….I can see good driving skills on the play
By Tom Garba, Yola
The emergence of the member representing Hong Constituency in the Adamawa House of Assembly (ADHA), Bathiya Wesley, as the Speaker was more of a God-given and divine arrangement.
Bathiya, who is barely 40 years old, happened to be one of the youngest lawmakers and a ranking legislator winning his election for the second time, came through deliberate efforts and consciously paved his way to the chief principal office of the assembly.
Over the years the young Man has proven to be a Man born with leadership strides and strengths, abilities he nursed to his current position. Bathiya in Hong before the 2015 and 2019 elections was a young lad with a lot of entrepreneurship zest, skills, and potentials. He was more of a Lamb surviving in the jungle of lions being the fact that Hong is one of the elitist Local Government areas of Adamawa state where being a graduate is not a thing of pride or what one should puff about. Hong constituency is hard to win and hard to get a ranking Lawmaker. The former acting Governor of Adamawa state and Former speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Barka James Shuaibu was the first to have a second term Mandate followed by Rt Hon Bathiya Wesley, the current speaker.
Bathiya’s life in Hong was historic which I will love to write here that through his entrepreneurship gift, he lived a life of sacrifice. Introducing business concepts to his pair group and age mate. The Man after high school, devoted himself to forecasting his future in creating and giving good leadership for the destiny God has called him to.
One thing you can not take away from this young speaker is his life of humility and respect, especially to elders and those he sees as his seniors. He is courageous in all he does and fearless to face daunting challenges and has confidence in himself to tell the truth to whosoever.
Despite the seemingly tougher battle of the 2023 elections, winning the second term of the Adamawa House of Assembly seat of Hong , to the Young speaker was more of a work over because of his political wisdom to navigate through the daunting challenges and get to where he is today. I discovered a political irony in this Man, he has the syndrome of “all are mine, and all mine is theirs”. Bathiya only sees parties’ differences during electioneering periods, after that, he embraces everyone to get the dividends of democracy.
I’m building up an observable opinion to say the Adamawa State has gotten another breed of a leader, the assembly has now got a Young Man that understands the rudiments of legislation and the power that legislators have. He has gotten the idea of how to lead by example. He is now on the driving side of the state legislative duties.
Barely a month, Bathiya got the gable and the gable is working well to serve the people of Adamawa better. In his efforts to checkmate insecurity, Bathiya, and his other colleagues have pushed a bill for tougher punishment for Shila Boys criminals. To criminalize the deadly group who are growing their ugly heads of using weapons to seize phones and valuables from members of the public using tricycles.
Rt Hon Wesley has since gone far with his driving skills for the affairs of the house plenaries. Is convincing many that he will take Adamawa electorates with his good ideas of lawmaking. Of recent he gabled a committee that will investigate alleged illegal mining in Mubi South LGA. This is just the starting point. It is more of he has hit the ground running.
The media was enmeshed with a perceived wrong narrative that the new speaker of the 8th Assembly is a physical challenged Man. To us and many others out there who knew him from birth will testified that Bathiya was not born with an amputated hand. He was only a victim of circumstances he had a hand fracture when he was quite younger, a primary school pupil and it resulted in his hand removal. To this young chap, he has never seen himself to be a man with only one hand.
His brain works 24/7 hours and his one hand serves the complete purpose of two made hands. He is working the bills, he is turning things around for the state. With or with no hands at all, the Man has proven a point that it’s not all the hands, “it’s about what the brain and the heart can offer”. The 8th assembly in Adamawa are now having a super speaker whose one hand is a strength hidden in wisdom to serve them better, he has proven to be a team leader with the executive under Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to serve the Adamawa Masses in a quiet unprecedented manner.
Being a driver and born with business concepts, he travels far and near to woo investors through friendly laws and bills for the state to come and do business with and for the people of Adamawa state. The state is endowed with all kinds of natural resources and good arable land for Agriculture which will jack up the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state. Opportunity Bathiya, the speaker and the Fintiri, the Chief Executive will use to build the state.
From Toungo to Madagali, Fufore to Shelleng Bathiya will lead the house to benefit all. He is driving to safe lives, driving to take all and sundry to a resting place because the journey so far is smooth under Bathiya, the experiences are not bad Haven had so many James Bombs holding the wheels of the steers in years past of the house. For now, is a ride on Mr. Wesley.
<blockquote>The honest and the bitter truth remains a statement of facts, May I however say that you should drive carefully, there could be dangerous bends and pedestrians move set as a trap to cause you a fatal accident. Adamawa state is not an easy state to lead. Speaker Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri the current Governor of the state, Speaker James Barka, the current House of Representative member for Gombi/Hong, Speaker Ibrahim Dasin, Speaker Kabiru Mijin Yawa, the current member of Yola South constituency are all alive to give you the nuggets that Adamawa is a macrocosm Nigeria, the Bus is not easy to drive as such. Be wise! Be careful and drive to safety, Sir.</blockquote>
All the same, with God on Your driving side, I believe you will all take us there safely. All the best Mr Speaker.
Garba (B.Tech, MA. FIMC, FBDFM, SPSP) is a Journalist, a political analyst, and an opinion writer. TGNews Chief Publisher writes from Yola-Adamawa State and can be reached through tomgarba7@gmail.com or 08172570959
