By Emmanuel Bello


I was in Jalingo at the weekend to be part of the
spectacular dinner hosted by the correspondents
chapel. The Wole Ayodele-led body had spent three
hardworking years in office and thought it wise to
invite friends to an evening of good food, music,
dance and wine. I left Abuja Friday and got to the
venue in time for the occasion - I'm not one to
turn down a chance to hang out with friends. It
turned out to be a great evening with the Speaker,
Hon. Abel Peter as the Chairman of the day. He
sent the member from Ussa to represent him.
Earlier , Wole told me they believe Abel Peter is one
of their best friends in the state. And in that
regard, I'm even second place to my former
classmate! I jokingly told Wole that I plan to
"impeach" the speaker to become the number one
friend of the correspondents. Obviously, the
administration in Taraba holds the media in high
regards. The Attorney General and Commissioner of
Justice, Bar Akirinkwen, was in attendance. The
Permanent Secretary, Bureau for local government,
Bello Yero, was also at the event. A representative
of the new Lamido of Gashaka, Prince Hamman
Gabdo added royal colours to the start studded
event.
The governor, who was out of town, eventually told
me he wants to see a greater partnership with the
media. According to him, and rightly so, the media
in Nigeria has been in the forefront of protecting
democracy.
Yet for all his regards for the media, it seems to
me there has been a disconnect somewhere. The
deluge of bad press, mostly opposition fuelled,
casts him as someone not committed to good
governance. Sadly, nothing could be further from
the truth. Darius Ishaku is perhaps among the top
performing governors of the dispensation. Unlike
some of his colleagues, Darius came into office
literally in a whirlwind, inheriting a backlog of
liabilities from past regimes. The political
upheavels apart, he was faced with a daunting
legal war that lasted for a year. A fierce battle was
waged to secure his mandate that was faced with
all sorts of court actions. In the face of all of that,
he remained focus, even at times when it appeared
the opposition was actually going to steal the
mandate.
Working over time, Darius was able to keep the
ship of state afloat throughout the turbulence.
Principally, he worked tirelessly for peace. It was a
time of great upheavels in the ever touchy
communities of Taraba. The southern zone was a
theatre of internecine wars. The central part was
dissimated by Fulani herdsmen activities. The
refugee camps were getting filled up. On top of all
these was the abiding problem of debts and the
reality of a recession.
The situation obviously called for systematic
planning. Darius Ishaku immediately embarked on
tackling the challenges. The initial move was to
promptly restore peace and security through
prompt responses; open up economic opportunities
through a vibrant transport system; reinvigorate
the civil service through some sanitation exercise
aimed at transparency; ensure electricity was
improved upon and work hard for political
cohesion. His entry had actually led to some tough
political challenges.
Opening up the Jalingo airport was a masters
stroke as it reintegrated Taraba with the rest of
the world like never before. Business men and
tourists found it easier to access the state hitherto
seen as far flung. The governor also opened up the
highland tea industry by restarting the hydro
electricity dam up at kakara on the Mambilla.
As a civil service state, the governor knew the
centrality of salaries as a major plank of daily
existence. But he also needed to get it right. There
is a biting recession in the country and earnings
from the federal purse has dwindled. A searing
verification exercise was embarked on to curb
waste and bury the proverbial ghost workers. Of
course, the virulent opposition media and the the
governor's hell bent critics stole the narrative and
imposed theirs. Yet, the governor is committed to
getting it right.
Bad press too has not a