Once upon a time, you would be hard pressed to hear one good thing about Zamfara State. Since its creation in 1996, the state – located in the north-western geopolitical region of Nigeria – has been associated, in the imagination of most Nigerians, with the most negative manifestations of state dysfunction – terrorism, banditry, cattle rustling and so forth. It was seen as a lawless, Hobbesian jungle where life was nasty, brutish, desolate and short. This terrible reputation played no small amount of havoc on the state’s developmental aspirations – as investors, local and foreign alike, shunned the state like a plague, in the belief that there was nothing whatsoever to prefer about Zamfara as a destination for business/investment – let alone for pleasure.
In just two years, however, the state is barely recognizable – both in terms of its physical outlook and developmental profile. Zamfara is a state transformed; it has emphatically debunked the unfortunate stereotypes that had attached themselves to its name over the years. In their place, there is now a palpable resurgence of hope in the air, a feeling among the people that the narrative of their state’s socio-economic trajectory has indeed changed for the better. Two years into his four-year tenure, the transformational narrative promised by Dr. Lawal when he campaigned for the No. 1 job in the state is no longer a promise; it is a living, breathing reality – thanks to the stewardship of a purposeful, forward-looking, proactive and eminently capable Chief Executive.
From his assumption of office as the 5th Executive Governor of Zamfara State on the 29th of May, 2023, Dr. Dauda Lawal has been single-minded in pursuit of his ‘Six Smarts Rescue Agenda’ for the development of his state and the welfare and security of its people. The Agenda – spanning SECURITY, AGRICULTURE & FOOD SECURITY, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, THE ECONOMY and EMPOWERMENT – is the blueprint by which he has been able to move the developmental needle. Anchored on transparency, capacity development, and institutional resilience, the Agenda is steadily reversing years of systemic decay, and offering the people of Zamfara renewed hope in a government that works for them.
