Since its creation by the federal military government of Gen. Sani Abacha in 1996, Zamfara State has had six Chief Executives – one military and five civilians. After the tenure of the state’s inaugural administrator, Col. Jubril Yakubu (who served from October 1996 to May 29, 1999), the state was led by its first executive Governor, Ahmad Sani Yerima, who governed for eight years, from 1999 to 2017. He was succeeded by Mahmud Shinkafi, whose four-year tenure ended in 2011. Gov. Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, who succeeded Shinkafi, led the state for another eight years, until 2019. He was replaced by Gov. Bello Matawalle, whose tenure ended in 2023 – when he lost his second-term bid to incumbent Gov. Dauda Lawal.
Without prejudice to these successive Governors, who undoubtedly gave the onerous task of governance their best shot, the truth is that Zamfara State, in the almost three decades since its creation, hardly moved the needle of socio-economic progress; on the contrary, it languished in the doldrums of underdevelopment – with its Human Development Index (HDI) among the lowest in the country. The state was not just poor, it also suffered from extremely bad press; many outsiders spoke of it in the most dystopian terms – as a hotbed of terrorism, banditry, and so forth. It is hard to overstate the havoc this awful reputation caused to the state’s developmental aspirations; investors, local and foreign alike, and even Youth Corps members deployed to the state avoided it like the plague.
But like a bolt out of the blue, came a man armed not only with a singular passion to change this unwholesome narrative, but also both the confidence and competence to match his passion. Two years ago, on May 29, 2023, the people of Zamfara State welcomed a new Governor – in the person of Dr. Dauda Lawal – with cautious hope, but also with a healthy dose of skepticism, having seen so many other Governors come and go, like ships that passed in the night. Maybe, it would be same old same old.