CBN’s white elephant in Jalingo
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi
The colour of an Elephant is anything between grayish to brown. One of the brightest of colours that is of tremendous attention catching is white!
The saying “white elephant project” is an idiomatic capturing of the bigness of an Elephant that makes it impossible for it to be unnoticed!
Bestowing whiteness on conspicuous land mammals that have no record of any being white in its historical records of existence is to pass across the nuisance to sight of an abandoned project!
Obviously the most imposing structure in the home state of Retired General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma popularly known as TY Danjuma is the CBN uncompleted project.
North East Nigeria, is the most insecure region of Nigeria, No thanks to Boko Haram terror activities that originated from Bornu, which gained momentum under President Buhari for his sentiments for tribe and religion.
Fear, palpable one at that, was the communication once a trip is being considered from any other region to the North East!
The resistance from my ever supportive wife of the idea is understandable. She wanted a word from the Lord before she could let go of me. To talk about her coming with me couldn’t even be settled on all the mountains of Israel during our last visit.
When we came back, I insisted on my strong desire to be a BLESSING to the region through Bolaji Akinyemi Kingdom Outreach, BAKO.
I was too sure God was involved, however it may take eternity for her to see beyond the media image of the region in the public!
I got words to convince her of the need to go, and I left Lagos for Abuja where contact was made with some people in view of my tour to the region.
My son, Adenigba and Rev Ephraim Lengmang joined me for the flight from Abuja to Gombe.
On board our expected flight to Abuja from Lagos was God’s servant Timothy Israel often called simply Bro Akin of the Plummet Mission, who was sent by Dr John Adejoro Oluwa to stand as his eyes to watch and his mouth to BLESS!
Daddy John AdejoroOluwa is the Apostolic oversight to which we submit our Apostolic mission and Nation Building Project. A father in whose heart we have found so much love.
The Outreach was designed to focus on Apostolic Emancipation of the region through talent economy and financial capacity development training.
Mathias Danguma and Olalekan Ifatimehin, impressed by our mission offered themselves as disciples and joined us from Gombe to Yola.
The Coordinator of our Yola meeting Engr Femosa Silvanus Ramus will also come to join the training in Jalingo.
This was after my companion and friend, Apostle Philip Gideon Agene has joined us in Jalingo from Abuja!
Bulus Audu Daniel was the man on ground in Jalingo all thanks to him for the success recorded.
The last 3 weeks had been moments of thrills and excitement for me and my team on the mission tour of North East Nigeria!
From Gombe through to Yola showed a common issue for travellers across the country; bad roads!
Yola to Jalingo wasn’t any better. The development of Taraba has been slow paced. The Agricultural potentials of the state still lays prostate. May the “bride”, Taraba find a virile groom who will impregnate her with vision to deliver on her potentials in His Excellency, Dr Agbu Kefas.
A legacy of intercity roads, and housing project credited to the former Governor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, bestride the landscape. Fading away like the stars of the morning as a song writer said is indeed our efforts unprinted on sand and none engraved on hearts. Legacy is made out of our effort standing as structures benefiting a generation and values we impact the next generation with.
I was forced to conclude on the under performance of other Governors of the state after him, though I stand to be corrected.
Most remarkable structure of note in the state, befitting of a state capital were credited to him by a witness of his tenure that we interacted with.
The late Governor was a Christian married to a Muslim. His family ideology of freedom of worship was said to have rubbed off on the state during his tenure!
The Christian Association of Nigeria Taraba State branch seems privileged of all the state chapters of CAN!
Taraba State’s CAN Centre was met in the shadow of its glory by those who have seen it before. But for me who saw it for the first time, it was a splendor of faith. The Muslim were not left out of the welfare programme of the Late Governor, as they also got a befitting centre hosting the Muslim Pilgrim’s Board.
A day to the programme was the revelation of the shadow of the glory of the CAN Centre, as the power supply to the auditorium of the centre was disconnected for unpaid service bills. Our intervention helped restore power to the auditorium building!
The embarrassment of Jalingo however is the burden of an unfinished CBN project, a contract that was meant to run for two years, awarded at an original contract sum of N6,771,680,965.00.
As it is with our tradition of white elephant projects, it was revised to a sum unavailable in public domain.
A project scheduled to commence on February 18, 2011 with the initial completion date fixed for December 24, 2012, was revised for completion on December 24, 2015.
The revised date has come and gone, the imposing structure is still far from completion, making it almost 12 years with seasonal contract review, sum spent on this project till date should be of interest to EFCC and the general public.
On EFCC, can we really get the best from an Acting Chairman who is concerned about confirmation of a substantive status? It is about time the President brings the value for good governance to bear by satisfying expectations of the public for a worthy, competent team lead for the fight we must all fight; the fight against corruption!
Like the Lagos-Ibadan Express road construction that has seen 3 Nigerian Presidents in and out, the white elephant CBN project in Jalingo has seen Sanusi out, Emefiele in and out, will it see another CBN Governor in and out?
The new administration of Tinubu/Shettima Presidency should make good its RENEWED HOPE mantra, complete the project and paint the building from white to Gray or Brown, so this massive elephant can wear its look and be commissioned to serve its purpose!
Dr Bolaji O Akinyemi is is an Apostle and Nation Builder, Convener Apostolic Round Table, ART. Also the BOT Chairman Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA, PVC-Naija.
bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
08033041236.
