Why Some Nigerlites Still Miss the Mark on Farmer Governor Umaru Bago’s New Niger Agenda
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The question is fair, and the answer says more about us as a people than it does about leadership. Because if we are honest, what Governor Bago has done within a single term has touched almost every local government in Niger State. From the Green Economy blueprint, to massive urban renewal in Minna and other towns like Bida, Kontagora, Suleja to agriculture mechanization, road construction, education reforms, and health sector interventions, the footprints are visible. The “New Niger Agenda” was never presented as a magic wand. It was presented as a deliberate plan to reposition the state, and four years later, you can point out to projects, not just promises.
Yet the criticism persists. Some say “the last administration did this in eight years.” Others say “the one before that did nothing for eight years, so why are we expecting more now?” That is where the conversation gets stuck. We cannot call back failure and try to use it as a yardstick to judge progress. We also cannot take the best of eight years from one administration and use it to dismiss what is being done in four years by another. Time is not equal, and neither are the circumstances. Governor Bago came into office at a time when Nigerians are dealing with economic pressure, insecurity, and the urgent need to diversify from oil. He chose to move fast, not wait.
Part of the problem is memory and politics. In politics, everyone has interest. People will always compare the leader in power today with the leader they liked yesterday, even if that yesterday was defined by inaction. It is human. But it is also unfair when the comparison ignores context. Bago isn’t the first governor to appoint people from Niger State into positions or to work with consensus candidates. That has always been how politics works. Politics is a game of numbers, yes, but it is also a game of interest, of building a team you can work with to deliver. No governor, past or present, has governed alone and without interest of what is expected of his plans for the future.
What makes the New Niger Agenda different is the urgency and the spread. This is not a government that concentrated projects in one or two areas. From Zone A, Zone B to Zone C, you will find a road, a school, a health facility, or an agricultural programme and Mini-grids that carries the signature of this administration. The innovations are also hard to ignore. The push for mechanized farming, the focus on renewable energy, the attempt to make Minna a modern city, and the deliberate effort to engage young people and women are all part of a creative approach to governance. Creativity in government is not about big grammar. It is about doing things differently so that the people will feel it.
Appreciation, however, does not always come immediately. People appreciate when they see the final result, when the road is completed, when the light stays on, when the hospital has drugs. Some Nigerlites are still waiting for those final touches, and so the noise of criticism drowns the sound of progress. Others are simply aligned with different political interests and will never clap, no matter what is done. That too is politics.
But leadership is not about waiting for applause. It is about doing the work. Farmer Governor Umaru Bago has chosen to do the work. To compare his four years to someone’s eight years, and especially to administrations that left the state stagnant, is to refuse to see what is in front of us. We cannot rewind failure and expect development. We can only build on what is working now.
The New Niger Agenda is not perfect, no government is. But it is moving. It is innovative. It is present in every local government. And if Nigerlites take a step back from comparison and look at impact, the story becomes clearer. This is a government that decided not to wait for eight years to start making a difference.
Just My Thoughts.....
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