By Reuben Abati
I was absent on The Morning Show from Tuesday to Friday last week, because I was away in Gusau, Zamfara State, and later, Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. I had been invited by the Zamfara state government to be the anchor of the maiden media chat of the Governor of the state, Dr. Dauda Lawal. I had seen one or two interviews that others had conducted with Dr. Lawal, and I felt it would be good to engage him. When you have an interviewee who is articulate and brilliant, the job of the interviewer is quite easy. Even when you forget to ask a particular question, such guests who know their onions, would frame the questions themselves and provide the necessary response, making your work easier. Besides, it was a star-studded panel of interviewers. I had already accepted the invitation before it occurred to me that I was going to a part of the country that had become notorious for banditry and kidnapping. I expressed reservations, but Suleiman, the Special Adviser to Governor Lawal on Media allayed my fears.
There were stories in the papers about killings in Benue and Plateau, but there were also reports that President Olusegun Obasanjo was on his way to Zamfara as a guest of the Governor. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as well. We were scheduled to travel to Zaria in a private, chartered jet, and from the air strip at the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), we were to travel in a security convoy to Gusau, about three hours thirty minutes Northwards. We got to the NCAT, and shortly after we saw President Obasanjo and his entourage returning from Zamfara to travel towards Gombe in the same private jet that brought us from Lagos. Our convoy soon set out, and thus began the journey from Zaria, Kaduna State, through Funtua in Katsina state, till we got to Tsafe and Gusau in Zamfara state.
The landscape looked different in the savannah grassland region, with open plain fields on both sides of the road for the most part, offering a view into the far distance, with a few rural settlements along the road. We saw goats and cattle roaming freely, cultivated lands typically giving a picture of the main occupation in the area: farming and cattle rearing, and baobab trees on both sides of the road. It was different and beautiful to see. But the only source of anxiety was security. The convoy was led by truck loads of security men: terror police, civil defence, police men, in front, in the middle and at the back, speeding non-stop towards Gusau. Our vehicle was at the back of the convoy. When the bus behind us suddenly left its place in the convoy and sped past us to join in the middle, I thought maybe the driver had noticed something and he had to look for a safer place. I grew more anxious and I kept watching the road right and left. It was in the same axis that bandits had reportedly attacked the convoys of at least three Governors between 2019 and 2023, and persons were killed.
According to Amnesty International, over 10, 217 persons were killed by bandits and over 672 villages sacked, in two years. When we got to Tsafe, Gbenga Aruleba of AIT News remarked that we were passing through the stronghold of Ado Aleru, the notorious terror leader. Hey! Hey! Hey! Aleru, also known as Adamu Yankuzo, the commander of the terror gangs in Katsina and Zamfara states, was once declared wanted by the Katsina Police Command, and a bounty of N5 million was placed on his head. Yet, nothing happened to him. Instead, he was in fact turbaned as “Sarkin Fulani” by the Emir of Yandoton Daji in July 2022. Emirs and state governors consult him and invite him to peace meetings! The same Aleru threatened as recently as June 15, 2025 that violent attacks by his group would continue if people insist on referring to them as terrorists whereas they are not criminals but freedom fighters. He is not alone. Other gang leaders who inflict terror within the North West axis include Bello Turji, Ali Zakwai, Dogo Gide, Danboko, Sanata and late Isuhu Yellow. Hmm. May long throat not carry us to a place of Golgotha.
Thankfully, we made it in one piece to Gusau without any incident. I felt even more relieved when we were given accommodation in one of the lodges in the Zamfara Government House premises. The Governor came to welcome us personally and had dinner with us. The media chat was scheduled for Wednesday. The Governor does not live in the Government House. He lives in his personal house, less than five minutes away from Government House. After he left, one of his advisers said it would be a good idea for us to go out that night to have a feel of Zamfara at night. “Zamfara is a fun place at night. You will love it,” he said. “Love what?”, I said to myself. “No be me and you.” We went upstairs to our rooms, pleading that we were too tired. When Kiki called some of her relatives and family friends to tell them we were in Zamfara, her phone rang non-stop, WhatsApp messages flooded her timeline. What kind of suicide journalism has taken you people to the North West of Nigeria of all places? Her cousins in the United States soon got back to say that they had set up a prayer and fasting team, to fast and pray until we returned to Lagos. Her father sent Hymns, Bible passages and prayer points for protection! Nigerians who live abroad, relying on media reports, actually believe that the entire country is a killing field.
But we went to Zamfara and we are back safely. The Governor at the dinner had assured us that Zamfara is now under his watch a much safer place. “These bandits, we know them, they are our brothers. We went to school with some of them. We know their families. We know where they live. The people must learn not to shield them. They must give information to the security agencies, and governors must be empowered. I believe in state police. Zamfara state Government by the way funds the security agencies, so why can’t we have control?” Dauda Lawal, B Sc, M. Sc, Ph.D. is the first person to become Governor of Zamfara State under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), since the return to civilian rule in 1999. In 2018, he was a member of the All Progressives-Congress (APC), but he lost the Gubernatorial primary election. In 2022, he was nominated as the Gubernatorial candidate of the PDP. In the 2023 general election, he defeated the then incumbent Governor Bello Matawalle (APC) with 65, 750 votes in what was considered a major upset. He has spent two years in office.
Ahead of the planned media chat on Wednesday, we set out early in a bus, accompanied by the Special Adviser, Media, Suleiman Bala Idris and the Permanent Secretary, Government House to inspect some of the Governor’s projects. Our first stop was the Gusau International Airport still under construction. The paved runway is nearing completion, about 3.4 kilometres long (2.113 miles, 3, 400 metres,) with a width that can accommodate wide-body aircraft. The perimeter fence is almost completed. The terminal building is under construction. We met the civil engineer in charge of the project, who took us through the building plan for the airport and explained the scope of work. When asked about other details: solar power, generator, provision for hotels within the airport vicinity, he kept insisting that he is a civil engineer. His scope of work is to build structures. He does not know anything about other details. He is of course not a Nigerian.
A Nigerian civil engineer would have spent more time talking about other people’s assignment and claim to know everything! We asked the fellow about challenges. It is difficult to get labourers, because the whole of Zamfara is full of construction projects. Contractors are reluctant to come to Zamfara for security reasons, so getting supplies is a bit difficult. Foreign experts read about the North West and they flee. He told us that on one occasion on the road between Zamfara and Katsina, the bus in which he and other consultants were travelling was attacked by bandits. He was the only survivor! “But we manage to cope”, he said. On our way out of the airport premises, we saw what looked like an old structure. “That’s the only structure that Matawalle built here, and spent billions, claiming that the project had been 50% completed. The builders advised HE to pull down the structure because it is an eyesore, but on second thoughts, we are keeping the building to show what Matawalle spent billions between 2019 – 2023 to construct.” The so-called Matawalle structure looked, to tell the truth, like a cow shed. Lawal, who said he has no plans to probe anybody, to avoid distractions, would tell us later that he simply decided to start the project afresh. He plans to get the airport up and running in a matter of months.
Our next stop was the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, also in Gusau, the only state-owned hospital in Zamfara State. In June 2024, Governor Lawal had declared the hospital as poor, run-down, lacking in laboratory facilities, he took a decision to upgrade and remodel the hospital to the level of a teaching hospital for the Zamfara State University. This is precisely what he has done one year later. He announced a state of emergency in healthcare services in Zamfara State, and built a completely new hospital behind the old one, and gave the old hospital a new look. We were conducted round the hospital by the Chief Medical Director and the Consultant in charge of the Project: a completely new Obstetrics and Gynaecology section, with theatres, labour room, ante-natal, pre-natal sections. We also visited Radiology, Radiotherapy, Haematology, Immunology, Clinical microbiology brand new departments in the hospital, fully equipped with state of the art, latest technology. On Tuesday, President Olusegun Obasanjo had commissioned the hospital. He also commissioned two roads: Zannah -Abarma road, and TsaIha-Bungudu-Kwanar Birnin Ruwa road. Obasanjo praised Governor Lawal for embarking on “a rescue mission” and pledged his support. It was clear enough that Governor Lawal is indeed on “a rescue mission”. When he assumed office, WAEC and NECO had withheld the school certificate results of Zamfara students for five years, because the state was owing both examination bodies. By May 2025, Lawal had cleared all the debts. Zamfara State civil servants were earning N7,000 per month under previous administrations. Pensioners had not been paid for years. Lawal paid civil servants all the arrears they had been owed under the old minimum wage, and also started the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70, 000. He paid pensioners their entitlements, including the backlog of arrears.
From the Specialist hospital, we went to two other locations: the Ministry of Women Affairs, and the Women Development Centre where the Lawal government had to pull down the dilapidated structures that they inherited and built a befitting edifice. Then we went to ZACAS: the Zamfara College of Arts and Science. We saw old buildings, and the newly constructed World Bank-assisted classrooms. “We are building in all 14 Local Government Areas. This administration does not play politics with people’s lives. We don’t share money. We have created opportunities for people to work, and we have put people to work. I don’t encourage people to come around and sit around me doing nothing. No. If you come to my house, you won’t see anybody hanging around. It is a private home, not government house. I tell the people, if you need anything in your place, tell me, we will come to your rescue. This is a new order, a new way of doing things,” Lawal said.
The interview held eventually, 4 to 6 pm. It was broadcast live on Arise News, TVC, Channels TV, Zamfara Radio and Zamfara TV. Governor Dauda Lawal gave a detailed account of his administration’s efforts in infrastructure, security, healthcare, agriculture, education, aviation and empowerment of the people. He said he has not borrowed a penny from anywhere, and should he have to borrow at any point, he will be transparent and accountable to the people of Zamfara.
We left very early the following day by road to Abuja. We had rejected the plan to make us travel by road to Sokoto and fly from Sokoto to Abuja. It would be better to travel Southwards, not farther to the North. An armoured vehicle led our convoy in addition to other security vehicles. Along the way, each time anyone wanted to answer the call of nature, the security men would troop out and man every corner, guns pointed strategically. I refused to step out. I held myself for over 80 kilometres. When we got to Funtua, we went to a fuel station, the armoured vehicle returned to Gusau, and we trooped out. I looked behind and I saw Kiki. I shouted: “Oyinbo, get back in the car!” It took us about six hours, 30 minutes to get to Abuja!
