In a part of Nigeria where getting good healthcare is still a big challenge, especially in the Northeast, something hopeful is happening in Lau, Taraba State. A.B. Na’ibi College of Nursing Sciences is a young but fast-growing school training nurses and midwives who are not only skilled but also caring. The college’s mission is to produce health workers who will serve both cities and rural areas with commitment and compassion.

In this exclusive interview with Mohammed Tikka, the Provost of the college, Hajiya Sharifatu Abdullahi Bakari, speaks on how the college started, the strong role of its founder Sheikh Dr. Abdullahi Bala Lau, the challenges faced, major successes, and what lies ahead for the institution.

Can you please introduce yourself?

Thank you very much. My name is Hajiya Sharifatu Abdullahi Bakari, and I am the Provost of A.B. Na’ibi College of Nursing Sciences in Lau. I have spent several years working in nursing education and administration. It is truly a great honour to lead this new college and work with a committed team to train nurses and midwives who will serve their communities with skill and honesty.

What inspired the creation of this college, and how involved was the founder Sheikh Dr. Abdullahi Bala Lau in the process?

The idea for the college came because there was a serious need for more trained health workers, especially in Taraba and the Northeast in general. The vision came from Sheikh Dr. Abdullahi Bala Lau. He is well known as a religious leader, but he also cares deeply about health, education, and the wellbeing of people. He played a big role from the very beginning—starting with the idea in February 2024, helping with planning, getting approvals, and supporting the process until the college became real. He is still a strong moral and spiritual guide for us.

Do you think this college is different from other nursing schools in Nigeria? If yes, what makes it unique?

Yes, I believe A.B. Na’ibi College is quite different. Like other colleges, we train nurses and midwives, but the way we do it makes us special. First, the college was built on strong values—discipline, religion, and academic excellence. Even though we are young, we already have good science laboratories, demonstration rooms, and we focus not just on cities but also on rural health through our community-based programmes. Also, we got quick accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and NBTE, which shows our readiness and commitment. Our aim is not just to produce professionals but good role models in healthcare.

This college is still young. Can you share some of the challenges and achievements so far?

Of course. As a new college, we faced some challenges such as building enough facilities for students, hiring enough qualified teachers, and gaining public trust. But we also achieved a lot in a short time. We got full accreditation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council on June 6, 2024, and approval from NBTE for the National Diploma on May 25, 2025. We admitted over 300 students within the first year, built well-equipped laboratories and demonstration rooms, and signed MoUs with top hospitals like FMC Jalingo, Specialist Hospital Jalingo, and others for clinical training. We also have a good team of facilitators who handle both theory and practical training.

How do students get admitted into the college?

Admission is based on merit. Students must have at least five credits in English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics—not more than two sittings—in WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, or NBAIS. But NABTEB and NBAIS are not combined with other results. All applications are submitted through our online portal at https://application.abnacnm.edu.ng. After applying, students are invited for an aptitude test and interview to ensure only serious and qualified candidates are admitted.

What courses is the college offering currently? And how are you improving the school in both academic and non-academic areas?

We currently offer five main programmes: Basic Nursing, Basic Midwifery, Community Nursing, Community Midwifery, and the National Diploma (ND) in Nursing. Academically, we are improving our curriculum, bringing in digital tools for learning, and hiring more skilled facilitators. On the non-academic side, we focus on discipline, extracurricular activities, spiritual development, and improving campus safety. We are also expanding our facilities like hostels and staff offices to make the environment more comfortable for learning and working.

Is there any plan to introduce new programmes in the future?

Yes, there are. Now that we have NBTE’s approval to run the National Diploma, we are already working on introducing the Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nursing. We also plan to add other health-related programmes like Public Health Nursing, Health Information Management, and Environmental Health Technology, once we get the necessary approvals.

Is the college officially approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN)?

Yes, we are fully accredited by the NMCN. The approval was granted on June 6, 2024. This means our graduates are recognized and can be licensed to work as professional nurses and midwives anywhere in Nigeria.

Does the college have partnerships or affiliations with other schools or hospitals?

We don’t yet have a university affiliation, but we have signed agreements with many hospitals and health institutions for clinical training. These include Federal Medical Centre Jalingo, Specialist Hospital Jalingo, Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Health Services Management Board, and Jaji Clinic Jalingo. These partnerships give our students the hands-on experience they need.

Can you tell us about the general condition of the school in terms of facilities and staff? Are they strong enough to last?

Yes, we are doing well in that area. We have demonstration rooms, a modern science lab, well-furnished classrooms, and administrative offices. Our staff are qualified professionals who are committed to both theory and practical training. While we are always looking to improve, we are confident that what we have now meets the required standards and can support the college for many years.

What efforts are being made to ensure safety, discipline, and welfare for staff and students?

We take these matters very seriously. For security, we work with local law enforcement and have security personnel on campus. For welfare, we provide counseling services, religious support, and regular health checks for both students and staff. We also have strict rules to ensure good behavior and maintain a respectful and productive environment.

How is your relationship with the host community in Lau?

Our relationship with the Lau community is very peaceful and supportive. We’ve received great support from local leaders, government authorities, and the people. In return, the college has created jobs, encouraged development, and provided health education in the area. We see the community as our partner and always involve them in our activities.

Finally, what message do you have for parents, students, and the general public?

To parents, thank you for trusting us with your children. We promise to give them the best care and education possible. To our students, take your studies seriously, stay disciplined, and become great ambassadors of the college. And to the public, A.B. Na’ibi College of Nursing Sciences is here to serve and build a new generation of health workers. We invite everyone to support us, work with us, and help spread the word. Together, we can build a better future for healthcare in Nigeria. May Allah bless us all.

Rev. Joseph Unum Ajaver is a clergy with the Christian Reformed Church – Nigeria (CRCN). In this interview with Jethro Yerga, he identified causes of the prolonged crisis between Tiv and Jukun and maintained that truth is the only panacea for permanent peace.

Excerpt.

For quite a long time, the Tiv and Jukun people of Taraba State have been in crisis, especially in Southern Taraba. What are the implications or setbacks of this crisis on these two tribes?

The crisis has brought a lot of set backs on the two tribes. Let me be a little bit personal. As am talking to you now, my father’s home town has been completely destroyed. All my relatives including, siblings, brothers, sisters and the church members are now refugees. Both tribes are in pains at least for one thing or the other and we don’t know when we will come back to our places and development is seriously retarded. There is no law. Some of the displaced persons are in Jootar, some Bali, Mutum Biyu, Jalingo and some in other parts of the neighbouring Benue State. Poverty is hoovering in the land, No proper education of the young ones as Primary and secondary schools are completely destroyed. There is no serious reconciliation yet and so we have given room for foreigners to come and occupy our villages.

If you go to our villages now, the Tiv/Jukun are no longer in those places. Foreigners have occupied the places. They are grazing on the lands freely. Some places, strangers have gone to farm on the lands in the name they have bought them. I keep wondering how one would buy land during crisis and am also afraid that if there is no room for a dependable reconciliation, both the Tiv and their Jukun brothers will continue missing several opportunities both physically and spiritually.

How do you look at the disposition or roles, play by leaders in Taraba State, especially leaders from Southern Taraba as regard ending the Jukun/Tiv crisis?

The leaders have played vital roles toward taming the crisis. There have been several reconciliation meetings but non of the meetings has yielded positive result. The fact is that even when the leaders meet and agree on certain things, the agreements don’t stay long before breaking down. So leaders of both tribes have done their best but a reliable solution has not yet come on this prolonged crisis. I want to point out that, the fault is coming from non implementation of agreements that are reached at the end of each reconciliatory meeting. The government seems to lack a political will to make things work. I think there are forces somewhere. Been a clergy, I believe that the forces of the enemy are there. Anytime a peace committee agreed on something, it would not stay long and the agreement would break.

What do you think should be done, to permanently end the Jukun/Tiv crisis in Southern Taraba .

There is need for introspection by the two parties. All the parties must be sincere to themselves. We just need to tell ourselves the truth. We should think like human beings. The Tiv and the Jukun should know that it’s God that brought them together from time immemorial. If the Jukun and Tiv understand these and really love one another, the crisis will die permanently. Unfortunately, we have refused to love and accept each other. There is a conception by the Jukun that the Tiv are settles in Wukari, while the Tiv always try to claim their constitutional right as indigenes of the land.

I advised that Pastors and ministers of each group should seat up and live up to their responsibilities of preaching peace and love all the times instead of taking sides. They should also preach repentance. One good thing is that, We are from the same religion. There is no reason whatsoever that should make us to be fighting each other. If we look at ourselves as one indivisible body which belongs to God, we will tolerate one another. It takes two to tangle. It takes two people to agree so we should implement our agreements. We should not be going back to fight to break them at each given time.

On the part of the Taraba State Government, can you say the government has done enough towards bringing the crisis to an end?

The various administrations have done their best. I remember during the administration of Danbaba Suntai, any where there was crisis, he would send security to go and arrest the crisis immediately. Governor Jolly Nyame did same. However, am very sorry to say that the immediate past government, under the leadership of Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku played his role, but did not do enough towards ending this crisis.

The crisis has lasted for over four years. From 1st April, 2019 up to date, 2023, and we did not see where the government had taken decisive majors or raised a loud voice to stop the crisis. Whenever the former Governor made a political pronouncement that the Tiv people should go back to their ancestral homes, the Jukun people would say the governor had not given them the security to allow the Tiv people to return yet. But when the Tiv people make attempt to return in accordance to the Governor’s instruction, crisis erupt. This had continued until he left us with the crisis. The last time we met with him, he replied us that he was making arrangements to end the crisis, through an organization structure of Tiv and Jukun building their houses side by side.

So I can say that the government was not proactive as concerned this crisis. Throughout his last four years, there was crisis and there was no any pronouncement from him not to talk of follow up in respect to ending the crisis. This crisis has kept reoccurring, but it is under governor Darius’ administration that it lasted for so long like this. The government had set up committees to look into the crisis but had failed to monitor what the committee had done. We approached him on several occasions but there was no positive response. We visited all the Local Chiefs to see how we could restore peace but all they kept telling us was that we should go back to the governor who is the chief security officer of the State.
Well, am sure if the governor had came out with a loud voice and given a matching order in respect to taming the crisis, everyone would have settled down with peace in the area by now.

Coincidentally, the governor of Taraba State is now a pastor and the neighboring Benue also has a Rev Father as the Governor. What is your expectation from these two men of God as regard ending this age long crisis?

Thank God for this coincidence. Some people may not know much about the Executive Governor of Taraba State, especially as concern his pastoral life. I think I know a little about him. If there is any CRCN church from Wukari down to Kwatan Sule, it is a result of the hard work of the Governor’s father. He was an ardent evangelist who had spread the gospel of Christ with passion. So the Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas comes from a good evangelical gospel background.
Again, the Governor of Benue State, Rev.Father Hyacinth Alia, is a Catholic priest. Before he became the governor of Benue State, he had worked as a priest in the church, healing countless people. Many people used to go to him en mass and many got healed from their sicknesses and other challenges. That’s why the people of Benue State prefer him to any other person. But I want to say that this crisis is not a Benue and Taraba, Tiv and Jukun race crisis. It is the Tiv in Wukari Local Government and the Jukun in Wukari that are fighting. So if the Governor of Benue State comes into play any role in the crisis, he is not supposed to come in defense of the Tiv race. It will be very wrong to do so. It is the role of the Taraba State government to ensure that the Tiv and Jukun people in the state live in peace and unity.

The role he can play is to come in the capacity of a man of God and appeal to these two tribes to recognize the purpose of God on their lives and stop the crisis. I believe that if the people will recognize that the Tiv in Taraba are different from the Tiv in Benue administratively, the problem will be half solved. Though the Tiv people in Taraba are also from the Tiv race, but they belong to a different region. They belong to a different state that is governed by a different person other than the governor of Benue State.
The crisis should not be treated as a crisis between the Tiv race and the Jukun race but as a crisis between the Tiv in Taraba and the Jukun in Taraba. It should not be a fight between the governor of Benue State and the governor of Taraba State.

What do you suggest the two tribes should be doing in order to rebuild enduring and permanent peace that seems to be lost in the area?

The two tribes must be each other’s keeper. They should behave as Christians and stop the unnecessary killings. They must tell themselves the truth. The truth is that the Jukuns should know that there are Tiv people who are indigenous in Taraba State. There is no doubt that there are people who have come from Benue or other places to farm in Taraba or look for one thing or the other just like it’s obtainable everywhere, but there are Tiv people who should be recognized as indigenes of Wukari and should be given the practical recognition of indegineship.
These people were curved into the state from time immemorial. They were there during the time of northern region, in Benue Province, from the time of Benue Plateau, from the time of Gongola and now Taraba State.
Also, other people who are neutral should also be engaged to help settle some of the issues. The Tiv of Benue who are not indigenes of Taraba should not pognose in the crisis of Tiv in Taraba. They should not come and say let’s go and help our Tiv brothers in Taraba. That is wrong. This is what the Jukun people are always complaining. The Jukuns always point it out at every fora. I also feel strongly that they are right because, even in Taraba, it is not all the Tiv people that are displaced. It’s mostly people in Wukari that are facing difficulties in settling peacefully with the Jukuns owing to the fact that we don’t want to tell ourselves the truth and hear the truth.

What is your general call to both Jukun and Tiv of Taraba State especially those in Wukari Local Government Area?

Am a pastor, so let me preach a little. In the book of Hebrews 12:14, the Bible say we should make peace with all men and to be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord. I want to tell both parties to repent and make peace with each other. I don’t want any one to die and go to hell fire. So my call is that they should all repent of hatred, backbiting, fighting, tribalism and unnecessary sentiments. All this rancor is political and Satanic. It is evil.
This political era has cause a lot of trouble, and we should accept the diversity of our differences. If we are able to do that, the crisis will die a natural death. We all are aiming to go to heaven. You can see that I am a Tiv man by tribe, but I am a pastor and preacher in CRCN, a church believed to be owned predominantly by Jukun race. I don’t have sentiment when it comes to living a life that God created us to live.
So I advised that we should learn how to treat one another as human and Christians. We should always preach peace and not hatred. Everyone should be obedient to God’s words.
Politically, the Tiv are known for their block votes. They hardly go with the Jukun in one party just because of lack of trust and this has cause serious challenges in maintaining peace as well.
I want to appeal that both Jukun and Tiv in Wukari should try as much as possible and understand themselves so as to work and flow together politically. They must not all belong to one party. What I mean is that they can generally work together towards arriving at their common goals. Whatever political party you belong should not make your brother an enemy. Both youths should not fight for their politicians. Our politicians should also work for unity and not creating unnecessary hatred between the two tribes.
Those things causing distrust should be removed. Let the leaders stand for the truth and am telling you, they all will enjoy the fruits of the land without tears.
This is not time to fight, but time for peace. It is time to build up the ancient ruins. I call on the Tiv youth to stop taking law into their hands, and the Jukun youth should not take advantage of this and continue killing innocent citizens. The Government of Dr. Agbu Kefas has just come into power. Let us all give him a chance to amend what has gone wrong for years. He is a capable hand. With capable and God fearing people around him, I believe he will surely stand for Justice, Equity, Fairness and Truth.

Hon. Mark Useni is the winner of the keenly contested House of Representatives election in Takum, Donga, and Ussa Federal Constituency. In this interview, the present House of Assembly member, representing Takum 1 State Constituency, reveals his joy and the challenges ahead of his mandate. He spoke with Journalists in his country home, Takum, few minutes after his declaration. Williams Ayooso was there.

It is obvious that you are in a happy mood over your victory, can you share with our readers, the way you are feeling?

I want to first of all thank God for this opportunity and blessing He has given me to represent my people in this time. My feeling is of joy and I am conscious of the challenges that will accompany the new mandate by my people. As you can see here, we are a very cosmopolitan constituency, so it is an enormous responsibility to represent a people with diverse religion and socio-cultural background. But I am persuaded by the hope that the Almighty God that has entrusted this responsibility into my hands will help me not to disappoint my people.

You contested with friends and your elders, what is your advice to them?

Contesting against my friends and elder ones was a very challenging experience. Those that we contested together are indeed my friends and elder brothers. But I’m comforted by the fact that, at some point, God favoured me to work for them and I have supported them in their various political endevours at different times.

Therefore, my words to them is that, we must continue to work together for the interest of our people. If the people are our focus and the reason why we contest election, then once election is concluded, we must come together and see how we can best work for the people. I will also appreciate their support, now that God has called me to serve all of them. We are all politicians, no hard feelings about campaign or election. I urge my elders to come so we can work together irrespective of our political parties.

I want to say that political parties are only platforms and not religion. You will agree with me that the part of the state that we are from is the most ravaged with challenges of insecurity. If you move from here to Wukari, you would see that communities have been displaced and nobody cares. From Takum to Mararraba, people have been displaced, nobody cares. Takum to Katsina-ala, through Dogon-Gawa, people have been displaced. Takum to Ussa, Kashimbila to Takum to Rafin-kada all people have been displaced. These calls our attention to the fact that we must come together as a people and see how we can address our challenges.

Our people are very hard working. Although I am conversant with my local government, but the campaign trip took me on as refresher trip. We went into the interland and we could see that our people are hardworking and only needs us to support them and they can bring out there best to contribute to their welfare as well as national growth.

So, we have a lot to do for our people, we must throw away the energy of fighting and pulling down of one another, if we must grow.

Mr. Samson T. Chenor is the President of Kaka Youth Development Association (KYDA). In this interview with Worldview Magazine’s Senior Correspondent, EMMANUEL BONGNWI in Jalingo, he insisted that the over 36 clans in Kaka must have one voice to give peace and development a chance, even as he noted that having a hall in Jalingo would fight the Kaka ‘A’ and ‘B’ virus of disunity, among other things.

Sir, can you share with us what prompted you to come up with the idea of building a befitting Kaka Centre in Jalingo?

Yes. To start with, permit me to let you know that KYDA is a Socio-Cultural organization, registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission to advance a common good for the Kaka people both at home and in the diaspora.

The association has faced a lot of challenges following clashes of activities with other organizations. Most often, we ended up holding our meetings under a tree. So, we kept asking ourselves why we must continue to rent premises for our meetings.

Therefore, we decided that we will build the hall to serve as a unifying factor for the Kaka people; a place we could use to fight the virus of disunity and the Kaka ‘A’ and Kaka ‘B’ syndrome, which has almost engulfed the Kaka community since the advent of democracy in 1999 till date.

Sometimes back in 2018, the Kaka people were faced with so many challenges steming from segregation and division among themselves. But I kept asking; Why the sentiment and misunderstanding among ourselves?

All these questions put together made me to sit down, think and then contact my fellow youth from different communities on the Mambilla plateau.

I first invited three from each community, after a long interaction and cross fertilization of ideas among ourselves, we adjoin for another round table conference.

We examined the situation and asked ourselves, what do we do? We put together ideas and opinions and we agreed that we (the youths) would seat up to our responsibilities.

We said we would not allow the error of our elders to destroy us. That was what brought about this great gathering you are seeing today.

From all indications, the youth have played a very vital role by bringing the elders of the Kaka community together.

Are you fulfilled that today, the Kaka people are gathered together and speaking with one voice?

I am convinced and I strongly believed that the Kaka people today are speaking with one voice.

Over 36 clans from the kaka nation are all represented in this gathering, elders that have never been to a Kaka meeting of this nature are here all to support this event.
This alone is a convincing symbol that the Kaka people are now speaking with one voice. Any form of disagreement or differences that have existed in time past are gone forever. I am assuring you that we shall never see these things again.

What are your future plans?

My future plan is to bring the youths together and disabuse their minds towards anything that has caused us all the set backs.

The next thing is to ensure that our youths get involved in politics, attend higher educational pursuit, self-reliance activities and other profiting activities in order to bring development to the good people of our communities in particular and the entire Taraba State as a whole.

Can you tell us about some of your challenges?

In whatsoever you do, there most be some challenges. First and foremost, our greatest challenge right now is capital and power.

When you are in power you change things around your life and your community.
The capital challenge to run this organization is based on the fact that most of my members are youth and are unemployed.

Well trained graduates but they are unemployed. I would love them to be empowered so that they can change things and make things happen for this community. These are the challenges we are facing.

What legacy will you want to leave for the next administration that will be taking over from you?

I intend to hand over by way of our physical handwork for the next person to come and see the road map that my executives and I have laid.

The administration can take over from where we stopped. It is not a verbal record, it is one with structures on ground. We believe that is a remarkable means to which the next person will come and take over.
Thank you

WHY TIV SHOULD VOTE JUKUN CANDIDATES, Elder Shaakaa

CHIEF TEGHTEGH SHAAKAA ADAGBA, is a Taraba State`s elder statesman. He is a Special Adviser to the Governor of Taraba State, as well as Chairman, Forum of Taraba State Tiv Political Appointees. Last week, he celebrated his 74th birthday and Worldview’s CHRISTIANA BABAYO asked him to share his experience in life with our readers and he agreed to do so. He shared with Babayo, his low moments in life and why it is important for the Tiv people of Taraba State to vote Jukun candidates in the forthcoming elections.

Excerpts:

You celebrated your birthday yesterday and many of us only saw it on social media platforms. What happened? 

Yes, I clocked 74 years yesterday. There was a celebration, but it was low key. That is why many of you did not know. I did not intent to celebrate, but some younger ones who believe in my ideology gathered and gave me a surprised package. Before one would know what was happening, we were celebrating my birthday.

Why do you decided that you will not celebrate?

 At 74, I still don’t have a feeling of fulfilment. A lot of things are going wrong.  I have been in the vanguard of playing some key roles so that things would be better, so that our society would be a better place for all, so that there would be peaceful existence across board. Yet, we are where we are at the moment, where crisis continued to infiltrate the ranks of our people. For this reason, I was disillusioned and this killed my mood of celebration.

At my age, I’m rated as an elder everywhere that I go. If 50 people are seated, in most instances, I will be the eldest among them. And by this, I’m expected to proffer solution on some challenges, especially those that bother on peace and stability of our society. Unfortunately, as much as I try in contributing to solution finding so as to have a peaceful existence across divergent interests and communities, the situation is rather getting worst.

Day after day, we continue to hear killings, tribal and religious conflicts in the communities. When I look at all these, I fell disillusioned. I feel that these years of grace, which the Almighty God has given me is not useful. That is why I did not celebrate.

But on the side of life, I can say that I’m fulfilled. I have children and grandchildren. We are a large family that I can proudly say that it’s a successful one. We have countless number of graduates. We have professors, technocrats chattered accountants and successful business men. For that I’m happy. But nothing gives happiness more than peace of mind and a peaceful environment. That is why I’m complaining of not being fulfilled.

 You are not only an elder. You are also a politician. Now, the era of politics has come. What will you be telling your people, especially the Tiv population in Taraba State?

 They should cast their votes to candidates from Jukun ethnic extraction. When we were children, we used to hunt with bows and arrows. Anytime that we shoot an arrow and it missed, our father will advise us to stand at the very spot and shoot another arrow at the same direction. Where it landed, it is where we should search for the missing one.

It’s a good thing that the Tiv people are contesting election on different political platforms. But we need to ask ourselves how it was been done in the past. This is not the first time that the Tiv people are contesting election.

In 1979 a Tiv man won election. How did it happen? How Tangul Gaza did won election?  How Simon Awua and David Mtuem did won election? What about Hon Dooga Gbashi, how did he win the election? Is it only the Tiv votes that gave these people victory at the polls? Some Jukun people also voted for them. How does it happen?

Now, how come the Jukun are not willing to vote for a Tiv man during election? How come that the Jukun don’t want to go together with his Tiv brother on any engagement? We need to study the past. We need to go back to the drawing board. It is with the Jukuns that our political future is missing. It is within the Jukun that we will search for our missing political future. The Bible also told me that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. Our neigbour in this sense is the Jukuns.

Sometimes we make mistake by saying that we cannot do this and that with the Jukun. We do it with other people. Some of these people that we invest our trust in them are very loyal to the Jukuns, they indeed fear them. After every arrangement or engagement, they would betray us and continue their business with the Jukuns thereby living us out, alone and frustrated. We should learn our lesson by now.

Therefore, I’m advising my people not to insist that that they would not vote for a Jukun man because of the crisis phenomenon, rather, they should review the antecedents of those Jukun candidates and select the one that best suits their interest and vote for the person. Emphasis should be on what the candidate is bringing on the table for the Tiv people.

I believe strongly that it’s only the Tiv and the Jukun themselves that will decide on how to resolve their age long crisis. They know why they started and they know how to end it. Other stakeholders can only support them to fast tract this process and that is my appeal to them. As an elder, with my wealth of experience in conflicts resolution, I will continue to explore means of resolving this age long crisis within the Jukun circle, in spite of daunting challenges and bitter experiences. 

It seems that Jukun are not interested in involving Tiv in their scheme of politics. They share political positions among themselves without involving the Tiv. How will your principle work in the circumstances, in other words how would you convince the Tiv people to follow your path? 

I cannot rule out the aspect of greed among some of them in this circumstances. Not all of them are on the same page when it comes to power sharing. I’m aware that a lot of them use to canvass for a Tiv interests in some of these arrangements.

Be it that as it may, I wish that our people should look at a bigger picture of our relationship with the Jukun people. We need each other to survive and develop as a people. In achieving this feat, sacrifices has to be made. Sacrifice, as you know, is a voluntary disposition to endure pain. You can only sacrifice when you are strong. In this instance, sacrifice can come from any side or from any person.

At the end of the day, we are looking at a situation whereby one day, both the Tiv and the Jukun will sit back and say that this our crisis, which has lingered for so long, depleting our population and destroying our economy, is needless. I believe that this is achievable.

What we should be doing now is to upscale our bargain capacity, by doing our voter registration massively, so that we will be negotiating with the candidates for our interests on the side of strength and influence. We should also be supporting the government in power, so that we can confidently ask for our share in the next political dispensation.

With all modesty, I wish to plead with Tiv and Jukun elders that they should be telling the younger generation the truth on what their parents were doing for each other.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no Tiv family that was not yoked with a Jukun family, in terms of mutual love and understanding for each other. This was vice versa. If we tell our younger generation, continually, how their grandparents were friends and their brothers’ keepers, the hatred among them would reduce drastically. One will expect that civilization and modernization will act on the hostile nature of the younger generation, but it’s getting worse. They are growing with heavy doses of ethnic hatred in their brain. This is very unfortunate and it’s very painful.  

With this this position, who among the Jukun candidates is your choice for governorship in the forthcoming election in the state? 

He is Agbu Kefas. Kefas is the hope for a better Taraba. I’m not saying that other Jukun candidates are not good. But Kefas is just the best for the state. I advise all Tiv people in the state to vote for him. I’m glad that our party, PDP has gotten the best candidate.

Why Tiv for Agbu Kefas?

 Agbu Kefas has a lot of friends in Tiv. He studied in the same school with lots of Tiv people. At the peak of the last Jukun Tiv crisis, he was one of those Jukun people that were synergizing with concerned Tiv people to search for solution.

Aside this, he is a devote Christian. One of the cardinal commandments of God is that, thou shall not kill. I’m sure that with this background, a Tiv man will never be killed for whatever reason under his watch. Aside these, the young man has a vibrant intellectual background. He was an intelligent officer during his service in the Nigerian Army. He is well educated and very principled. Looking in his face, you would notice desire, hunger and taste for service to his people. Ironically, you cannot see desperation on his face and in his attitude.

You cannot manipulate the conscience of such a person. You cannot mislead such a person and such a person cannot descend so low to serve as a tribal or religious bigot. For me, Agbu Kefas symbolizes these virtues.  He deserves our vote.

 What is your suggestion on how to tame the lingering crime wave in some parts of the country, especially in Taraba State? 

We should continue to encourage government at various levels not to be overwhelmed. In Taraba we used to hear in the news. But now, it has come to stay with us. The good news is that Taraba State government, under Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku is not resting on his oars to ensure that these criminal elements are flushed out from the state. All that we need now is collaborate, cooperate and encourage the government, so that it can do more.

Tiv are the first victim. We are farmers with rural background. These criminals live in the forest or in the bush and we are usually their soft target. We live at their mercy. Sometimes they enslave our people by intimidating them and forcing them to render some services such as cooking for them or giving them food items. Any suspicion that you are reporting to the authority, you are a death person. Sometimes, they kill indiscriminately to hide their identity.

Worst still, the source of our livelihood is not friendly for crisis. While the herders quickly move their herds from any crisis zone, our people do not have such opportunity. Our farms are fixed, and once you abandon your farm, it will take you many years to stabilize. This is what we are going through as a people.

The economic situation of a Tiv man is depleted. That is why nowadays, you can see some Tiv people begging and engaging in low profile lifestyles. This is alien to Tiv culture. In those days, even if you offer a gift to a Tiv man, he would feel you are insulting him. But these values are vanishing.

What a Tiv man needs most now is peace. With a peaceful environment, he can till his land and make millions and live a good life.

In the previous edition, Worldview Magazine featured an exclusive chat with Comrade JJ Kataps, who said among other things that Ministries and Parastatals have collapse under Governor Ishaku’s administration. However, in this interview, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media & Publicity, Bala Dan-Abu countered some of these allegations. He spoke with Jethro Yerga,

WV: In an exclusive interview with Worldview Magazine recently, Kataps alleged that Ministries and parastatals have collapsed under Governor Darius Dickson Ishakus’s administration. He specifically maintained that there is no running cost for the ministries, pensioners are being owed and most still, there are road projects whose completion can better be imagined. What is your take on this?

JJ Kataps is not being fair to the governor. He was one of the staunch supporters of His Excellency for a very long time but because of some political decisions that did not go down well for him in the state, he decided to change camp and then starts criticizing the system.

How will he say that ministries have collapsed? Collapsed in which sense? The ministries are in place. The commissioners are there with their Permanent Secretaries doing their jobs, running their ministries on daily basis.

Most of the projects been executed by this administration are being done under these ministries. So how will he now say that Ministries and parastatals in the state have collapse? Which of them?

To say that they are not getting running cost is not also true. As a matter of fact, they are receiving running cost. It may not be as frequently as it was at the beginning of the administration about a year ago, but that is because of the financial situation, which is a global issue that is beyond Nigeria.

States are no longer getting as much money as they used to get in the past. In the midst of this global situation, how does he expect the government to meet all these financial obligations including payment of salaries?

The governor in his wisdom has decided to prioritized some of these things following the global financial challenge at the moment. He may not be paying running cost for some ministries every month but that does not mean that the payment has stopped. This is because, ministries cannot be paid at the same time. The payment has been rationalized and distributed in such a way that those who get this month will have to exercise patience in the next month and those who get in the next month will also exercise patient in the following month so that every ministry and parastatal can get.

But whatever is due for them is always recorded in their favour and when the situation improves, they are paid in arrears. So to say that the government has stopped giving running cost completely is unfair. He just wants to blackmail the administration and this administration cannot be blackmailed because most of the issues he raised are already in the public domain and very body is looking at them. The administration is very open, very straight forward and highly desirous that everybody should taste the benefit of governance.

WV: What about the pensioners that he said are not been paid?

What the government does now is that every month, there is a certain amount of money that is set aside for payment of pensioners. But everybody who is a beneficiary cannot be paid at the same time. So there is machinery for selecting beneficiaries who should be paid every month. The governor has ensured that the process of selecting who to be paid for each month is free and fair. But you know, the money has accumulated for many years.

The governor inherited it. The backlog has to be cleared and the government does not have enough money to be paying everybody on the same day or in the same month. So the Payment is being rationalized in such a way that a system exist whereby, people are selected every month and paid.

Recently, we invited some of the pensioners in the state to come and bare their minds about what the government is doing as regard payment of their pensions and they testified before the press that they have been paid their pensions monthly. But the gratuity involves a large sum of money. That is why it’s been rationalized in such a way that people are selected and paid monthly.

If JJ Kataps wants to be a politician, he should join politics. He should not play politics with the welfare of the people. We don’t accept a situation where somebody will just come to the media to just blackmail the administration just because he doesn’t agree with some of the political decision that the administration may have taken. He has his personal grudges and he is carrying it against the governor and it is very unfair.

WV: What will you say about the allegation that the four billion naira that has been sunk into the Green Farm Project is a waste?

There is nothing that is waste here. The governor has said on several occasions that the administration has been frustrated by the Central Bank. There was a loan that the governor was supposed to access to continue with that project which was denied by the bank. That is part of the problem. So to now say that the project is a waste is really amusing.

A lot of people have benefitted from the project and some are still benefitting from it up till now. It has given jobs to many people. It produces high grade vegetables for local consumption. In fact, the project is presently serving as a research ground for research agencies, Taraba State University Jalingo and other institutions in the state. Aside these, the farm is producing high grade vegetables which are been sold in different markets in and around the state.

WV: Is the farm functioning?

You need to go there and see things for yourself. The farm is running well but it requires some assistance owing to its importance in the state and beyond. That is why I want to use this opportunity to appeal to some related Federal Government Agencies to assist the administration in sustenance and maintenance of the project owing to its importance in the state.

WV: Can you react to the allegation that some of the government companies in the state for example, Taraba Motel, Trade fair complex, Taraba State Micro Finance Bank etc are rotting away and some are not in proper shape of operation?

Some people have forgotten that this administration has revived some of the moribund companies that it inherited. Most of these companies were not in operation when the government came on board. Even the Mambilla Beverage Nigeria Limited was not functioning properly when this administration came on board seven years ago.

It is this same administration that revived the company that is now highly productive today making profit every day. Many of these companies were activated by the administration. We are not saying that all of these companies are revived, but most of them are revived and they are doing well.

WV: React to the allegation that the governor has failed to make up time to visit victims of the various crises in the state.

People have lost memory of the situation that prevailed and the time that this administration came on board. At the time that this administration came on board, several communities were at war with one another. There were a lot of communal crises which was worsened by the herdsmen farmers’ crisis. The administration confronted all these challenges frontally and resolved them.
Today you don’t have all these crises any more.

The one that we have now is the one that is affecting virtually every part of the country which is kidnapping and arm banditry which is not even as high, compare to other states of the country. This is because the government has been very proactive towards defending the lives and property of the good people of the state.

The government has been working cordially with all the security agencies in the state to secure the state. There are security meetings virtually on weekly bases. The government has also provided logistics for the security agencies including other things that they need to combat insecurity in the state.

JJ Kataps has in the recent time, becomes the mouth piece of the aggrieved politicians in the state. People who feel that they have not been treated fair by their rating. That is the role he is playing now. He should try as much as possible and understand that there is a different between the role of a labour leader and the role of a political leader. These are two different things and if he wants to combine the two, he is making the mess of himself.

WV: Why is it that, the administration has decided to enlist Mambilla Beverages Company Limited for privatization at the time that it is just left with less than ten months to go?

The decision is taken in order to save the companies against uncertainties of the future under new political administration. The fact that the company is making profit now doesn’t mean that it will continue to make profit especially that if the person who is going to take over the state is not interested in giving the company the kind of attention the present administration has being giving.

We all know that government is not very good in managing some of these companies. On several fora, the governor has made it publicly that all these companies that the administration has reactivated are going to be privatized because if they are not privatized before he hands them over to the next governor, the person may not share the same philosophy with him. He is also not sure whether the companies would continue to perform well as they are doing now. He had always said so. Even when he was reviving some of those companies, he was always saying that he had the intention of privatizing them.

So what the government is trying to do is completely different from what people are saying. All that the government is doing is for public interest and the people’s argument are not based on sound and cogent reasons.

WV: Has the government followed due process in the privatization process of the Mambilla Beverages Company Limited? They argued that the State House of Assembly has to be notified and the resolution has to be sent to Nigeria Stock Exchange where it will be published for individuals who wish to purchase shares to also know.

This administration is highly law abiding and will never do anything that is illegal. It is the government which is made up of people who really know what they are doing and if a company is going to be privatized, definitely the law guiding that must be followed from the beginning to the end.

The government will continue to act under sound legal advice in the entire process. Every legal step that is supposed to be followed would be followed to the later. Nobody should expect that the government is going to do anything illegal concerning privatization of the company. EVerything will be done according to the law of the land.

WV: What is the Governor’s message to the people of the state?

Taraba State is going to be thirty-one on the 27th of this month and the governor is very happy about it. As such, he is using this opportunity to thank the people for their support because this is going to be the last of anniversaries of the administration that he will be marking before he step-down as the Executive Governor of the State. This means something special to him and he is using this opportunity to thank people for their support.

He is using this opportunity to tell people to continue to support the state and he is also using it to assure the people that his administration has done a lot and is also going to do much more before he leaves office so as to build a legacy that the people will continue to treasure forever.
The government is wishing Tarabans a happy 31st anniversary of Taraba State.

THE DARIUS ISHAKU LED ADMINISTRATION IS SOON TO ROUND UP THEIR TENURE COME 2023 AND A LOT HAS TRANSPIRED IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS. COMRADE JJ KATAPS SPEAKS ON THE IRREGULARITIES TRAILING THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE RECENT PLAN TO PRIVATIZE THE MAMBILLA BEVERAGES. JJ KATAPS IS A FORMER CHAIRMAN NIGERIA UNION OF TEACHERS, NUT, NIGERIAN LABOUR CONGRESS, NLC, LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE COMMISSION, HE SPOKE TO WORLDVIEW’S CHRISTIANA BABAYO.

 How do you assess the Darius Ishaku led administration over the last seven years?

Every institution has collapsed, local governments staff salaries are owed, pensioners are owed, the worst hit are those retiring from the primary schools, university lecturers are not been paid, ministries and parastatals are complaining of running cost. Even the creation of chiefdom that we lauded in 2018, for example in my local government they have bastardised the exercise by removing this one and appointing this one tomorrow, court injunctions are here and there, so many things are simply wrong.

We pride ourselves with road network, but where is the one in Bali to Gembu? The one from Jen to Karim, has it been completed? If the 4 billion wasted in the green farm was utilized, they would have done wonderful things. What was this Governor’s contribution to Taraba before 2015. You cannot feel pain for something you didn’t labor for. The NLC here has collapsed, he has wrecked the NUT in Taraba state, and they even sponsored the creation of union which doesn’t fall under the concurrent list. He is just busy doing what he wants and the House of Assembly is not anything to talk about, it has become a house of approval.

Tarabans are not fools, so for me it is very sad and for whoever will succeed in 2023, I pray for the person because there is a big task at hand, fixing the mess on ground will take a lot of energy, time and resources.

I cannot sit and sing praises when people are wallowing in abject poverty. The families of pensioners are wallowing in poverty sickness, diseases and death while the person presiding over the state who swore to protect the interest of the people is there.

Looking at the security situation in the state particularly, what are our chances of peaceful and credible elections in 2023?

First, I wish those that emerged at the primary elections the best of luck. In the aspect of security, we have always been in the news, I am afraid.  There is an influx of so many bad elements into the state. And I have seen in other states that whenever some of these things happen, the governors move around to those locations to see for themselves. Has this Governor gone to these things for himself?

In seven years plus, this governor has not officially visit any primary school in this state, I challenge them to show me an example. So the chief security officer has to be on ground. Our forests have been infested, people cannot go to farms because of insecurity and we can’t blame the Nigerian police alone, they are always understaffed and underpaid. Well it is a very sad situation.

Can you give us a synopsis of the Mambilla beverage company?

Before 2015 when this administration came on board, the company was going through challenges. Some of which were; the engines were powered using diesel, the engines were obsolete and always breaking down. If you are running on diesel and the machineries are obsolete, the cost of production becomes high. Before the advent of the Dan Baba Administration, the European Union wanted to partner so that they could make that highland tea worldwide because it was said to be one of the best. There was a power and water challenge because they wanted a situation whereby the irrigation system will power the farm all year round. The contract for the construction of the dam was initiated and Taraba state had paid part, it was still remaining that counterpart funding.

The former Acting Governor came in and one of the first things he approved was the money for the final payment and secondly money was released for the purchase of new machineries. So these things were completed, ready for commissioning when the present government took over.

The first assignment this Governor undertook was commissioning the Tunga Dam project. He was not responsible for that, but since government is a continuous thing, we understand. So from 2015 to date that company has been making humongous profit. That place is like goldmine. Now from 2015 to date, no financial report of that company has been published publicly.

And if you listen to the MD of the Taraba investment, he said it is because of the profit the government is making that they want to privatize the place, how can you privatize something that government is making profit from?

Again our worry is that when you privatize 70%, government loses control and the owner takes charge. Of course a company has 24 hours power supply, good machineries, they would want to downsize and the over 4000 workers are people of the indigenous community. Therefore we are saying no, you cannot sell that, not now not even in the foreseeable future. If you want to even do that in the future there must be transparency. Only the dam, it cannot be constructed for 20 billion, why will you sell 70 % shares for 300 million. We will not accept that, this is daylight robbery. If I have my way that Managing Director of investment is not worthy to occupy that position, he should even be arrested.

Didn’t they sink 4 billion in that Green farm project? When it started shrinking why didn’t he call for privatization immediately? Where is Taraba Microfinance bank now? What of Taraba Motel, it is laying there, even the Jolly Nyame stadium itself, Mambilla hotels in Abuja, the cassava producing plant and many others. People who didn’t labor for these things are just disposing our common wealth as they wish.

Mambilla beverages is our heritage, our parents gave out the land for the tea there free of charge. Therefore, if you want to do such you must be sensitive to the entire community not just you alone sitting in the government house or the investment house.

The privatization of the Mambilla beverages has continued to birth reactions from stakeholders and residents all over the state and beyond, how do you react to this sudden development?

First of all, you cannot give what you don’t have because the cost precedes results. If you want to privatize, you must have reasons. You may hear from the government side that the reason is to maximize profit.  But when you want to privatize a company like the Mambilla beverages, you don’t do that haphazardly, it takes time and processes and in some cases it takes as long as four years or more.

The question that comes in mind is, why privatize when you have less than 10 months to go? Why now? Even in four years, you must set a committee of experts. They will comprise even people of the locality and stakeholders from the area that are knowledgeable, including financial and economic experts who will come together and do a total valuation of the company and make recommendation.

And when the recommendation comes, since this company is not just owned by the Taraba state government, it means the state House of Assembly has to receive that recommendation and pass a law and other processes since the company is jointly owned by the local government and the state.

Now after all these is done, it should be sent to the Nigeria stock exchange when it will be published for individuals who will like to purchase shares. When that becomes public knowledge, you can continue the processes. The rumor is that the shares they want to sell will go for 300 million, that’s nonsense; we are too good for that.

What does this privatization mean for the workers, the host community and the residents of the Mambilla?

A company that employs over 4000 people is not small company. If that place is privatized and the owners decide to downsize, many will lose their sources of livelihood, they will not be able to fend for themselves and their families and this will lead to a high rate of criminality in the areas. And if we don’t talk now, posterity will judge us. How can you take away something is part and parcel of a community of like 40 years?

What about the said sensitization going on in the Mambilla plateau concerning the topic at hand?

There is no sensitization going on in the Mambilla plateau. It’s all lies.

What is your call to the government at this moment and the people of Taraba?

We will never sit silent and watch these people scatter what our parents and what others have labored for. We owe it to posterity to speak the truth. They can say we are against them and that’s fine, but I will never stand with what is not right.

Few weeks ago I wrote on my wall on Facebook, I apologized to those who I convinced in one way or the other to vote in this government especially this governor in 2015 and 2019 because there is nothing to write home about. Taraba people should not make the mistake of bringing in somebody who literally knows nothing about our state.

Isaac Hussaini is a Kogi State born professional football player who was brought up in sokoto, Nigeria. In this interview with our reporter, Gaius Jeff Yadima in Abuja, he narrated how he thrived hard through his little beginning to become an international celebrated Professional footballer even as he harped on other issues associated with football.

CAN WE MEET YOU SIR?

Yes my name is Isaac Hussaini. I am a Professional Footballer. By my origin, I hail from Kogi State but I was brought up in Sokoto State Nigeria.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FOOTBALL CAREER ESPECIALLY AS REGARD YOUR LITTLE BEGINNING

Well it has not been easy from day one. It was a battle right from the scratch. I came from a humble beginning as a truck pusher but God has shown me His Grace and favor. I am the last born in my family so my family never wanted me to play football. Apart from my mum, none of them believed that I would make it in life through football.

No body supported my dream apart from my mother because a typical African Nigerian society believe that a child can only succeed in life when he/she goes to school. They believe education is the key to success and nothing else.

Thank God for my mother for her spiritual and financial support at all times. I need not to tell you that she is my number one supporter alongside my lovely and beautiful wife whom we just tied the nuptial knot recently.

In spite of our background, I was determine to make it in football, so God and my hard work brought me this far.

HOW DID YOU STARTED PURSUING YOUR DREAM OF BECOMING A WORLD CELEBRATED FOOTBALLER?

It all started from the street as it is common with any other child in a local setting. As a truck pusher in a transport car park in sokoto, I started playing in the garage with other boys. After hustling every evening, we the wheelbarrow pushers would park our truck, divide ourselves into two teams and play with rubber ball.

One day, a passenger with his luggage who came back from a journey on a fateful evening, called me and told me that he had been watching how I play for a while and had discovered that I can play even with bigger teams. He spoke to me in Hausa saying; “kai dan kwalo ne na kwarai kuma kafi karfin wanan yaran ai. Mai yasa kana bata lokacin ka a garaji, ka iya kwallo sosai walahi. Ka bar su, ka nema team mai kyau, zaka yi walwala a kwalon kafa”. Meaning, you are a good player above the standard of this kind of street football, why are you wasting your time here, why not leave and get a bigger team?.

I was highly motivated. I made efforts the following day and joined some old men (old timers) who play behind the garage and continue playing with them.

HOW DID YOU MAKE IT TO A GOOD TEAM?

I joined a local team call Real Stars after getting small exposure from those old timers playing behind the garage. They play local grassroots state leagues. I met the coach one evening during their training and told him that I wanted to join the team. He gave me a chance and I proved myself. So he registered me in the team and I played there for about two years.

I admit I was not one of the skilled or talented players but I was humble to learn from other team mates. Almost everyone was ahead of me but then, determination, consistency and God’s grace kept me going. One day, I was pushing my truck and I came across an advert on NTA in one of the shops informing the general public about Kwara Football Academy form which was on sale.

I copied the number and took it to my elder sister who surfed the net and made some findings. He later told me that it was genuine. The form was N2,500. I did not have money at hand but my sister gave me the money.

I was Opportune to be in Kaduna for the trials during Clement Westerholf who was a former Super Eagles Coach. I was not fortunate to be picked because my huge size was against me. I was in my full strength and the manner in which I was shooting the ball woo all the scouts. However, they said I was over age and my strength was not for boys in the academy.

But to be honest, I was 14 years old. They even alleged that I played for one professional team called Julius Berger or perhaps other big teams. I told the coach that I was a small boy who was only fed well but he said he was going to pick me but for Kwara United team and not in the academy.

They took me to kwara and I was in kwara united team. My roommate was Gbenga Arekoya former, Super Eagles player. I was given N30,000 and football Kits. I Ignorantly signed for Kwara United and later, I felt cheated for removing me from my mates to Kwara United which was preparing for a continental championship. But as a child, I just wanted to play in the academy and then play in Europe. No one was there to guide me.

I said to myself, boy you have been cheated and that’s not what you want. You won’t believe my impatience and ignorance made me to run away from the camp. Yes! I left the camp without saying a word to anyone straight to Niger Republic.

HOW THEN WAS YOUR LIFE IN NIGER REPUBLIC LIKE?

I arrived Niger Republic as an amateur player with little exposure I got from Kwara United. I signed a premier league club with salary of N13,500 but did not last there because I had no much experience. I was sacked mid-season and dropped. So came back to sokoto and joined a club called Flash Planner, where I met Sherif Isa whom we both went for U-17 trials.

I played for two years in the team and left for Niger again. This time around, I was not invited by any club, I took myself to Niger to get a club for myself and fortunately I got a club which was newly promoted to premier league. My allowance was N40 weekly. Yes! N40 weekly. I was there on my own so to them, it was a big favour they were doing for me. I slept on the floor alongside cockroaches and rats. That was how I was accommodated.

Surprisingly, other Professional players from cote D’voire, Mali and Cameroon were well accommodated and taken care of because they were invited. I did not even have good boots. It was a player from Sokoto United, Mr. Hilary Azodo that gave me one of his training canvas.

Throughout the trials time, I was left in that condition. But the nature of how I played made the coach and team manager to like me. Though the owner of the club believe in professionals, those that played for big teams with big names. He saw me as a cheap player because I came on bike while other players flew into the country with prestige and capacity.

WHY DIDN’T THE COACH AND THE TEAM MANAGER INTERVENED TO HELP YOU, KNOWING FULLY WELL THAT YOU WERE PLAYING WELL?

They actually intervened. They told him that they had seen a lot of potentials in me and not just a training material but he insisted that I was just a training material who may not be able to play very good football during a good match.

At the end of the trials, a competition came up and only 8 clubs were registered for the championship. It was the biggest challenge Cup in Niger Republic.The team president did not pay transport fare for me because he did not believe that I will deliver. He told the coach and Team manager that even if they will pay for my fare, I would not join the official bus with the other professional players. So the coach and the manager gave me money to follow a commercial vehicle to the City which I did.

Arriving the City, my team mates were lodged in an Hotel and I was taken to one of the fans one small cubicle to stay. I was not worried. I rather encouraged myself that I would excel except if I was not given the chance to play in the crowd.

I knew I was one of the best defensive Midfielder in the team and God was there for me. The Coach called me and told me that they had taken a big risk by taking me there against the wish of their principal and so they wanted me to prove him wrong.

They said I was not part of the line up approved by the president but they had insisted that I should start the match. The president told them to feature the Cote D’voire National player to start ahead of me but they said it was better to take another player out of the team and have me play because the team would be playing against one of the big clubs in Niger with much experienced, talented and exposed footballers.

According to them, the president was not happy and so had dared them that he would give me transport to leave their country if I flopped in the match. They asked me what I needed at the moment and I told them to get me coffee, Nescafe to be precise.

They got it for me and after taking it, I warmed up on my own while other players warmed up as a team. In the dressing room, I was the last person to be given a jersey. The coach looked into my eyes and said he had confidence in me and so I should prove my worth. When the game kicked off, I was composed, confident and focus. I made sure all my passes were accurate and distance covered accordingly. I started shooting from all angles to the Glory of God.

The coach studied the game and discovered that I could single handedly play the defensive midfield so he changed the pattern of the game and that confused our opponents. He told the Ivoirian player to play ahead of me. We started playing more of attacking and I was doing the dirty job at the midfield. We got a free kick 20minutes into the game and it yielded a clean goal for us.

Our fans started chanting my name whenever I possessed the ball and that gave me much confidence. The game ended 3:1 in our favour. The vice president of Niger Republic who sat close to my club president asked how much he would sell me to his club.

Immediately after the game, the opponents’ agent was there with a very juicy offer for me to join their team. My club president sent for me and I met up at the pavilion. He told me that he knew I was given an offer but then I should tell him what I want and he would have a deal for me but I signed for the the club and played for 4 years in Niger Republic.

WHICH POSITION DO YOU PLAY IN THE FIELD OF GAME?

As I said earlier, I am a defensive  midfielder. That is number four. My coaches usually switch me to play other wings such as central defense, side defense and sometimes attacking midfield when situation demands. I can confidently play those positions except goalkeeping.

SHARE WITH US SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR CAREER?

I had sustained a lot of injuries. I had fractures on my hand and on my two legs. There was a certain time I broke my hand and had to return home for treatment. For six months I had no salary and nothing was coming forth. I sold everything I had and people started mocking me saying all kinds of things. I however knew that God was there for me. So when I recuperated left the country again for Sudan.

Again, when I was in FC Taraba. I had neither agent, phone nor international passport to travel out of the country. So one day I collected a ladies phone and log-in to my facebook account where I got a message in my messenger from a friend who is playing in Italy.

The message reads: “ Young man where are you? we have been looking for you for the past five months. Please kindly reply this chat with any number to contact you. An agent is looking for a defensive midfielder and I recommended you”.

I immediately embarked on the process to honour this invitation. It took me a while owing to my poor background. I got in touch with the agent but there was no money to do international passport so I borrowed N153,000 to pay back N450,000. I did the passport but no money to pay for my ticket to Sudan when I got the Visa.

You can imagine it took me more than two weeks to look for the money but all my efforts were in vein. The light was cancelled and rescheduled.

I later got the money to travel to kano. That day, I wore my only shorts and sleeveless shirt alongside my small boot in a small bag.

The immigration officers were wondering who on earth was leaving the shores of the country and was dressed in such manner. I told them I was a footballer who just got an invite for a trials in Sudan, they should please allow me to catch up my flight.

They searched my bag and wished me good luck. To the Glory of God I landed safely in sudan, played a match and signed one year contract for S20,000 Dollars with a Club the next day.

I want to also recall another challenge I faced along the line in this career. When I was playing in FC Taraba, my salary was N200,000 but I played for 9 months without seen a penny.

Infact, a lady in my church saw me one day and asked me if I was an orphan. I looked so tattered. I only managed to tell her that should the government was paying me I would have been a millionaire. She gave me N500 to cut my hair and she also bought soap, cream and detergent for me.

Aside all these issues, I also faced another serious challenge of adapting to the environment, culture, food and lifestyles of most of these Arab countries I played for.

HOW MANY CLUBS HAVE YOU PLAYED FOR?

In Nigeria, I played for Dalatu United, Sharks FC, Dolfins FC (Now Rivers United), Assurance FC, FC Taraba. I played for Zamfara United for one season before going to Benin Republic and back to Niger Republic for a continental championship. I played in Benin Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya and currently in Baharain.

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS?

My team was the champions of the league title in Niger Republic, in Benin Republic, my team won the premier league title as champions and we came second in the league in the Sudanese champions league.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

My dream is to wear the national jersey and go on a national assignment for my dear country Nigeria. I have been contacted recently by NFF so I believe my dream is coming to reality. For me to reach the peak of my career, I hope to play in one of the big clubs in Europe next season. I have an undisclosed deal in Europe already.

YOU JUST TIED THE NUPTIAL KNOT, HOW DID YOU MET THE BEAUTIFUL DAMSEL?

I met my wife on Facebook. It was not easy. I was throwing passes at her since 2016 but not even a ‘hi’ comes from her. I can’t tell why I did not give up on her. All through my stay in Kenya I was always poking her via her social media handle, disturbing her DM but madam no reply me.

When I suspected that my ex-girlfriend was pregnant, I went straight to my wife’s DM and begged her that even if she would not reply my message, she should please send me her whatsapp number so she could help me verify something.

It took her time but she eventually sent it. I told her that she actually did not know me that is why she doesn’t want to reply me but she should please take a look at the picture of the lady I sent to you and tell me if the lady was pregnant or not. She checked and got back to me that the girl was pregnant. I told her that the lady was my girlfriend and I was so depressed with the sad news.

We continue kept getting in touch and she was always encouraging and praying alongside with me towards my career. I knew God was setting a path for me to follow and I quickly obeyed him by following his footsteps. She is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life.

Just like my mother, she is always there for me, supporting me spiritually, morally and otherwise. I am glad to marry Ifemi my dreamed wife whom I will choose over and over again.

WHAT WILL BE YOUR ADVICE TO UPCOMING FOOTBALLERS?

For the younger stars coming behind us, I encourage them to be focus and put in more efforts, work hard and shouldn’t be carried away by youthful exuberance because skills drain faster than Corona Virus.

Let them be full of determination, listen to the instructions of their coaches, be willing to learn from those ahead of them, be confident and most importantly, pray hard and the ball will bounce well for them.

There is no magic in good success in the game of football. by the Grace of God, everything you see around me is not magic but a product of hard work and sacrifice, backed by the grace of God. Truely it takes the Grace of God for one to excel in football but then, the gains are enamour.

The Executive Governor of Bauchi State and presidential aspirant on the Platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), His Excellency Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has vowed to resist any brutal enforcement of power in the party’s consideration of who will be the presidential flag bearer of the party in the 2023 general elections.

The Governor made the vow in Jalingo, the Taraba State Capital while interacting with Taraba State deligates, leaders and stakeholders of the party ahead of the party’s primary elections.

Bala who said he is not insensitive to the sensibilities of Nigerians over the issue of zoning and rotation of power argued that,PDP unlike the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has no justification to insists that it’s presidential candidate must emerged from the South.

“APC has been in power for almost eight years and with the president coming from the North, they have to present a candidate from the South for sake of justice. But PDP had been in power for sixteen years where the North had two years and because of the repudiation of zoning in 2010 which we championed that saw the ascension of a Southern President, we expect that a level plane field be provided by the party so that the best candidate can come in so that we can have a fresh start”.

“Certainly I am not against somebody coming up from the South and becoming a president if I am not chosen. I am a true democrat, and a team player but surely I will resist any brutal enforcement of power in the party. I am ready to work with any body if I am not chosen but choose wisely and choose me”. Bala told delegates..

The governor who said he traverse all the nooks and crannies of the country, maintained that his experience and carrier had placed him in a vantage position where he understands all the diversities of the country including its challenges and solutions.

He maintained that if elected president, he would use wealth of his experience to maximize and harness all the natural resources of the country among other things to better the lives of the citizenry.

Responding, the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku applauded the uncommon leadership style of Governor Bala Mohammed, describing him as a great achiever whose developmental strides in the country would forever remained immesurable.

Ishaku who recalled how he worked tremendously with Gov Bala Mohammed to fix up some decay infrastructures as Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during President Good luck Jonathan’s administration, remarked that Governor Bala Mohammed is one of the fine brains in the party who are capable of turning the fortune of the country if given the mandate and urged the deligates to consider him as one of their own.

Earlier in his comment, the director-general, Bala Mohammed Campaign, told delegates that they were in Taraba to interact with them and tell them why there is every need for them to chose Governor Bala Mohammed as the flag bearer of the party in the 2023 presidential elections.

The DG described Governor Bala as a dislodger of Governors in Bauchi State explaining that he had dislodged two seating governors in the State in different elections.

He noted that the aspirant had variously distinguished himself and proven his capacity to fix the problems of this country and urged the deligates to choose him to enable him reclaim the nation’s lost glory and satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians.

Vigilante group as one of the anti-crime body is playing major roles in fight against crime in Nigeria especially now that banditry, kidnapping and arm robbery has taken front seats in the society. The group is made up of mostly self-volunteers that operate on the mandate of the community they live in, their involvement in crime control has help other Security Agencies tremendously in curbing activities of criminals across the country.

In this interview with Mohammed Salihu Tikka and Christiana Babayo, the sector Commandant of the organization in Jalingo and Operational Commander, Taraba State northern zone, Mr Munir Bello Abubakar shares his experience, challenges on their operations in Jalingo.

How can you access generally, your performance in the state?

We thank God that our job is not a hidden one. Both the public and the formal Security Agencies including Journalists know that we are putting in our best to see that our communities are leaving peacefully because of our commitment. There is a tremendous progress in the way we carry out our job, I can affirm to you that today, 75% of the convicted persons in this state were caught or arrested by our men. Our duty is to make arrest and hand over to the appropriate Security Agency. We assist the conventional securities that is why you see that things are now going as expected.
In terms of progress, there are challenges especially here in Jalingo. If you could remember, 2 or 3 months back, kidnappers were terrorizing and giving sleepless night to the people and Security Agencies in Jalingo. But you will agree with me that with the help of God and the efforts put by our men, Jalingo is relatively peaceful. Last time we exchanged fire with the kidnappers in four different places here in Jalingo, sometimes we receive calls from places that are far from us but we try by all means to reach there and with the help of God, we do come to our base safely. It was only on one occasion while exchanging fire with the kidnappers that two of our men got injured which were being treated and are back to work now.

How is your organization relating with other security outfits in the state?

Our relationship with other Security Agencies especially, police is cordial. There is a good relationship among the Security Agencies in the state. For instance, Police do invite us always in any issue concerning us. They also, constantly advise us on some security issues. On our side, we do call on them sometimes before taking any action. You know police work is to take care of the internal security of the country and so ours is just to assist them. To be sincere with you we have good understanding with the DPO and other senior officers, especially here in Jalingo where I operate.

How about cooperation from the community, are you getting motivation from them?

Yes, we are getting support from only few individuals in some communities. For other communities, it is challenges upon challenges. You know that this work is a voluntary job, no one is paying us. We all depend on the community where we served for assistance. We need to buy uniforms, shoes, torch lights and other things for the smooth running of the job but how can we get all these without money? If everyone in the community can contribute little money for us, no matter how small, it will be useful to us. But if they allow only few among them to be contributing always, it will not solve the problem because, they may probably stop along the way. I want to appreciate the commitment of places like Magami, Nukai, Shavon, Mayo Dasa and Takanaban. Those areas are doing well in terms of assistance.
For that I want to use this medium to appeal to communities to come to the assistance of the Vigilante group, because this groups only depends on the contribution and the support of the communities. Perhaps if there is more help coming from them, the work will be more effective than it is.

Has your organization been getting assistance from the government of the state?

The assistance coming from the government is far less than what is expected. The government supposed to put more efforts in assisting us. There is no way a government can give you development if there is no peace. Our contribution to security matters in Jalingo helped tremendously in bringing good governance to people in the state. Ours is just to complement the police’s efforts by giving our best as we are doing now. I could remember what His Excellency Governor Darius do say anywhere he goes.” Give me peace I will give you development”. We know that if there is no peace, development will not come. So we are appealing to the State Government to please come to our aid by doing what is expected of it. if you look outside there, you will see some Hilux Van which were given to us by the State Government. They are all broken down now because of lack of money to maintain them. The only one that is left with us was the one given to us for patrol during the high rate of kidnapping in Jalingo. When they saw that the kidnapping rates was subdued, they withdrew the Van from us. Fighting insecurity is a continues process. It is not something that one can finish in a short time. We are pleading to the State Government to once again, come to our aid so that we can perform the work efficiently.

In the course of your assignment, are there any challenges you are facing from the communities?

There are challenges, I said earlier. Whenever different people come together under one umbrella, there must be individual interests and whenever individual interests come to play, there must be a problem. In the communities, we have some overzealous individuals who try to put the control of the organization under them, forgetting that vigilante group of today is not like the one before. Now the group has registered with the Cooperate Affairs Commission (C.A.C). We have our constitution and also there is a Law by the Taraba State House of Assembly that is backing our operation in the state since 2002.