As the 2027 elections draw closer, aspiring governors in Borno State are expected to be developing policy blueprints that could shape the state’s development trajectory for the next four to eight years.
For Borno, the question should not simply be about who succeeds Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, but what development priorities the next administration will pursue and whether those priorities will translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of people across the state.
The debate comes amid President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent call on state governors to reduce wasteful spending and place greater emphasis on human capital development and social interventions.
The President’s position resonates with a growing concern among Nigerians that the number of flyovers, monumental projects and other visible infrastructure in state capitals should not be the only measure of an administration’s performance.
Development in urban centres is important. However, it should not come at the expense of rural development, human capital, healthcare, education, electricity, road infrastructure and industrialisation capable of creating jobs for Nigeria’s growing youth population.
For Borno, this debate is particularly important.
Governor Zulum is expected to leave office in May 2027, but his administration has already provided a development framework that could guide whoever succeeds him.
The 25-Year Development Framework and 10-Year Strategic Transformation Initiative established under the Zulum administration is built around five key pillars, including Human Capital Development and Leadership in Agriculture.
The framework envisions a peaceful and stable Borno with a highly productive population, targeting a 70 per cent productive population by 2030.
Governor Zulum has also stated that the plan was designed to outlive his administration.
That places a clear responsibility on the next governor: rather than abandoning existing plans for a new political blueprint, the incoming administration should consolidate, improve and implement what is already working.
Making Local Government Autonomy Work
The implementation of local government autonomy presents another major opportunity for Borno.
For people living in rural communities, the expectation is straightforward: resources allocated to local governments should be used to address local problems.
Development should not remain concentrated in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere, or be determined by political influence and proximity to powerful individuals.
Local governments should have the capacity to identify their most pressing needs and deploy available resources accordingly.
If local government autonomy is to produce meaningful results, residents of Bama, Gwoza, Marte, Guzamala and other communities should be able to see its impact through functioning primary healthcare centres, solar-powered electricity, feeder roads, schools, water supply and other basic services.
The Zulum administration has already demonstrated that development can extend beyond the state capital.
In the past six years, eight general hospitals have been established in Magumeri, Mafa, Gubio, Dikwa, Uba, Damboa, Hawul and Kwaya Kusar, while more than 80 primary healthcare centres have reportedly been upgraded.
The administration has also overseen the resettlement of about two million people affected by displacement.
The next administration should deepen this approach.
If development continues to be concentrated in Maiduguri and other major urban centres, the potential benefits of local government autonomy and the state’s long-term development framework could be undermined.
What Rural Borno Needs
Many communities affected by the Boko Haram insurgency have returned home, but returning home does not automatically mean that people have recovered their livelihoods.
Several rural communities still require basic infrastructure and economic opportunities to become self-sufficient.
Electricity remains a major priority.
It is difficult to achieve meaningful agricultural transformation when farmers lack access to electricity to power irrigation systems, cold rooms, processing facilities and other productive activities.
Solar mini-grids and rural electrification should therefore form part of the next administration’s development priorities.
Road infrastructure is equally important.
Feeder roads connecting farming communities in places such as Kukawa, Mobbar and Damboa to larger markets can reduce post-harvest losses and make agricultural production more profitable.
Healthcare and education must also move beyond the construction of buildings.
Communities need properly equipped hospitals, medicines, qualified health workers, functional schools and adequate teachers.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) should also receive greater attention to ensure young people acquire practical skills that can translate into employment and entrepreneurship rather than leaving school with certificates but limited economic opportunities.
Livelihood support is another critical component.
Resettling displaced people without providing sustainable means of livelihood risks creating another cycle of dependency and vulnerability.
The objective should be to move communities from relief to resilience and ultimately to economic self-sufficiency.
From Emergency Response to Recovery
Borno has experienced more than a decade of displacement and humanitarian challenges.
The state must therefore begin to move decisively from an emergency-focused approach towards recovery, resilience, livelihoods and peacebuilding.
To be fair, the Zulum administration recognised the importance of recovery and resilience by incorporating them into the state’s 25-Year Development Framework.
However, twelve years after the beginning of the major displacement crisis in 2014, the continued dominance of emergency interventions raises an important question: how long should communities remain dependent on emergency assistance?
The next administration should take a stronger coordinating role in humanitarian and development interventions.
Donor programmes and interventions should, where possible, align with Borno’s long-term development priorities rather than operate in isolation.
The state should ensure that humanitarian assistance complements a broader strategy for economic recovery, reconstruction, livelihoods and sustainable development.
Borno cannot remain trapped indefinitely in a cycle of emergency response.
A Message to the Next Governor
To whoever emerges as Borno’s next governor, the state’s 25-Year Development Framework offers an important starting point.
The slogan, “Our Borno, Our Success,” should mean exactly what it says.
The word “our” must include the young boy in Damasak, the woman in Monguno and Damboa, the farmer in Kukawa, the teacher in Askira-Uba and the families returning to communities across the state.
Development must not be measured only by what is visible in Maiduguri.
The next administration should protect and domesticate the 25-Year Development Plan while working closely with local government chairmen, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, development partners and communities.
Projects should be driven by development priorities rather than political considerations.
President Tinubu’s call for governments to focus on impact rather than optics is therefore relevant to Borno’s next development agenda.
The state’s progress should not be measured by the size of a single project or the number of monumental structures constructed.
It should be measured by whether farms are productive, hospitals have medicines, schools have qualified teachers, young people have jobs, rural communities have electricity and roads, and families displaced by conflict can rebuild sustainable lives.
Borno’s future prosperity will depend on the ability of its next administration to invest in its people and extend development to the communities that need it most.
If the next governor gets rural development and human capital development right, Borno can build on its existing foundations and reclaim much of the prosperity for which the state was once known.
But if development becomes primarily about grand projects and urban optics, the state risks missing the opportunity to achieve the deeper transformation its people need.
