From: Faith Johnson
Bauchi city stood still on Thursday, 23rd July, 2026 as thousands of youths trooped out for the inauguration of 20 ICT Local Government Marshals of the City Boy Movement, CBM. The event, held at Yimmir Hotel and led by Robert Chenge, Chief of Staff to the Director-General of CBM, marked the first time every Local Government in Bauchi had a structured presence of the movement. From the venue to a one-million-man march that moved to the CBM state office, the energy was unprecedented. Youths who had only heard about the movement online now saw it, touched it, and walked with it. For many, it was proof that CBM was no longer an Abuja idea, but now a Bauchi reality that connects directly with people at the grassroots.
At the center of it all was Lumana Halan Bayero, popularly known as El-Bee Halan, Bauchi State Coordinator of CBM. His rise was not accidental. From breaking out on social media as the “G-wagon guy” to featuring on Arise Television’s morning show, he became a household name across Bauchi and beyond. More importantly, he identified openly and consistently with the City Boy Movement, both in Nigeria and during his engagements across Europe. That visibility gave Bauchi youths what they had lacked for years: a face, a voice, and a representative engaging at the highest levels on their behalf. While others waited for invitations, he positioned himself as Bauchi’s representative in the national leadership and attended virtually all major functions at CBM Headquarters in Abuja and in other states.
For years, young people in Bauchi supported the APC with passion and loyalty, but largely without a structured platform to call their own. That support was real, but it was scattered. Many felt abandoned by elites who engaged them only during elections, leaving a gap between the party’s national vision and the realities of young people at the grassroots. That narrative began to change with the emergence of the City Boy Movement under the patronage of Barrister Seyi Tinubu. With Francis Shoga as Director-General driving the national agenda, the movement brought energy, identity, and hope. In Bauchi, El-Bee Halan closed that gap by converting attention into structure and ensuring the state was no longer watching from the sidelines.
His capacity to organize was fully displayed in June during the Future Forward Conference in Bauchi, one of the most talked-about youth gatherings in Northern Nigeria this year. The conference redefined how young people in Bauchi see politics, shifting it from name-calling and empty rallies to a platform for ideas, skills, and engagement. It gave CBM an intellectual and civic footing in the state. The July 23 inauguration built on that momentum. By deploying ICT Marshals for registration and data capture across all 20 LGAs, El-Bee Halan laid a foundation for the movement to move from state capital to wards and polling units. The atmosphere that day restored confidence for many young people who felt part of a national movement that was now physically present in their state.
This template makes it clear that El-Bee Halan is not in competition for any leadership position. His mission is bigger than titles. He is out to give the youths of Bauchi State a credible platform to organize, engage, and work for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. Beyond 2027, he is also committed to building a bridge that synergizes with local politics by connecting highly placed stakeholders in the state with the energy and numbers of young people. His goal is simple: to ensure Bauchi youths are not just campaigners during elections, but stakeholders who are carried along in governance, opportunities, and decision-making.
With the State Director already appointed and momentum building ahead of 2027, it is both strategic and timely to fully integrate El-Bee Halan into key roles within the Bauchi State CBM. Over the past 7 months, he has built structures, relationships, and goodwill across the state that the movement can immediately leverage. It is my prayers and best wishes from a distance that leveraging these structures will bring the City Boy Movement even closer to the people. With ICT Marshals inaugurated in all 20 LGAs and a massive grassroots network already tested, the movement now has a foundation to expand. Integrating this existing work will encourage more youths to buy in, mobilize their communities, and deliver for the party.
Going forward, Bauchi youths are looking up to the national leadership and to El-Bee Halan to deepen and expand the structures of the City Boy Movement from the state level, down through the 20 Local Governments, and into every ward and polling unit. El-Bee Halan has the capacity to contribute significantly to the 10 million votes targeted by the City Boy Movement nationwide. His track record of mobilization, from the Future Forward Conference to the one-million-man march after the marshals’ inauguration, shows he understands how to turn enthusiasm into structure and structure into results. Under a structure that integrates his experience and network, Bauchi will not only meet its targets, it will become a reference point for other states and a model of how youth mobilization should be done when the right people are at the helm.
Desert Reporters 