The newly rebuilt market at the outskirts of Yunusari, a thriving community less than twenty kilometers from the Niger Republic border, was our first impressive stop during the three-day media tour. We arrived here after about four and a half hours’ drive from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. This gleaming market is situated about thirty kilometers from Kanamma, headquarters of Yunusari local government area and reported birthplace of the Boko Haram insurgency. Its existence here is a statement that the once terror-ravaged North East is on the mend.
The mend in Yobe State is made possible by the steady restoration of peace and security after fifteen years of Boko Haram/ISWAP terror. Governor Mai Mala Buni, who contributed enormously to the restoration of security, quickly followed up with a vigorous program of reconstruction of critical infrastructure and its expansion to facilitate rapid recovery. “We are leveraging on the restoration of peace and security to reconstruct Yobe in all spheres,” Governor Buni said while conducting the touring newsmen round the completely reworked Damaturu stadium, the terminus of the media tour. “Yobe is one of the states worst-hit by Boko Haram insurgency. So we are necessitated by this situation to adopt a multi-sectoral strategy in rebuilding the state.”
This multi-sectoral strategy of the Buni Administration is comprehensive, expansive, aims at recovery and reconstruction, has “realistically designed and crafted” programmes and projects, covers the entire state, aims to reboot the state’s economy, and places special emphasis on healthcare, educational services and rejuvenation of commerce.
Yobe State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information and Culture Abdullahi Bego, who led the media tour, said at the fascinating Yunusari Modern Market, “The governor designs his programmes and projects taking an approach that ensures their concentration more on our rural communities than the state headquarters, Damaturu, and other townships.”
The Commissioner added, “Boko Haram insurgency brought Yobe State’s economy to its knees, so the main purpose of our programmes and projects is to reinvigorate commercial activities among the once-heavily commercially-inclined communities as the most-potent approach to rebuilding the economy.” Bego also said, “Yobe is mostly populated by agrarian and livestock-rearing communities. So, with such modern markets, we aim to encourage these communities to resuscitate their network of commercial dealings to fast-track economic recovery.”
Yunusari modern market has 98 shops, 156 stalls and 4 warehouses. It houses an administrative block, fire service block, a banking hall and a police outpost. There are similar markets in
Machina, Ngalda and Buni Yadi, which testifies to spread all over the state. Taking a U-turn back to Gashua, enroute Nguru and Machina, we went with fond memories of a modern market. Yunusari community leader Babagoni Aisami jubilantly said, “It has bolstered our commercial spirit, which was weakened by insecurity. We now do not have to go to Nguru, Gashua or Geidam to buy and sell.”
The Sesame Seed Processing Plant we saw at Machina was a marvelous sight to behold, with its state-of-the-art processing machines. Yobe is one of Nigeria’s leading sesame seeds producer states. The Machina plant has three sisters at Damaturu, Potiskum and Nguru; together, they aim to upscale farmers’ productivity, hence the state government’s decision to establish the four plants.
In order to drastically cut farmers’ post-harvest, storage and marketing losses, the Buni administration also rehabilitated and modernized the once-moribund Polythene Bags and Woven Sacks Company at Potiskum. “This company with solve the farmers’ problems in this regard,” Abdullahi Bego said.
Equally awe-inspiring is the Potiskum ultramodern market that we visited. It befits Potiskum, which has been a popular commercial hub in the North-East since pre-colonial times. The vast commercial facility has 412 shops, 192 stalls and 12 warehouses spacious enough for drive-in trucks. It has an administrative block, a set of toilets, a mosque and a police outpost. This macro-level commercial facility also has four other sisters, one each in Damaturu, Gashua, Geidam and Nguru. Together, Yobe State government is confident that they will ensure the rapid resuscitation of commercial activities in the state. Also aiding this process is the 86,000 square meter, 500-trucks capacity Potiskum Trailer Transit Park, equipped with dormitories, warehouses, washing bays and a police outpost. The trailer park is expected to create 5000 jobs for youths.
The state capital, Damaturu is fast finding its rightful place among modern state capitals. Mai Mala Buni’s striking legacies here include one of the longest flyover bridges in the North-East as well as health, education and commerce projects. The 460 meters-long flyover, with an accompanying 600 meters underpass, is to be opened to motorists in March. Damaturu’s rapid expansion and urbanization also necessitated the relocation of its main motor park from the city center, with an accompanying twin policy of centralizing motor parks to ease effective monitoring of movement of persons in and out of the state for security reasons.
Consequently, the Buni administration embarked on constructing a 500-vehicle new Damaturu Mega Motor Park at the city’s western outskirts, accompanied by vast terminal space, restaurant, accommodation for travelers and a police outpost.
Equally awesome is the Damaturu Multipurpose Flood Management and Control Project. The Damaturu 9.125 kilometers parabolic and trapezoidal canal not only tackles the perennial flooding of the city but collects and pools the flood water in adjoining rectangular structures, then channels it for livestock feeding and irrigation farms that line up the banks of the canal.
The Buni administration also identified sports as a foremost expression of the return of peace and security. It embarked on projects to transform sports as a critical post-insurgency project to show a peaceful and secure Yobe to the outside world and boost youth development. It embarked on refurbishing, reconstruction and remodeling of Damaturu township stadium and construction of the Buni-Yadi mini township stadium. The Damaturu township stadium, to be commissioned in March, is of world-standard, with fully-equipped pitches and facilities for football, basketball, paralympic sports, badminton and other indoor sports, plus a police outpost. It has an initial 6,500 seating capacity that will be raised with the construction of more spectators’ stands before it is commissioned. The 5,000 seating-capacity Buni-Yadi mini stadium, under construction, is to have provision for eight sports, including football, basketball and badminton.
In order to wire all these programmes and projects together for effective coordination and functionality, the state government embarked on the rehabilitation of dilapidated network of rural roads and built new ones to open land-locked communities. This, Bego said, is to provide easy accessibility to facilitate farm-to-market commercial transactions among agrarian communities. He said as he led newsmen along a section of the 34 kilometers Danchuwa-Jajere asphalted rural road that, “No community is too small or insignificant for us to open in our economic resuscitation strategies.”
Secretary to Yobe State Government, Baba Malam Wali, added, “In total, over 500km rural roads are being executed by the State Government.” These are apart from networks of township roads in Damaturu and 14 other townships across the state. “These projects, which are in various stages of completion, are being carried out with a view to opening up the communities and their adjoining settlements for enhanced socio-economic activities.”
The SSG also spoke about the most critical challenge that Governor Mai Mala Buni tackled, which is security. He said, “When Governor Buni took the mantle of leadership in 2019, there were many communities that remained inaccessible due to the threat posed by the insurgents in Gujba and Gulani Local Government Areas.” But that with the commitment of Buni government, backed by the federal government and its security agencies, complementary efforts of vigilante groups and the persistent prayers of the people, “normalcy has returned to the most insurgency-ravaged areas and reconstruction, resettlement and rehabilitation of communities such as Buni-yadi have been undertaken while that of Malamdunari is being carried out satisfactorily.”
Buni’s Administration, the SSG said, provided 250 Patrol and Specialized vehicles for security agencies; over 500 motorcycles; long-range security cameras installed at strategic locations across the state; and acquired landed assets for various security agencies to build their State Headquarters in Damaturu. “We also undertook the repair, rehabilitation and retrofitting of over 300 patrol and specialized operational vehicles, incentives and allowances for all operational activities,” Baba Wali said.
In addition, he said, “We facilitated the engagement of over 2000 vigilante, hunters and hybrid force elements, complete kitting for all state-sponsored security personnel, special incentives and welfare for all posted in and out and retired heads of security agencies up to two steps down the chain of command.”
The education sector in Yobe was the worst-hit by the Boko Haram insurgency, as was the case in neighbouring Borno State. “This necessitated the immediate declaration of a state of emergency on education,” the SSG said, “followed by convening of Education Summit, constitution of Committee on Revitalization of Basic and Secondary Education and later on, Yobe State Education Trust Fund.” He also said, “The Buni Administration has also established six new Model Schools, seven Mega Schools, nine new Government Girls Day Senior Secondary Schools, eight new co-educational Government Day Senior Secondary Schools and an additional one for boys across the State. One IDP School was also established in Buni Yadi.”
These, he said, are in addition to construction of new classes, laboratories, ICT centers, hostels and other vital structures. Over 4,000 teaching and non-teaching staff were recruited and posted to various primary and secondary schools, and 26,000 teachers were trained or retrained in the last six years to enhance their capacities.
“To achieve our target of providing one functional primary healthcare center in each of the 178 Electoral wards of the State, 140 of these PHCs have been completed and commissioned,” the SSG said, adding, “We have also procured and launched 88 customized tricycle ambulances and distributed them to remote areas to ease movement of patients to the health centers.” Over 300,000 people including civil servants and other members of the general public have enrolled in the Yobe State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (YSCHMA) scheme, the government said. The scheme enables patients to pay only 10% of the total cost of medication.
The Buni government also established Yobe State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency (YODMA) with total drugs worth about N2.3 billion to address drugs and medical supply system needs of the State. The SSG said, “The State Emergency Medical Ambulance and Yobe State Healthcare and Health-related Facilities Inspection and Monitoring Agency were established to boost healthcare delivery in matters relating to domestic and road traffic accidents and monitoring of health facilities to provide best standard practice.”
The State also provides free health services to pregnant women, children under five, and for accident victims for the first 48 hours in addition to free dialysis for patients with kidney ailments. “We also effectively collaborate with development partners in the implementation of programmes against the spread of polio and child killer diseases, among others,” he said. The Federal Ministry of Health has already recognized Yobe as the most improved State in terms of immunization coverage, from 16% to 65%.
Yobe State government has also equipped the 700-bed capacity Yobe State University Teaching Hospital with state-of-the-art equipment including radio-diagnostic center facilities with MRI, 164 slides CT scan, Mammography, digital/mobile X-ray and Ultra Sound. “Our aim is to make Yobe State the hub of medical tourism in the country. It is our hope that this will reduce incessant travel of patients outside the country and enable citizens to conserve scarce medical foreign exchange,” Baba Wali said.
The Buni-led Yobe government also announced that it is concluding plans to established a Kidney dialysis center at Gashua. “In recognition of our giant strides in the provision of primary Health Care Services, Yobe State emerged as the best State in the Federation at National Primary Health Care competition in December, 2025 having clinched the first position as the best among the 36 State of the federation.”
How very pleasing it was, during the three-day whirlwind tour, to see the very fast pace at which Yobe State is recovering from post-insurgency trauma under Governor Mai Mala Buni’s dynamic and focused leadership.
