“Sound character provides the power with which a person may ride the emergencies of life instead of being overwhelmed by them.” —Anonymous
By Enyeribe Ejiogu
The aerial pictures of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Borno State, last Tuesday gave the graphic details of the horrific and monstrous flood unleashed by the Alau Dam that covered the capital city and other adjoining communities. Bereft of a topography that could offer protective high grounds, the metropolis was easily overrun and conquered by the raging flood.
In short order, thousands were displaced, unable to salvage much from their homes. What could they have saved? A mainstream journalist from the Southwest, who has been working in Maiduguri for more than 20 years revealed that he managed to escape with only his laptop bag, phone and few clothes.
Today, the main city of the Kanuri people, once resplendent in the beauty of its main thoroughfare that runs like an arrow, and furnished with a very long stretch of streetlights, the seat of the ancient kingdom of Kanem-Bornu, host of the throne of the Shehu of Borno, a city that the Fulani Jihadists of the era of Othman Dan Fodio could not conquer, the home of the Kanuris, who accepted and welcomed the Islamic faith, willingly, 600 years before Dan Fodio arrived in Sokoto, has succumbed to the force of a flood. It was not conquered by the sword of fanatical Jihadists or the suicide bombings of Boko Haram and its mutative ilk.
Yes, Maiduguri is inundated by flood that looked like a huge tank filled with roofs of submerged buildings that poked out of the surface of the water. But now duty calls. Empathy must utter its voice in rhapsody of service, to the hordes of people suddenly displaced and made homeless in the twinkle of an eye.
For these people, who cannot for the next few weeks watch their favourite Kannywood and Bollywood films, sleep in the comfortable beds in their homes and enjoy the full privacy of the tiled floor and walls of their water cistern toilets, who must now share facilities in temporary shelters, duty calls on Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, to again rise to the occasion, as he did before, when he served meritoriously and creditably in the cabinet of the then Governor Kashim Shettima, Nigeria’s incumbent Vice President.
Zulum, a man imbued with courage. A man who poked a finger in the eyes of Boko Haram, daring them to stop him from shuttling between Maiduguri and the headquarters of the local governments in the state in the hit of their campaign of guerilla attacks, after they were dislodged by the gallant troops of the Nigeria Armed Forces. A man that was determined to make more of the people in the state, once under the crushing thumb and heel of the insurgents, to feel the presence of government. So, for this reason, he decided to make the seat of government in Maiduguri a little bit mobile, and have it move around, to enable him to run the state from locations where insurgents once petrified the people. This decision, which he began to implement naturally compelled the armed services to take up presence on and secure the roads to such places and provide safe passage for the people. The rings of security then gradually expanded to include nearby enclaves and settlements.
It bears to recall the reason the then Governor Shettima endorsed him as his successor out of a field of 21 cleared and qualified aspirants. In a post on his Facebook wall in 2018, Shettima wrote: “Everywhere in the world, post-conflict rehabilitation, restoration, reconciliation and resettlement are complex, composite and interwoven. With humility and absolute respect for all aspirants, I would like to say, that from overwhelming opinions and feedback, the aspirant with an edge in understanding the Peace-Development Nexus of Borno’s post-conflict future is Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.
“As Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement since September 2015, Professor Zulum has been in the thick of our recovery and restoration efforts. He has proved to understand the dynamics. He has established enormous amount of contact in the post-conflict development sector and has earned the confidence of local and international stakeholders. Borno needs such confidence in the task of completing our ongoing social and economic recovery, rebuilding of communities and livelihoods.”
Indeed, Zulum has been the target of several failed assassination attempts by the Boko Haram group. His first brush with the group was on July 29, 2020, in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, as he was travelling on the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway. Five people were killed including three policemen. Again, on September 26, 2020, the group attacked Zulum and his convoy near Lake Chad. At least 18 people were reportedly killed, including 14 police officers and soldiers and four civilians. The death toll was later updated to 30 as more bodies were found. Three days later, on the 29th, Zulum’s convoy noticed a donkey on the road and shot at it. After the donkey exploded, insurgents came out of hiding and fired at them. A number of insurgents were killed, whereas no one in the convoy was injured. On November 22, 2020, his convoy was also attacked while he was traveling to meet with government officials in Baga. Seven soldiers and two civilians were killed in that ambush, but the governor was unhurt. The series of attacks never dissuaded Zulum; he did not shift from his resolute decision to go in person to meet and interact with the people, to learn about their problems firsthand and marshal the power and resources of the government to provide cost-effective solutions, succour, a burgeoning sense of security and enable the people rebuild their lives after the dastardly murderous campaign of Boko Haram, in their quest to create an ISWAP caliphate in the Northeast of Nigeria.
Last week, Zulum rose again to demonstrate to the world and particularly the victims of the flood disaster his well acknowledged capacious ingenuity, ability and dexterity to surmount enormous challenges with limited resources. Borno which does not yet have one drop of crude oil under its wide expanse of land is not fortunate to receive huge FAAC allocations from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation. Notwithstanding, work to provide relief, succour and care to the people displaced and traumatised by the horrendous flooding must go on. Enormous funds are required, and need to be sourced, vital relief materials procured with absolute urgency and delivered quickly.
Managing the logistics involved will be quite tasking and also require full concentration, speed, adroitness, political sagacity and above all, empathy.
In demonstration of empathy, it is noteworthy and very commendable that Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his counterparts, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), have paid a solidarity visit to Zulum in Maiduguri. On his verified X handle Sanwo-Olu wrote: “Today, I joined the governors of Ondo, Adamawa, and Kwara on a visit to Borno State to extend our support to Governor Babagana Zulum in light of the tragic flooding in Maiduguri. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected by this disaster.
“The extent of the flooding in Maiduguri is truly devastating. As a nation, it is important that we come together to provide relief, assist in rescue operations, and ensure that those affected receive the necessary aid.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Maiduguri and commend the ongoing rescue efforts. The community’s resilience is truly inspiring, and Lagos remains dedicated to offering our support in every possible way.”
Quite importantly, Zulum should not be distracted by some politically exposed personalities who have a penchant for turning incidents into photo-opportunities that waste time and resources vitally needed for provision of relief materials to victims of the disaster. The cost of chartering flights to Maiduguri for what is essentially “solidarity visit” photo-op should be monetised and sent to the Maiduguri Flood Disaster Relief Fund.
Zulum needs every Kobo that can be raised, to enable his administration prudently do what needs to be done. His antecedents in this regard give course to believe that he will do well and resettle the displaced people. The prayers of Nigerians and the world at large is that nature will be merciful and make the floods recede soon, so that reconstruction and restoration efforts can commence.
After the Nigerian Armed Forces drove out Boko Haram fighters from the enclaves they once controlled in local governments and communities in the state, he recorded achievements when he was elected as governor in 2019. Two specific instances in Konduga and Bama are testements that Zulum is a focused manager of men and materials.
Konduga experienced a full measure of the brutality of Boko Haram. When security was reestablished in the local government, Zulum launched a resettlement and restoration initiative which saw N187 million and foodstuff being distributed to business owners and 26,000 displaced families as well as volunteer fighters.
Prior to the Konduga case, he had been to Bama LGA for humanitarian and social protection interventions to residents denied means of livelihood by Boko Haram. In Bama, truckloads of food and over N200 million were distrubted to about 70,000 families, including the bereaved families of civilian volunteers who fought against Boko Haram.
Now that the Maiduguri flood disaster has happened, Zulum must once again put off his ‘babariga and dansiki’, put on comfortable jeans trousers, polo shirt and rainboots and lead the effort to uplift the residents of Maiduguri, who have been dealt a heavy blow by the flood from the broken walls of Alau Dam.
In the wake of the Maiduguri disaster, governors of states along the course of River Benue and River Niger should immediately activate contingency measures to save their people in the event of any flood emergency.
Zulum was born on August 25, 1969, in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State. After his elementary school in Mafa Primary School from 1975 to 1980 and secondary education in Government Secondary School, Monguno from 1980 to 1985, Zulum studied at the University of Maiduguri, where he obtained a degree in Agriculture Engineering after which he served as a youth corps member with Katsina State Polytechnic.
He proceeded to the University of Ibadan from 1997 to 1998, where he obtained a master’s degree in Agriculture Engineering. In 2005, he enrolled for a PhD in Soil and Water Engineering with the University of Maiduguri which he completed in 2009.
In 1989, he joined the Borno State Civil Service as an Assistant Technical Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1990, Babagana moved into Borno State Unified Local Government Service as Senior Field Overseer and later Principal Water Engineer.
In 2000, he took up an appointment with the University of Maiduguri as an Assistant Lecturer where he rose to the rank of Professor. Babagana was Deputy Dean and Acting Dean, Faculty of Engineering in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
In 2011, Zulum was appointed the Rector of the state-owned Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri. Meanwhile, he retained his teaching position in the University of Maiduguri. He was appointed a commissioner into the cabinet of then Governor Kashim Shettima. And in 2019, he was elected governor of Borno State.
