The late Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, a former governor of Taraba State, was a leader to be remembered by Tarabans for many reasons.

 

To some he was a controversial leader, many saw him as the leader who laid the framework for the development of Taraba State while others regarded him as a tribalist.

 

A pharmacist by training, Suntai joined politics in 1987 and contested the chairmanship election under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He won and became the chairman of Bali local government council in the defunct Gongola State.

 

The chairmanship position brought him to limelight because at that time the area he administered was considered a mini state because of its size.

 

With the creation of Taraba State in 1991, he was appointed Director General in the state ministry of agriculture. As a politician he took that advantage to empower his friends and political associates who were mostly based in rural areas of the state.

 

A man of fate, he was appointed chairman of Taraba State Investment and Property by former governor Jolly Nyame. He also served as a Commissioner for Education and later secretary to government all under Jolly Nyame’s administration.

 

Suntai, who was all along in the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), picked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial ticket after the national secretariat of the party rejected the candidature of Danladi Baido in 2004.

 

Reacting over Suntai’s demise, a former commissioner of finance and Secretary to Taraba State government under Suntai’s administration, Senator Umar Abubakar Tutare, said “the state has lost a good leader who worked tirelessly in transforming the state. Suntai did so much in the areas of physical and human development in the state.”

 

He said that Suntai laid a solid foundation for the development of the state, adding that all the major projects in the state were the initiatives of the late governor.

 

Some of the projects, he said, include the state university in Jalingo which was conceived and executed by the late governor as well as the Jalingo township roads as well as roads in all the headquarters of the 16 local government areas of the state.

 

In his comment, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, a former gubernatorial candidate, described Suntai as the best leader the state ever had, adding that he united the people and encouraged coexistence among all ethnic groups in the state.

 

He said late Suntai built bridges of understanding across the country and was very generous. 

 

 “During the administration of Suntai, there were no cases of crisis as we are witnessing now and it was because he carried everybody along without discrimination on tribal and religious lines as is the case now,” Ikenya further stated.

 

Similarly, a journalist working in Jalingo, Malam Abdu Mijinyawa, said late Suntai will be remembered for his boldness, focus, as well as generosity.

 

He said he was a passionate leader who loved his state, which made him one of the best leaders the state had.

 

Also reacting, Press Secretary to Governor Darius Ishiaku, Malam Hassan Mijinyawa, said late Suntai was a silent achiever who, evidently, covered so many milestones of developmental strides in Taraba State.

 

“I see Danbaba Suntai as a phenomenon. He was exceptionally hardworking and abundantly patriotic; a citizen who went the extra mile to exalt the tenets of an ideal state,” Malam Hassan said.

 

Malam Hassan Mijinyawa said it was Suntai who “established the Taraba State University and directed local government chairmen to come up with blueprints for development in their respective councils. He visited the local governments severally to inspect the projects and commissioned them. His style of leadership was unprecedented.”

 

Other projects established by late Suntai were the Taraba Agricultural and Produce Marketing Agency (TAPMA), with solidified storage facilities which enhanced sale of agricultural produce where the government buys produce directly from farmers at a good price to avoid unnecessary hike by middlemen.

 

He further disclosed that Sutai also established the Taraba Road Construction and Management Agency (TARCMA) which ensured the provision of infrastructure to the people. “For TARCMA to function effectively, he established the high quality stone crushing and asphalt company which provided key raw materials for TARCMA to operate, raw materials such as various stone aggregates and other quarry products. The company turned out to be a huge revenue earner for the state till date.” 

 

However, a politician and a social critic, Malam Buba Yero Mafindi, viewed Suntai differently. He said it was late Suntai who promoted tribalism and religious sentiment in the state. He also accused Suntai of encouraging zoning in the Peoples Democratic Party.

 

According to him, Muslims in Taraba State, especially during his second tenure, were sidelined in appointments and key positions in the state.

 

“Suntai was backed mostly in his political career by Muslims but at the end he dumped and marginalized them,” Mafindi lamented.

 

Buba Mafindi said late Suntai had transformed himself to a dictator thereby doing whatever he wanted to do without due process.

 

“He spent billions of naira to built houses and airstrip in his village and those structures he constructed in his village are now laying waste,” Mafindi said.

 

A resident of Jalingo, Mr Ben Adaji, rated Suntai high in terms of performance during his first tenure but said he derailed during his second term.

 

“Suntai was the one who transformed Jalingo from a local government headquarters to a model state capital but he completely lost focus during his second term,” Adaji said.

 

The late former governor would also be remembered for his love for flying aircraft which earned him the name ‘Pilot Danbaba’.

 

“l love flying more than my seat as the governor of Taraba State,” he once told this reporter in his village Suntai.