By Abubakar Yusuf
Capt Junaid Abdullahi is the current helmsman at the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) with the mandate to bridge the gap of socio-economic and infrastructural development of border communities in Nigeria.
With his managerial background both in the air buisness, private and subsequently in the public service as well as exposure, it was not an uphill task to domesticate the efforts of government towards mitigating the plight of the vulnerable in the area of social, economic and infrastructural developement to enhance a good living standard.
Without mincing words, three years down the line, as the Executive Secretary of the intervention agency in Nigeria, alot of all round impact was made to ameliorate the critical conditions of border communities, particularly as the areas are prone to both forseen and unforseen circumstances and happenings within the border towns.
Having acquainted with the needs assessment of the 21 communities at the border line of Nigeria, basically to enhance their social status through provision of basic amenities and gainful engagements, the agency had carried out alot of developement and developmental initiatives, milestones and efforts in the last three years.
With a career of widely travelled and coincidentally from the border town, the three year tenure of the Executive Secretary, no doubt was eventful and a bridge of provision of critical infrastructure to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.
With appointment at the crux of COVID, the global health emergency that had ravaged countries, the well thought initiatives of Capt Junaid Abdullahi was exemplary and exceptional, as border communities heaved a sigh of relief in Nigeria.
From construction of schools and trainings for the indigenes of various border communities both in skill acquisition and capacity building, computer education and technology, to empowerment that kept them abreast and prepared towards the emergency period.
This also included provision of both motorized and solar powered boreholes, electricity transformers, roads and building of hospitals, as well as provision of tractors, agricultural equipment to enhance both subsistence and commercial farming activities in the areas.
Since Agriculture is the staple of border communities with the people predominantly farmers, the provision of tractors, modern seeds and seedlings cannot be overemphasized.
The priority on building of hospitals and primary health care centres across border communities was the cardinal objectives of the commission, so as to enhance the health status of the people and attend to both major and minor ailements in COVID era.
This does not preclude the new agency from providing outlets for low income earners, market men and women who were into one vocation or the other, through building of abatoirs as the end point for domestic animals and markets as selling point for their products that was giving adequate attention.
Trainings and retrainings, provision of starter packs in various vocations and locations had been the primary objectives of the commission in the last three years, with the target people benefitting hugely from government intervention and investments on human development.
With the giant strides in the last three years, even though threatened by the natural and global emergency period of COVID, the Executive Secretary deserve another term to continue in it’s strides of border communities service, with a view to bringing the vulnerable areas at par with other part of the country.
Abubakar Yusuf writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
