Hunger Protest: visible good governance saved Taraba from chaos -Bello
Hunger Protest: visible good governance saved Taraba from chaos -Bello
By Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Hon. Emmanuel Bello, Special Adviser to Governor Kefas Agbu on Media and Digital Communication has disclosed that amid the ongoing nationwide Protest, visible good governance brought by the administration has saved Taraba from chaos and violent protest witnessed in other parts of the country.
Bello who disclose this on Sunday while interacting with journalists said that the governor understands the hardship that the people are going through and has already focus development drive to address the basic needs of the people rather than elephant projects.
The ace communicator said that the governor also deployed his experience tackling crisis situations that he gathered during his years in the army as an intelligence officer to handle the situation in a way that is most commendable.
“All is us saw what happened in the days leading up to the protest. First of all, the governor did not take the situation for granted. Knowing how quickly these agitations can escalate, he set up a machinery and had extensive engagements with all relevant stakeholders. I’m talking about traditional rulers, security agencies, community and religious leaders, civil society organisations and youth groups. Everyone was directly involved and most groups opted to not join the protest at all.
“The message is simple, you can see what we are already doing to make life better for our people. Should we join a protest that can derail this trajectory and set us back several years? And the answer was an absolute no.
“Besides reminding the people of the visible development that the administration has recorded within just a year, he also rolled out both short and long term plans with practical implementation roadmap that is a paradigm shift from the traditional empty and vague promises that politicians usually make.
“As you should be aware, the Governor played a key role in ending the violent agitations in the Niger-Delta region. That experience came in handy. On the first day of the protest, some people came out to join the protest and there was every tendency that miscreants could hijack it and unleash mayhem.
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“The governor took a very bold step that other governors also followed later. He went out to the protesters and addressed them personally. Flanked by and elder statesman and former Governor of the State Jolly Nyame, Minister State for Steel Alhaji Uba Maigari, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and other top government functionaries who were rallied at moment’s notice, the governor was able to completely put their agitations to rest.
“Since then, normalcy has continued and everyone is happy. Remember that Taraba State was among the worst hit during the ENDSARS protest and this could have been the case this time around also if he had not taken such proactive measures to tackle the situation. We are confident that the peace we are enjoying in Taraba will not be interrupted and this has been the governor’s top priority because only a peaceful state can experience any meaningful development” Bello concluded.
Our Correspondent reports that apart from few hours of protest in Jalingo metropolis on the first day of the protest which was led mostly by children, and later joined by a few others, Taraba State has been relatively peaceful with no protest recorded in any other parts of the State.
