A Public Analyst and the Gombe State Special Adviser to Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya on Budget, Planning and Development Partner Coordination, Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, has described developments in the state within the last 25 years of its existence as a tremendous development.
Dr. Mohammed told Voice of Nigeria in Gombe that developments in the state had elevated the state beyond those created the same time with it and even ahead of some others created long before it.
He attributed the speed of development to the fortunes of the state, where it continues to get succeeding governments willing to maintain consistency, right from the military to date, thereby building on their predecessor’s legacies.
“Every one of them had an agenda and wanted to leave a legacy. Over the years, we have had situations where from the beginning to date everybody that has governed the state has been about building a lasting legacy behind,” Dr. Mohammed said.
He said the 11 local government areas in the state had equally been developed, with road infrastructure, water supply, health services, agricultural programmes, among other developments trickling down to their level.
According to him, the developments have contributed immensely to stability and peace of the state.
Of note, he said Governor Yahaya had adopted the culture of completing projects initiated by the past administration.
“All the projects that were inherited from the previous administration have been completed and new ones have been initiated, despite the fact that we are the 2nd lowest in the Federation Allocation Account our internal revenue generation is still very low. Although, over the past two years, we have quadrupled it, we are not yet where we want to be,” said Dr. Mohammed.
GOMBE 10-YEARS DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Dr. Mohammed said the Gombe State Government had a prosperity development roadmap in place, the Gombe 10-year Development Plan 2021-2030, called DEVAGOM, and other policies for a friendly business environment, which had begun yielding various degrees of dividends.
He said those strategies had pushed the ranking of the state from Number 24 in 2019 to Number One in the Ease of Business Ranking.
“What it means is that industries are coming in. And with industries, you have additional government revenue and you have, most importantly, jobs for our teeming young population,” said Dr. Mohammed.
CHALLENGES OF URBANISATION
Gombe State is one of the states in the country which faces various forms of challenges, such as population explosion, overstretched resources, due to the influx of people into the state, as well as an increase in birth rate, with only 18 thousand square kilometres of landmass.
However, Dr. Mohammed, said the government had issued an executive order sometime this year, giving 20-kilometre radius as a development area for the state capital and also for local government areas, to give room for better planning of urban centres.
He said the development plan was making deliberate efforts to ensure strict compliance, which had captured population growth and projected revenues, projected expenditure, which would effectively channel the resources of the state for the needed development and attract more investment.
DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
With over 200 active gully sites in Gombe, the government in collaboration with the World Bank Project, NEWMAP, Dr. Mohammed said the government had recovered over 7.8 kilometres of land devastated by gullies and that plans were on the way to recover the over 15 kilometres gullies that ran through the FCE.
He, however, said the government alone could not achieve it without the collaboration and partnership of international development partners, such as the Ecological Fund and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
DEFORESTATION
Dr. Mohammed said the tree planting flagship programme of Governor Yahaya, the Gombe Goes Green, had built a lot of confidence since it was launched in 2019, targeting one million trees to be planted every year in the state, while the Ministry of Environment was working hard to promote alternative sources of energy for the rural people.
“by ensuring that they move away from using firewood to brikets.
Similarly, Dr. Mohammed said the Forestry Laws in Gombe State was being reviewed and currently before the State House of Assembly and that when passed into law, it would streamline activities around cutting down trees and that when one tree is cut, three more will be planted and nurtured.
He, however, said advocacy, sensitisation on the impact of cutting down trees and using firewood, were key in the heart of the afforestation efforts of the government.
CHALLENGES AND THE WAY OUT
Dr. Mohammed said the most fundamental challenge before the Gombe State Government was low revenues, where resources were not enough to accomplish set goals.
He said the challenge would be tackled through more transparent budgetary processes, which involved people in the budget process, so as to prioritise and ensure accountability, transparency and prudence in governance.
Equally, he said harmonising tax laws would help prevent multiple taxations and bring about the holistic industrialisation, as well as training of young people and making them more relevant to entrepreneurs, to the private sector and enable them to start their own businesses.
“There is a bill before the Gombe State House of Assembly on the Small, micro and medium agency, which will ensure that starting new businesses will become much easy,” Dr. Mohamed said.
Dr. Mohammed believes that for Gombe State to grow, the citizens must play their own roles by supporting the government in all its policies to develop the state.
