15/07/2026
Bago: mega minds, mega projects, mega reach and the principle of mass benefits
By JIBRIN BALA JIBRIN YIKANGI
It isn't something planned, the conversation, out of a casual chitchat with Nuruddeen Isyaku Daza of the famous "Tsallle Daya" said "flyovers make one to loose his way around town" the conversation though casual, registers subconsciously but I kept my thoughts as we drove up and down the Lado flyover of Zaria road in Kano, this was Tuesday morning while departing Kano after the Arewa Media Summit held on the 6th of July; Daza behind the wheel and Yakubu Ismail of "Zarar Bunu" besides him in the front passenger seat; I absent-mindedly reach for the seat belt directly behind Yakubu myself, I buckled it as if I haven't heard what he said, the conversation wasn't directed at me though, but it didn't loose it significance on my senses either; I looked sideways forlornly, until I got jolted out of my reverics by the brake Daza applied when we stop to pick Shamsudeen Yakaji at the Yan-Lemo fruits market, few meters from Naibawa motor park. We continued towards Zaria afterwards.
Arriving Kaduna we passed overhead the Kawo-flyover and something pinched again "Flyovers make one to loose his way around town" that earlier conversation of Daza in Kano worked my senses again; my subconscious said to my conscious mind "wait this, statement isn't ordinary" indeed this is Kawo na, it's not as if I haven't known but that statement immediately connected, "Flyovers make one to loose his way around town" this statement is positive albeit development-wise two folds, this statement means, one ,someone can loose his way because of developmental and aesthetic values that comes with building of flyovers, developmental in case of freeing up road for smooth transiting that ease up time for doing business, thereby leading up to more developments, two ,for aesthetics, flyovers speed-up urbanization, it's one of the hallmarks of urbanization anywhere in the world; this will make people want to invest their hard earned money and the likes; flyovers gives aura for developments thereby inviting more developments.
So this Kawo I spoke about that "I know" is indeed known to me, I transit these place for four (4) years, 1991 to 95 when I was in Barewa College Zaria, Kawo today isn't what it was, you will loose your way if you weren't told, I admitted in that moment, truly "Flyovers make one to loose his way around town" alas we continued our homeward journey anyway. As we got to Minna former city gate, where flyover construction is currently underway, what had being echoing on my mind returned "Flyovers make one to loose his way around town" it continued to echo as I passed by; I secretly returned to city gate wednesday morning to take an holistic look and prove the echoing statement, on bike this time; after looking around I concurred the fore "statement", yet secretly again; you wonder why I kept saying "secretly" right? Here it is, I am one of the staunch critics against demolition of the old city gate monument, infact I wrote a long winding and scathing article back then when it was demolished, I called it "senseless" I moved on to take a closer look at the Tunga flyover, then mobile and all the rest; God! I have being wrong about this Man, Farmer Umar Bago, the Executive Governor of Niger State; Bago like Okonkwo of the famous Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" this guy is greatly misunderstood, he's far ahead of his time; his mind worked far ahead, how come he had "out-visioned us" me especially? how come I didn't see this? It takes "a statement to unveil" a whole lot of senses most times, that's my case I guess situationally, Alas I now see the picture unfolding, a massive seven flyovers going at the same time in a single city; this changes the face of Minna in a single wild act ,from my looking around no one had achieved this across the country, I stand to be corrected, this is massive, only the federal government could achieve this, that is if it's accompanied with political will kenan. Even Kano that's the center of commerce in Arewa plus the state with the highest federal government monthly allocation in Arewa hadn't carried out the construction of seven (7) flyovers at the same time; this vision even as I write is turning my eyes ๐, this is act of "a mind" who is steadied and has envisioned what lots haven't, this is characteristics of a "good mind" no wonder theirs this Aristotelian creed that says "The mind is the highest rational faculty of the soul" let me break it down, Aristotle added that there's an irrational part of a mind too, it deals with matters of biology, as in growth and emotional desires; whilst rational part of the mind is responsible for wisdom, logic and intellectual reasoning, now think about when you got not only a rational mind but a sound one, it certainly will birth ideas that are overwhelmingly large,big and oversize, extension-wise the resultant consecration of ideas out of such mind is going to be massive, telling, especially if it's consecrated for benefits of multitude, such is what I think this Man we see ordinarily carried, large mind with oversize ideas and visions.
The Minna drainage systems, the one we locally called "Berger" is product of a good mind, if not, Minna would have being under water as we speak; General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) having seen damages flood cause in Minna perennially, up until the point he became military President in 1985, decided that the only way to save his beloved hometown is to build a world class drainage system: He did and it's now a history, a high quality system constructed by a world class company The Julius Berger (Berger) as I saw somewhere, that it (the drainage system) is the only of it kind in the whole of West Africa, true or not, it's quality is top-notch, until Bago's projects now, no mega construction of it type has being carried out since the state was created five decades ago; positively I would say, Bago broke the jinx; these flyovers were massive and mega in the likes of the drainage systems that has kept Minna at it location today.This drainage system is only a fleeting part of "meganess" of the mind of IBB, no President in the history of Nigeria, before and currently has touched this country positively as IBB; again I stand to be corrected; ironically though, the other person with mega kind of mind is Talba, he constructed the Shiroro-Erena bridge across river Kaduna immediately down stream of the Shiroro dam, today the mass benefits has surpassed the pain and resources of it's construction. Regardless, construction of these bridges has dug deep into the public treasury, it benefits in the future may surpass the pains we feel today like the 1990's Minna drainage system, like the 2000's Shiroro-Erena bridge, products of mega minded thoughts, it isn't criminal to be optimistic I guess; these bridges when completed shall change story of the state albeit positively, the masses should benefit and the environment should resonate aestheticically and more developments should be driven because of one Man's vision, one Man's mind, a mind who foresaw what would drive his homeland out of the doldrums and he took the gamble; yes it was a gamble but a calculated one; it's completion is indeed the focus it should be given at all cost; Bago is a mega minded patriot of Niger, kudos, commendable, dozens of other projects completed, nothing suggest that others wouldn't be completed as well, optimistically Niger should be the better for this and the masses should be of the deserving benefit.
