour all the way. They then add to the already teeming number of people on the queues. Not to mention those from other local government areas.
Colleagues serving in councils far from Gombe city used the opportunity to visit us at our quarters whenever they came to cash their allowance from the bank.
Good roads
I initially thought I was going to a state where the government did not remember to build roads. I thought I would meet untarred and unmotorable roads. I was disappointed.
Gombe State residents enjoy motorable roads, largely credited to former Governor Danjuma Goje. The good roads are not restricted to Gombe city.
The state is only two decades old; it does not attract as much attention as Lagos but has better roads than Lagos, which has N23 billion internally generated revenue (IGI) monthly, the highest in Nigeria.
Beggars – genuine ones
However, street begging is a common sight.
Unlike ‘corporate beggars’ in Lagos who dress up in designer suits and approach you for assistance, beggars in Gombe are not ashamed to stand on the road, in the market, in front of banks, and wherever possible, to ask for a piece of your cake.
There were only a handful of them when I arrived the state in June 2015. Before I left in April 2016, their number seemed to have doubled.
It is only a matter of time before the alarm bells start ringing for the government to hear.
Nowhere to relax
When stressed up and in need of a relaxation centre, I could hardly find any. There are a few hotels, one of them Gombe International Hotel. But not the quick fixes.
I went on a curiosity ride around town and could not find an events centre.
Unlike the owambe lifestyle of Lagosians where every weekend is party time, Gombe residents enjoy serenity when the bombs are not flying.
Parties are held, but they are low-key by the predominantly Muslim population.
Women, all covered up
Young girls and women dress decently. A friend joked that a bachelor in Gombe could be tempted to stay single for a very long time as there are hardly ladies walking nude or semi-nude on the streets to entice him.
This high rate of decency is attributed to the culture and values which do not allow women to expose their bodies. Most times the only way to distinguish a Christian female from a Muslim female is the hijab.
