Sen. Bala Mohammed Kauran Bauchi's A Leader in the Footsteps of Legends

I vividly remember the damnation we found ourselves in back in 2011, around the most destructive years of boko haram. We suffered three bomb blasts in Bauchi metropolis, and a brazen and explosive prison break carried out by boko haram fighters in the heart of the Bauchi state capital. They even held our emir hostage in the mosque while they manned the metropolis from the prison axis, to the central mosque, to the emir's palace, through to the central market, and out to Gombe highway which served as their getaway.

At a time there were hundreds of boko haram fighters at the Lame Burra forest. Even though Bauchi was at the base of the 'cone' of the entire war zone and was perhaps the least hit of all the north eastern states, it was petrifying, unsettling and damaging to every facet of life one could think of. Both terrorists and innocent civilians found Bauchi as a new haven, one group running away from the insecurity, the other running away from security personnel. In Bauchi we lived in fear of who was what; and every two young boys on a bike, or any haggard looking fella with a bag was a possible boko haramite. The sound of a tyre go burst from a bike or car got people scampering for safety for dear life.

By God's mercy the last eight years have been witnesses to a continued restoration of law and order, and peace and quiet, from the mayhem and confusion of yesteryears. The Federal Government under the Buhari administration really upped the tempo of the war against terror. That has definitely degraded and even decimated the boko haram group. The resurgence we see today is that of a more hybrid situation, or perhaps a different terrorist group known as ISWAP, Islamic State West Africa Province. Today over 80% of the army's onslaught in the north east, especially the Borno/ Sambisa axis, is against the ISWAP elements who are a terror group to the entire West African sub-region. Borno, Adamawa, Taraba and Yobe, and to a larger extent Gombe and Bauchi have all been somewhat liberated from the stranglehold of boko haram. The life of fear, stampede, choking roadblocks, and market and mosque search queues have virtually dissipated. This is all courtesy of the gallantry of the Nigerian Army, and its renewed sophistication by spirited efforts of the Federal Government. Only a north easterner would be able to revel at the success of the Federal Government's war against terror in the region.

The freedom from the decades of insecurity has enabled Bauchi the luxury of monumental infrastructural developments. We as indigenes no longer duck our heads in shame, over our state's backwardness in such urban development initiatives. We usually marvel at the progresses in sister states like Gombe, which we birthed a few decades ago. Successive seasons of sustained good governance in Gombe had absolutely dwarfed good old Bauchi. But that is almost in the past, as Bauchi has upped its game in the infrastructure business. Gov. Bala Mohammed, Kauran Bauchi has really been the architect of a new and modernised Bauchi state.

It is no wonder that despite being in the opposition party, his administration's strides have been recognised and rewarded by the Federal Govt. Nigeria Excellence Awards in Public Service organised by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, recognised him as the best governor in rural development in 2022, best in Urban Renewal in 2024, and as a distinction governor in good governance and regional growth in 2025. In an article titled, "The Urban Renewal of Bauchi", I covered a lot of his ambitious projects that have transformed Bauchi within just 6 years. Years ago some family friends chided my neighbourhood, cheekily tagging it a getto! Well, Not anymore as my street now has finely tarred roads and well built drainages along with solar street lights.

There's also a well articulated roundabout with a fine garden adorning the frontage of my inherited abode. To top it all, a modernised Primary Healthcare Centre has been built right across the street, which is being upgraded to a hospital. I called up my friends and asked them, "how do you like my "GRA" now? I can't wait to buzz them again when the flyover across the Central Market adjacent my street is completed. It would completely eliminate the log jam caused by traffic around the area. We have already started witnessing seamless movement as bypasses have been developed across the borders of the metropolis thereby easing traffic jams across the metropolis.

My 'formerly getto' is not only urbane and beautiful, it is also safe. Kaura did not take security for granted at all. Just the way; with a vengeance, he took infrastructure to a new height, is the same manner in which he has immensely improved on Bauchi's security. Vigilante groups along with other security agencies were merged into teams, and mobilised with all they'd need to fight insecurity in the state. The security teams took the battle to the terrorists hibernating around the outskirts and forests in the state. The security agencies are seen constantly patrolling the state, while other teams are stationed strategically across the state.

Terrorists that had camps around the Yankari/ Ashaka axis have been taken headon on innumerable occasions. These terrorists are mostly foreign and their battles with the security teams and how the security teams eventually dislodged them is widely known in Bauchi. These courageous vigilantes along with the security forces lay down their lives on a daily basis for our safety. Our neighbourhood had cause to go out on a lonely night around 2am as there was a lot of noise and gun shots in the area. It turns out that the security groups had chased after some criminals who had lost the firepower and courage to face the security forces.

I was more than marvelled by their proactiveness and commitment. In no time they rounded them up and their vehicles after a long chase to a dead end. Kaura has done well for Bauchi's security and has lived up to the true calling of his traditional title, KAURA. That is why it is quite absurd as I've heard from news outlets, to have Kaura and insecurity in the same sentence aside one that connotes his courage in the face of it. Infact when I heard recently that the Northern Governors Forum was putting up a security fund to position it towards fighting insecurity more decisively, I thought to sound out to the forum, the idea of adopting Kaura's methodology. It has helped restore peace in Bauchi greatly.