Shettima to Borno officials: Quietly compare personal gains with your performance

Shettima to Borno officials: Quietly compare personal gains with your performance

In concluding his 2018 budget presentation in Maiduguri on Thursday, Governor Kashim Shettima spoke in an emotional tone, asking all elected and appointed Government officials, politicians and associates to create quiet time to reflect on what Borno citizens have benefited from their individual roles in public office in six and half years, in comparison with whatever each of them might have benefited personally. ‎He reminded them of the need to reaffirm dedication to serving citizens. 

"The SSG and his efficient team put up today's beautiful presentation as they have always done. But there is note I wrote myself and intend to share before I leave you today. Ladies and gentlemen, I will like to remind us about something most serving public holders hate to talk about. When I first appeared here in December 2011, I believe most of us here, and other associates of our administration must have thought that the eight years we aimed to have in office, was too long a time. Perhaps, some of us might have seen eight years as forever. Today,  here we are, at the end of 2017. If Allah spares our lives to complete our tenure of office, at about this time next year, I will be presenting my final budget as Governor of Borno State. What this should remind all of us is the ephemeral nature of power. Most people don't like to be reminded that their term in office is winding down but I have never been carried away by power. In and outside public office,  what will always be remembered is the legacy one is able to bequeath. It is never how long or short one holds public office, but how well citizens benefit from the time you hold sway in their trust. I will please like all of us here to create some quiet moment today and reflect on the the six and half years we have served at different capacities in this administration. Let us ask ourselves how much benefit the people of Borno State have had from the individual roles we have played. We should perhaps even go further to compare whatever we might have benefited personally with the service we have given to our people. Regardless of what we are honest enough to tell ourselves, I believe the next one year presents another opportunity to work hard and build on the legacies we intend to leave behind. It is to be expected, that the middle of 2018 will be disrupted by politics, but again, I will like to remind us, that we have individual and collective responsibilities to move with the speed of light, if necessary, to ensure that we complete and put to use, our numerous projects and programmes, particularly the new schools for education of over 52,000 school aged children whose parents were murdered as a result of the Boko Haram crisis. We should all work hard see to it that our displaced brothers and sisters return to safe, rebuilt and functional communities. Importantly, they should return with their dignity" he said.

The Governor thanked the officials for supporting him throughout, noting that even though a lot was achieved, so much needs to be done.

"I know we have achieved so much together. I thank each and everyone of you for supporting me. However, there is a lot more to be done. We must remember that while previous administrations had the luxury of peace to work, we inherited, and so far managing one of the worst crisis to befall mankind in recent times. Previous administrations had the luxury of taking steps forward. In our case, we had to combine steps backward with taking steps forward. I believe posterity will ultimately be kind to all of us. But like I said, we have to complete our work for the good of Borno State. When we do that, Insha'Allah, our names will be written in gold. No matter how anyone tries to distort history, facts will always speak for themselves. May Allah guide us to changing Borno forever" the Governor said. 

Reno Omokri embarrasses Goodluck Jonathan

WAEC Results: Reno is embarrassing Jonathan, Shettima's spokesman replies  

It is embarrassing that WAEC results obtained before adulthood is being used to argue about the leadership capacity of 60-year-old President Goodluck Jonathan, whose 16 years of service as Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President should have been sufficient to prove those claimed distinctions,  spokesman to Governor Kashim Shettima, Isa Gusau has replied Reno Omokri.

Gusau was reacting to claims by Omokri Thursday night that Jonathan obtained seven distinctions in his West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations with a challenge to Governor Shettima to produce his WAEC results for comparison of leadership capacity. Omokri's reaction was in response to Governor Shettima's as Chairman of a book launch authored by APC's national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi who wrote on Jonathan's presidency. 

"I just couldn't imagine why Mr Reno Omokri chose to embarrass President Goodluck Jonathan by using WAEC result obtained before adulthood to argue about leadership capacity when in actual sense, those seven distinctions he claimed the former President obtained as a teenager, should have become evident in his reasoning and actions within the 16 years he served as Deputy Governor and Governor in Bayelsa State from 1999 to 2007 and the years he served as Vice President and President from 2007 to 2015 as a senior adult. In leadership, intelligence and capacity are never claimed, they prove themselves. It is really a joke for Mr Reno Omokri, whom I thought was smart, to have even cited those results. If he must discuss academics, I would have expected him to discuss scholarly contributions from President Jonathan's Masters Degree and PHD research works, with evidence of publication in any academic journal, to show how the former President is improving education from his works as an adult and not as WAEC-writing teenager. It is really a big joke to use pre-adulthood WAEC in discussing the capacity of a 60-year-old statesman and I will never support 50-year-old Governor Kashim Shettima getting involved in trading jokes. It is not in Governor Shettima's character to boast about knowledge but should Reno insist, he is free to do a deep and factual reflection on Shettima's handling of affairs in Borno State, he is free to talk to objective public affairs analysts and Reno is again free, to find out about Governor Shettima's background from his secondary school, the University of Maiduguri where he had his first Degree and was retained as lecturer, from University of Ibadan where he obtained his Masters Degree or he can just 'Google search' to find testimonies of Mr Jim Ovia about Kashim Shettima's records of performance at the Zenith Bank. Meanwhile, Mr Reno is reminded that Governor Shettima's remarks about Jonathan have never been personal. Assessment on Jonathan's capacity is a popular one from Nigeria and abroad and if Jonathan lacked capacity as most believe, Governor Shettima bore the most of that lack because his state, Borno, faced the most difficult challenges and he alone knows how frustrated he might have been seeing that little was done to save the situation" Gusau said. 

  

Shettima in Lagos: 'No region should wish to have commission like NEDC'

Shettima in Lagos: 'No region should wish to have commission like NEDC' 

...Says northeast can't forget Buhari, 8th National Assembly 

Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima says the people of the northeast geo-political zone will never forget President Muhammadu Buhari’s open love for them as well as the role played by the 8th National Assembly led by Saraki and Dogara following the passage of the North-East Development Commission Bill which was signed into by President Buhari. The Governor also added that no geo-political zone in Nigeria should wish to experience what the people of the northeast faced to necessitate a commission like the NEDC. 

The Governor made these remarks in Lagos on Friday during an interview with journalists from the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, and Channels Television. 

‎'Having a Commission like the NEDC is a direct response to large scale devastation which no geo-political zone should wish to experience.  If you look at the whole thing systematically, development commissions are largely set in place to fast track the recovery of huge economic losses. Borno for instance was taking 50 years backward by the destructions of the Boko Haram. What the NEDC will set out to do is to help us accelerate the recovery of this backwardness so that the State recovers earlier than it would have taken us to recover. It is not something any section of the country should wish to experience. For President Buhari, I must confess that if Buhari wasn't elected in 2015, only God knows what would have become of Borno and rest of the northeast. We have been on ground from 2011 to date, the difference between our present and the past in the northeast is no less than light and darkness. Everyone in Nigeria is talking about the northeast today mainly because President Buhari who is the number one citizen of the country, is rootedly passionate about the stability, recovery and prosperity of the northeast. Usually, every society goes with the body language of its charismatic leader. Since President Muhammadu Buhari became President in 2015, he has made determined efforts to reverse all the many years of neglect the northeast suffered from 1979 to 2015. The President's passion for the northeast is clearly understandable because this is a region that has lost thousands of its precious sons and daughters and suffered destructions of public and private infrastructure, worth $9 billion U.S dollars. That amount is over three trillion naira. Mind you, this amount is the product of a thorough and comprehensive assessment report produced by the World Bank in collaboration with the European Union and office of the Vice President using ground and satellite images of what Boko Haram has destroyed. President Buhari is the greatest inspiration for us in the northeast because before President Buhari came on board, the northeast was gradually being forgotten in Nigeria's socio-economic landscape. Don't forget that even before the Boko Haram insurgency, the northeast geo-political zone was already the most backward in terms of attention by successive Federal administrations, in terms of all indices of development whether on maternal or infant mortality, poverty and what have you. So, we can never forget about the role President Buhari has made and still making in the ongoing restoration of the northeast geo-political zone and the signing of the Northeast Development Commission Bill is only next to his strong determination to end the Boko Haram insurgency. As for the National Assembly members, we will remain grateful to them. For Senators and Reps representing the northeast, as far as we are concerned, they have achieved 50 percent of what our people elected them to do at the Senate and House of Representatives, by the passage and Presidential assent to the Bill establishing the NEDC" Shettima said. - Kolade Oludare 

You are a Man of your words, NYSC Doctors tell Shettima

Fifty one Medical graduates of the National Youth Service Corps deployed to Borno State on Sunday treated Governor Kashim Shettima to a dinner saying the honour was to appreciate him for fulfilling all the promises he made when he visited their temporary orientation camp at the Bauchi State Institute of Education in Kangere, Bauchi, in December, 2016, where the Governor made attractive promises in order to persuade medical doctors, pharmacists, Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists and Physiotherapists who were afraid of serving in Borno State and were contemplating re-deployment. 

The Governor had in 2016, promised ‎he was providing security; approving monthly allowance of N100,000 for each of the 35 medical doctors; N50,000 to each of the16 paramedics (Pharmacists, Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists and Physiotherapists) in addition to providing luxuriously furnished accommodation for all of them throughout their service year in Borno State. 

"Governor Kashim Shettima has kept each of these promises and this makes him not just a very unique leader but a father for us that we are gathered here to appreciate" Dr Amina Atabo (from Kogi State), outgoing President of Borno Medical Corps said at a dinner organized by her colleagues to appreciate the Governor for keeping his promises and making them enjoy memorable service year. 

‎A‎ total of 1,387‎ corps members were posted to Borno State for the Batch ‘B’ 2016 service year but they held their three weeks orientation in Bauchi during which Shettima visited them to assure all of them of their safety. The Governor then held one on one meetings with medical graduates that included 35 Medical Doctors and 16 paramedics amongst them, ‎Pharmacists, Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists and Physiotherapists‎.

With the service rounding up, the corps members hosted Shettima in Maiduguri. Some of the 51 medical graduates are due to pass out from the NYSC this October while others are to graduate by December, this year. The corps members wanted to hold the dinner as a group to celebrate a Governor they said, had touched their lives positively. 

‎"Our gathering today to appreciate and Honour Governor Kashim Shettima, was because he has laid this path for us. We decided to confer on him, an ward of ‎‘icon of true change’. He keeps to his words" said pharmacist David Namo who spoke on behalf of paramedics. 

While presenting an Award of Honour to the Governor, Dr. Atabo called on well meaning Nigerians to emulate him for being a leader worthy of emulation.

Governor Shettima thanked the outgoing Corp members for what he called a 'a pleasant surprise'.

"Let me say here that this award will occupy a special place in my heart for the rest of my life. Thank you so much to all outgoing Corps members who have served in this trying time. Thank you so much once again. Like I did when I met you last, I will once again hold another one on one meetings with each of you to discuss your future and as you might recall, I spoke with you freely in Bauchi to make your own decisions without any intimidation, we will do the same for the second time. I also have a special package for each of you in appreciation of your patriotism but I won't make it public" Shettima said. 

- Kolade Oludare 

Women Empowerment: Borno sends women on instructors course at a fashion institute in Abuja.

Fashion Design: Borno sends women on instructors course in Abuja

Governor Kashim Shettima (carrying a trainee's child) when he visited women undergoing instructors  training in fashion design at Vodi Tailoring Institute, a private firm in Abuja engaged by the Borno State Government...during his visit.

A group of women under the sponsorship of Borno State Government, are ‎currently undergoing three months intensive training on various aspects of sewing and fashion design at Vodi Tailoring Institute, a private firm in Abuja. The women, numbering 20 were picked from 20 out of the 27 local government areas of Borno State to undergo a training that would make them not only good tailors but also instructors expected to come to Maiduguri and train about 500 women. 

Governor Kashim Shettima ‎said during his visit to the training institute in Abuja on Saturday, that the tailoring was one of the many ways his administration is trying to empower women through vocational skills in addition to sponsoring others in formal schools. The Governor said the ladies will be equipped with tools after their training. 

"Any society that is serious about fighting poverty must empower its female population because women and children constitute the larger part of the population in most societies. ‎When women are empowered, they support their children in one or the other. Women bear the brunt of most crisis like ours in Borno State. The economy and health of any society is determined by the productivity and health of its individual female population. We have sent women for medical degrees abroad, we are sponsoring others in other forms of education and we are also sponsoring others in vocational skills. These women here have been provided with all their needs, tuition have been paid, their allowances have been approved while they are being provided with three square meals in order to make it conducive for them to learn practical skills and come to Borno and teach at least 500 other women who will be sewing uniforms for our students" Shettima said.

The Governor called on the women to take advantage of the training opportunity to learn skills that can make them more productive. 

Speaking on behalf of Vodi Training Institute, one of the instructors, Maryann Shekari confirmed the commitment of the Borno State Government, noting that what was needed was for the ladies to pay attention to their course.

 Shekari said the Institute has instructors in English and local languages for effective communication with trainees while it has all the equipment required to train the ladies. 

"We will put them to task and they will learn and become not just ordinarily tailors but experts of modern fashion design to produce competitive attires for a good market present all over Nigeria"

Our correspondent reports that Governor Shettima has since returned to Maiduguri.

Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima signing into law, the 2017 Appropriation Bill.

Kashim Shettima signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill  into law.

On monday, His excellency the Executive Governor of Borno state, Governor Kashim Shettima signed into law, the 2017 Appropriation Bill passed by the State Assembly. 

Around the Governor is his Deputy, Usman Durkwa (2nd left), the Speaker, Borno State Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan (standing 2nd right), the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Barrister Kaka Shehu Lawan (wearing black) and other principal officers of the State Assembly at the signing ceremony held at the council chambers of the Government House in Maiduguri.

Deputy Governor, Usman Durkwa (2nd left), the Speaker, Borno State Assembly, Abdulkareem Lawan (standing 2nd right), the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Barrister Kaka Shehu Lawan (wearing black) and others