I Feel ‘Extremely Uncomfortable’ When Nigerians Insult Other Governors Because Of My Performance – Gov Zulum

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has asked his supporters to stop making comparisons or insulting other state governors who they feel are not measuring up to him in terms of performance. 

Zulum made the appeal especially to his supporters who are members of various Facebook groups opened in his name. 

The Borno governor noted that different states have their peculiarities and development goals, hence making negative comparisons against other governors would be unfair. 

Isa Gusau, the governor’s special adviser on public relations and strategy, conveyed his principal’s appeal to his supporters in a press statement. 

It reads, “While I am enormously grateful for all the support and promotions, I have in recent days received messages forwarded to me, in which our work-in-progress in Borno State is being compared with some States, and in some cases, with insults. The fact is that I feel extremely uncomfortable any time I am being negatively compared with any Governor, especially if anyone of those making the comparisons fall in any of the social media groups associated with us. 

“I consider such comparisons unhealthy. Moreover, we are not in competition. The truth is that all of the 36 States have their peculiarities and priorities, depending on developmental plans and the needs of societies. 

“In Borno’s case, we have to be desperate in our recovery efforts because we have been faced with 12 years of war, resulting in thousands of deaths and displacement of about two million people with humanitarian needs. From the World Bank’s Recovery and Peace-Building Assessment report on the northeast, Borno lost 956,453 private houses, representing 30 % of the total number of houses across the state, to insurgent destruction. 

“Also, 665 municipal buildings comprising ministries, LGA buildings, prisons, police stations and electric offices were destroyed in Borno. 5,335 classrooms and other school buildings were destroyed in 512 primary schools, 38 secondary schools and two tertiary institutions in the State. 201 health centres, mostly primary healthcare clinics, dispensaries and some General Hospitals were all destroyed. The insurgents also destroyed 726 power substations and distribution lines just like they destroyed 1,630 water sources including motorized boreholes, hand pumps, solar powered boreholes and facilities for piped water schemes, and more. 

“So, our developmental aggression in Borno is not driven by competition, but our realities of unquantifiable challenges. All States have different needs hence leaders respond differently and with different strategies. We in Borno needed to act fast given our peculiarity of needs but this should not be a basis for negative comparison”, Gusau quoted Zulum to have said.