Why I Allocated Land to NMA Yobe – MD Sheriff

By Mohammed Kaka

The Managing Director of Yobe Micro Finance Bank (YMFB), Dr. Sheriff
Al Muhajir has offered reasons he decided to allocate land for members of the Yobe state branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA).

Speaking in a telephone chat, the managing Director said he was impressed by the selfless and quality services been offered to the people of Yobe state by the Doctors who are members of the NMA.

According to Al Muhajir, the initiative was aimed at empowering the Doctors with land very close to their duty posts (Yobe Teaching Hospital) to enable them build houses to ease their movements.

“Just like I announced during their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Dinner, I promised them Land in front of the hospital, that’s the teaching hospital where they are serving”, he said.

He said, considering the enormous importance of the Doctors in the society, he felt necessary to extend the gesture to them to enable them have a sense of belonging in the state.

“We are humans, we need their help and honestly speaking, in Yobe our Doctors are up and doing, majority of them are youth who have the ample opportunity to work in other places and even abroad but they refused”, he said.

“In some states, you find out that the Doctors are exiting the service to accept jobs that fetches them more money but our own here in Yobe have been inviting Doctors from other places to come and work for Yobe state, their contribution is huge, such that philanthropists need to help them”, Dr Muhajirun explained.

According to MD, although the land he allocated to the Doctors is not free of charge, they are expected to pay gradually and at affordable percentage from their monthly salaries.

He regretted that as is the case now, many of the Doctors travel long distance to come to the Yobe teaching hospital to serve to look after the patients despite the present economic reality in which cost of transportation has skyrocketed due to fuel subsidy removal.

“The high cost of fuel price is affecting their movements but if they develop the land, they can only walk down to the hospital without spending any money on transport”, he said.

The MD said, as head of management of the Micro finance bank belonging to the Yobe state government, he will make it such a way that only small amount would be deducted monthly from their salaries so that they won’t feel the burden.

He hinted that the Yobe State Micro finance bank will use its connection with the Federal Mortgage bank and others to enroll the NMA members into the housing scheme of the bank by helping them get soft loan to build their houses on the land.

“We will do it in such a way that they pay for the land in small instalments and still have something to build the houses without subjecting them to any form of hardship”, the MD promised.

He advised the Doctors to continue to serve the people efficiently as well as support Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state to continue to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

At the Dinner, the outgoing NMA EXCO gave Award of credence to the MD of Yobe Micro finance bank, Muhajirun for his hard work and dedication to service.

The outgoing NMA EXCO observed that the MD has been assisting the good people of yobe state in all angles of life.

The MD who was accompanied by his wife and head of credit of the bank at the Dinner, commended her for working round the clock to ensure that things works in order.