by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
It was a quiet Sunday morning on the road back from a resettlement community when Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, of Borno State, ordered his convoy to halt – an act, which stired-up surprises in the area.
The reason: To buy groundnuts from an elderly woman by the roadside at a village market, Abdurrahman Ahmed Bundi, the Senior Technical Assistant to Governor Zulum on Print and Digital Communications, shared the fun with our reporter on Wednesday.
“I was part of the governor’s convoy. At first, I thought it was a routine check with security personnel or an inspection of a nearby health facility. But curiosity got the better of me. I asked our driver to reverse so I could get a closer look.
“What I saw was pure Zulum. The woman, Kaka Fanna (not her real name), was selling peanuts by the roadside. A few years ago, this same village was deserted. Insurgents had driven everyone out. Homes were destroyed. The market was shut.
“Today, the village is alive again. Farmers display their produce. Women run small stalls. Children are back. And the groundnuts the governor bought most likely came from their own harvests.
“For Kaka Fanna, the change is personal. She might have been in one of the IDP camps, living on handouts. Now, she is home, earning a living with dignity. That brief stopover tells the bigger story of Borno’s recovery,” Bundi stated.
He further stated: “Since 2019, the Zulum administration has assisted over two million displaced people to return to their ancestral homes. Thousands of families, who fled to Niger, Chad and Cameroon, have been repatriated and resettled. Several IDP Camps have also been closed after households returned home.”
The governor’s unscheduled stop was more than a purchase. “It was a reminder of the road Borno Governor has travelled – from displacement to resettlement; from empty streets to bustling markets.
“It also underscored a leadership style that has come to define Zulum: humble, hands-on, and present with the people,” he concluded.