THE AGENDA

The final figures for 2015 registered voters in Nigeria stood at sixty eight million, eight hundred and thirty three thousand, four hundred and seventy six (68,833,476), out of which Adamawa State had 1,559,012 compared to Borno State with a whopping 1,934,079 in spite the boko haram distractions. It wasn't a twist of fate that it recorded a larger turn out than Adamawa State despite the odds of insurgency; it was a careful organization and intentional planning of people and resources towards a common goal.

Two weeks ago there were about 30,000 permanent voter cards (PVC) that were yet to be collected in Yola south alone and about half of that number in Yola north! Note that Fufore, Yola north and Yola south local government areas have the first, second and third highest population in the state. With this advantage, Adamawa central zone needs to take a critical stand over its political and economic positions. This zone covers seven local government areas which are Fufore, Yola south, Yola north, Girei, Song, Gombi, and Hong local government areas. The collective population of the area according to the 2006 population census is 1,247,344.
The numbers are there, people and resources are there. What needs to be done is a planned idea of getting voters of their civic responsibilities. As well as a conscientious urging of all to connect to the inability of some elected persons to provide an affordable functional health care systems, provide clean drinking water for the generality of our people, provide quality education, create employment opportunist, improve general welfare including security of lives and property. If there is a proper link between all those and PVC, people would want to get more involved in who governs them.

The current demand is for the sons and daughters, both in political and economic spheres, to come together and articulate their positions to who ever becomes governor in 2019 to as a matter of strategy and urgent importance, among other things;
1. Provide industrial clusters along Jimeta-Girei corridor with emphasis on production and technological development and generation of power.
2. Rice production, milling, packaging and marketing, including dairy and dairy products, hides and skin down to its value chain along Fufore-Yola South-Song axis
3. Ground nut production, oil mills and the rest of its value chain in Hong-Gombi
4. Provide a formidable government/private partnership for the creation of, and or enhancing the capacity of existing schools of technology to cater and create new crop of mindset with higer capacity for employment.
5. General improvement in child mortality, child-mother wellbeing and an improved health system that is responsive.

As a people we must not stand aloof and watch things sliding backwards with our economic and political fortunes dwindling day by day. If we can not make our communities greater we must not allow it worse than we met it. The political structure of a government to an extent sets the economic tone that defines its successes.