That report in NEWDAY, on Gov Kefas foreign trips – Emmanuel Bello

If one were to take the report carried by the relatively unknown newspaper NEWDAY on its face value, it would look as if Governor Agbu Kefas foreign trips are in vain. The report, relying on a recent survey purportedly by the National Bureau of Statistics, did not make any efforts to fact-check the data or even facts on the ground. Data churn out by even the NBS ought to be grilled and benchmarked against realities on ground by any medium that use them for stories.

The six billion tale!

To begin with, it is hard to even imagine how a whopping sum of six billion naira, as the report alleged, could have gone into any kind of trip. Is this bogus amount for the transport fare alone, or does it include accommodations? What period does the amount cover? Is it for a year or all the trip Governor Kefas has done? Who did the computation? What indices were used? Is it from the receipts from the trips? What are the other details of these amounts? These are the questions that any serious editor will contemplate when looking at the figure.

Gov Kefas and trips.

It should be stated from the onset that Dr. Kefas is no stranger to traveling both as a private citizen in the past and now that he has the popular mandate of the people. As a private citizen, Gov Kefas has traversed the nooks and crannies of the planet as a student, a well sought-after security consultant, and other personal engagements. None of those trips were frivolous. They were serious trips with strategic missions.

Today, as Governor, Dr Kefas has continued in the tradition of high-level engagements with partners around the world – some of the relationships built over the years. Every trip is often well thought out and well designed to address a particular sector of the state. Apart from occasional personal trips (and this is not outlandish for people in government), all the other trips are tied to the needs of the state.

Attracting foreign investment.

The editors at NEWDAY should have inquired to know what partnership and collaboration Taraba state has entered with foreign governments and how this is impacting on the state. A recent trip to South Africa just the other day, for instance, brought SA partners to Jalingo, who have established the first ever hydrofoam block making technology. Apart from revolutionizing the construction sector, the technology will create new jobs for many.

But it goes beyond that. Dr Kefas’ effort with another country-Finland- has guaranteed a relationship based on a mutual commitment to free education. Finland is also investing in solid minerals exploration that will cut off any adverse effect on the environment.

Governor Kefas links with the Czech Republic go way back. Today, that collaboration has translated into a huge influx of tractors and other agriculture related pacts.

The Chinese, too, are flooding Taraba state with collaboration in various sectors: aviation, agriculture, road construction, and other bilateral understanding. A recent trip to the JAC group in China by the governor is opening up the transportation sector with top of the shelve buses coming soon to crash the cost of traveling.

Trips to the United States have facilitated investment in environmental causes and maternal/children health causes. Today, with partners at the United Nations, Taraba is getting the right funding to deal with desertification and other environmental degradation crises.

Serious Leadership

Governor Kefas is known for his seriousness in leadership. Little wonder, therefore, that the world is starting to take the state seriously, too. More investors are willing to come even as some of them have trooped in. There is a clear understanding that nations can do business with Governor Agbu Kefas, given his transparency and proclivity for friendship. We should be celebrating the fact that the world is opening up for us as a state. Although some of the collaborations are yet to manifest openly, the friendship and partnership built with many other countries, whose Embassies Governor Kefas has visited in Abuja, is one that will benefit the state in the long run.

Bello is the Special Adviser Media and Digital Communications to Governor Kefas