AN INTERVIEW WITH AUSPICIOUS GOMBE STATE APC GUBERNATORIAL ASPIRANT ON HIS AMBITION...

INTERVIEWER...
   Good afternoon sir, if you eventually become the Governor; what would you like to do better for the citizens, especially the less privileged?
2. What makes you believe you are the right person for the position come 2019?
3. We know you have been holding leadership roles in different capacity; What's leadership to you?
Thanks sir.

 THE ANSWERS BY ALH (DR) UMARU KWAIRANGA (SARKIN FULANIN GOMBE)

    If and when I become Governor of Gombe State, my priority would be empowerment of all citizens of the jewel state. Empowerment in this case would involve creating the right atmosphere for our people to do their work, businesses, professions optimally and prosper. With specific regards to the less privileged, I would ensure that they have access to training to develop their innate skills,financing to put the skills and training to productive use and support from government to ensure that the benefits from such programs and efforts are sustained.
 
  I believe I am the right person for the position of Governor of Gombe State in 2019 because I have the ability, the passion, the experience and the vision to take our state to the next level. I have been in leadership position in the corporate, professional and traditional worlds for over a decade. In all those positions, I have improved and taken the organizations and institutions to new heights by being strategic in thinking and at the same time deeply involved and passionate about the way they are run. Whether it is Finmal finance services Limited, Ashaka Cement PLC, the Chartered Institute of Stock brokers, and so many other organizations, I have left my mark through having the right vision and strategy and initiating and seeing through practical plans to realize that visionIt, is that same style I promise my fellow citizens of Gombe State as Governor. I have a vision of a well run vibrant state leveraging on the entrepreneurial acumen of its people to stand out like a true jewel of the Savannah. I have the experience, the ability and the passion to make our state better for all its citizens and that is why I seek to be Governor.

To answer your question on leadership, let me borrow the words of Warren Bennis who said.  " Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality ". I think those words succinctly capture the essence of leadership. It is having a vision different from what is the usual, which in Nigerian governance is quite abysmal. Having the vision alone is however not enough. The leader has to be able to translate it into reality by putting together the structures for actualization of the vision and then getting the citizens to believe in that vision and guiding them to achieve it. Showing the way to a better state and making the journey fulfilling and successful is the mark of true leadership.

  In conclusion as a council member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Current Council member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria, I have been involved in policy and strategy formation in both Private and Public sectors through my involvement in the Vision 2020, Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) on the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), President Pension Institute of Nigeria, former Director Gombe State Investment and Property Development, experiences with local and multinational corporations such as AxaMansard as a chairman, Jaiz Bank, Lafarge Cement Group, Naira Properties, Central Securities Clearing System PLC, Kano Eletricity Distribution Co, Barade Power and Marine Ltd, Jewel Global Services Ltd etc Quoted/Listed. Also Chairman of so many committees at Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and Securities and Exchange Commission; I strongly believe in sha Allah, if given the chance of Steering the Leadership Position of our State to bright Developments through both local and international investment in Water, Power, Mineral Resources, SMEs, Youth Employments, Financing of Middlemen and other Sectors of the Economy. Allah ya mana jagora Amin.

OF COURSE AN ASPIRANT WITH SUCH VISION DESERVES OUR VOTE.