It was one heck of a tour. In one busy afternoon last Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned major projects in Yobe State undertaken in the last three and a half years by Governor Mai Mala Buni’s administration. They included Yobe International Cargo Airport, now renamed after Buhari, Damaturu ultra-modern market, Maternal and Child Health Complex at Yobe State Teaching Hospital, the 2600 Housing Estate in Potiskum and the Damaturu Mega School at new Bra-Bra, as well as a visit to the palace of the Emir of Damaturu, Hashimi II El-Kanemi.
None of that pleased Governor Buni quite as much as that Buhari spent a night in Damaturu. It was to send a message to Nigeria and international community: a state capital once attacked by Boko Haram terrorists is now safe and open for business. Nigerians should develop strong confidence in the country and its security institutions, Buhari said. What a way to prove it than by spending a night in Damaturu!