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Hamidu, face of emerging leader in Zamfara
- Written by Eke Agbai
WE
cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find
meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose and hope.Moreover, the victim in a qualified situation of distress, pain, anguish or indeed deprivation, being rational, can make a conscious and conscientious decision to walk away from the established cause of misery.
Such response is not only psychological but an innate quality, which humans are endowed with as intelligent beings.
This context is best expressed as a geographical entity situated in a promising landscape of Zamfara State in Northwest of Nigeria.
What is more, Zamfara youths, women, and the downtrodden in this geographical entity may not completely avoid suffering, but coping with abject poverty has even been made absolutely impossible because HOPE has died. But in the face of this moribund hope is fortitude.
As expressed in the words of the great Nelson Mandela in one of his glowing tributes to his people in the course of the apartheid struggle: ‘nothing is so empowering than the capacity of the human spirit to absorb pain, humiliation and shock and still maintain a semblance of human dignity.’
In 1996, the then Nigerian head of State, General Sani Abacha, created six new States; Zamfara was one of them, carved out from the former Sokoto State. It has 14 local governments, seven federal constituencies and three senatorial districts.
In 1999, following General Abacha’s death and General Abdulsalami Abubakar (new Head of State) making good his promise to return Nigeria to a democratic government, Zamfara had a chance to get the first democratically elected governor in the person of Ahmad Sani Yerima.
After Yerima’s eight years in office, his deputy, Shinkafi, succeeded him in 2007. Governor Shinkafi did only one term of four years, and lost the seat to the current governor in 2011.
My first experience with Zamfara State was in 1998, when I came from United States to visit a young customs officer friend of mine, Adamu Aliero, who is from Aliero, a prominent town in Kebbi State. In the company of Senator Adamu Augie (now late), we drove through Gusau town of Zamfara on our way to Birnin Kebbi, capital of Kebbi State.
Our car had a tyre problem on getting to Gusau and we stopped to fix it. It took about 30 minutes to fix the problem, and while this was going on, I engaged in a brief personal excursion and sight-seeing, taking pictures and appreciating the scenic environment since it was my first time in Zamfara.
Since then, I have visited Zamfara again many times, the last being in March 2014, and all I saw in terms of infrastructural and economic development was not different from what I met back in 1998.
Why would such a state so endowed with enormous mineral and human resources, huge potentials in agriculture, vast arable land and rich ancient cultural heritage remain so poor, if not the poorest in the nation, continues to beat my imagination.
Why has the different successive governments failed to economically develop the state and empower the people? Why are there no economic activities in the state?
Why has the government — at least we know of one — used Sharia law in such a negative way that it has adversely impacted commercial and social development and activity and driven many residents out of the state?
Responsible, well-meaning and hard-working people, who came to live, trade and help develop the state were forced to run away from that rich cultural state.
The youths, women and the downtrodden are left without any government programme to help alleviate their abject poverty.
From lead poisoning that killed many of the citizens to the recent slaughter of innocent citizens in the state, nothing good, worthy of emulation, has ever come out from that state since 1999.
Yet, the political leadership has empowered themselves and become very rich, marrying many wives, including 14-year-old girls, at the expense of the money meant for the people. The state monthly allocations have not translated into any meaningful development.
During my last visit there, the level of poverty I saw among the children lined up begging along Gusau streets, reminded me of Somalia, Mali and present day Syria. But why? It should not be so and it must not be so.
Zamfara is still blessed with great sons and daughters, who have not only reached the height of their professional careers, but also accomplished in their various endeavours.
Until recently, I did not know that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abubakar is from Zamfara, believing erroneously that he is from Kano State. I did not know, until recently, that General Ali Gusau, current minister of defence, is from Zamfara, just to mention a few.
These are men I personally hold in the highest esteem because of what I adjudge to be years of meritorious service to this great nation.
Enter the Sagir Foundation
LAST year, I received a call from the coordinator of a foundation that was looking for expertise to help them achieve a skills acquisition programme.The foundation is called SAGIR FOUNDATION, based in Zamfara State.
After he explained the details to me, I immediately offered my assistance. When I arrived in Nigeria, our organisation elicited the cooperation of the Nigeria Entrepreneurship Forum, as we sought to create a model that would work for them in Zamfara.
Today, Sagir Foundation has successfully launched a skills acquisition programme, currently training over 100 youths in different skills and vocations in Kano State.
On the day this programme was launched in Gusau town, Zamfara, I was close to tears when the man behind the foundation, Mallam Mohammed Sagir Hamidu (Sarkin Rafin Gusau), spoke of his vision for these poor youths, describing how poverty, ignorance, malnutrition and illiteracy have reduced these youths to mere street beggars.
Why an individual would assume the role of a government is mind-boggling, but an unfolding sad reality is precisely what Sagir Foundation is providing in Zamfara today.
This is the kind of a man Zamfara needs. Unlike most rich and powerful Nigerians, this man is not allergic to being around the company of poor people. The youths of Zamfara call him the friend of the masses. I was later told he has been doing philanthropic works for a long time — over 10 years.
From what I gathered talking to folks, people only come around to drop token monetary gestures when they want to vie for elections or need political favour from their party. But Sagir Foundation, the youths told me, has been involved with poverty alleviation of his people for many years in and outside Zamfara State.
In fact, the foundation has started the construction of a standard primary school in Gusau, as his contribution to promoting primary education in the state at no cost to students who will go there. No wonder his level of popularity is unprecedented, as evidenced on the day his foundation launched 100 youth skills acquisition sent-forth ceremony.
Perplexed by what I saw, I asked Sagir why he waited till now to want to be governor. His answer was unceremonious, deliberate and unequivocal, but reminded me of the response of the great ZIK of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, in answer to a question as to why he was joining party politics in 1979 on the platform of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP).
Zik had said: ‘I have accepted the invitation of the NPP to enable me associate with its members in the herculean task of salvaging Nigeria from the wreck of our own making.
‘Were I to be nonchalant consistent with my past profession, history will not exonerate me from a willful act of omission. I am, therefore, determined to exterminate, extirpate and excoriate the bigotry of intolerance manifested by petulant dregs and intransigent renegades in the Nigerian politics.’
There is a parallel between the Sagir’s patriotic zeal and determination and the current quest by Mallam Sagir for the political leadership of his home state, Zamfara.
This is why in response to my question, he began by saying: ‘Ordinarily, I would not have been interested in that office, but I can only do so much with my personal resources.
‘It is not enough given the enormity of my people’s sufferings and poverty in all aspects of life, from zero standard of education, to broken health care system, no infrastructural development, agriculture, trade and commerce.
‘I need the institutional structure and instrument of government to do greater good to greater number of people in Zamfara. This is why I want to be governor in 2015.’
I nodded my head, and said to myself, no better reason can best convey justifiable rationality for a worthy cause than this.
This is the new emerging face of a young, dynamic and progressive Northern leader. This is the new emerging face of a true leader in Zamfara. Someone who has the calibre and contact to bring in authentic foreign investors, attract Muslims, Christians, Jews and all people back to the state.
His friendship cut across all ethnic groups, from Ndigbo to Yoruba to South-South people. I am glad the Peoples Democratic Party has identified this man for recruitment into her party.
I am very delighted at the position of the new chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mu’azu (former governor of Bauchi State) that any person aspiring for any position must emerge from the grassroots nomination.
The era of imposition must stop. Internal democracy in the PDP, as in all parties, must dictate the trend of events. If such becomes the yardstick, I have no iota of doubt in my mind that this man from Zamfara; this man I met in FCT; this man whose character is a reflection of the venerable old Northern traditions and culture; this man who rose from abject poverty to the pinnacle of affluence; this man who has the indices of the 21st Century qualities of modern leadership, which are vision, courage, antecedent, humility and loyalty; this devoted Muslim and family man; this moderate man, highly detribalised going by his family formation would be given the ticket to contest the 2015 gubernatorial elections in Zamfara under the PDP.
When and if this happens, in a free and fair election, even Steve Wonder can see he is going to win and become the next governor of Zamfara in 2015.
The youths have already started addressing him as the ‘Masses Governor in situ.’ In the holy book of Qu’ran, as in the Bible, too, the word of the poor people mirrors the word of God or Allah.
I hope all leaders of thought, all great sons and daughters of Zamfara, men and women of goodwill, even from outside Zamfara who are touched by the grave sufferings of our poor brethren in Zamfara, should reach out and support this man in his quest to become governor of Zamfara State.
The poor people of Zamfara need Mallam Mohammed Sagir Hamidu (Sarkin Rafin Gusau). Unarguably, he is the face of the new emerging dynamic and progressive leader that Zamfara needs to realise its potentials and accomplish the dream of the forbearers of the state.
• Dr. Agbai is the executive Vice-President, Centre for Policy and Foreign Engagement, USA.
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Victor Ndoma-Egba
Ndoma-Egba: A Senator’s empowerment initiative
Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is known to be one of the highly respected federal lawmakers in the country today, due to his valuable contributions to discussions on thefloor of the Senate, which have greatly helped in the growth and sustenance of our democracy, fifteen years after its entrenchment. The legal practitioner turned politician appears to have become a
legislative brand of sort having spent eleven fruitful years in the Red Chamber, rising from being the Senate spokesman to the Deputy Majority Leader and now Majority Leader.
Since his inauguration as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003 representing Cross River Central Senatorial District, on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he has pushed for
the execution of various projects in his constituency and initiated manifold humanitarian/outreach programmes that have gone a long way in ensuring the empowerment of his people. The impact of Ndoma-Egba’s representation seems to be quite superlative, such that he has
continued to receive endorsement from different individuals and groups to remain in the Senate for a record fourth term come 2015. Just last week, prominent Nigerians from all walks of life gathered at
Government Secondary School, Ikom, Cross River State to witness the seventh empowerment programme of the Senator in three years.
The occasion was attended by the Senate President, David Mark, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and Cross River State Governor, Liyel Imoke. Some of the items distributed at the event included: cars, generators, deep
freezers, viewing centre equipment, laptops, farm tools, oil mills, beans/corn mills, Garri Processing Machines, musical equipment to a number of churches in various communities across the six LGAs in Cross
River Central. Also the sum of one million naira was given to each LGA in the district for petty business women, one million naira each LGA for widows and N200, 000 each for the 120 beneficiaries of the CBN/Ndoma-Egba Business Enterprise Training. Speaking at the empowerment programme, Imoke commended Ndoma-Egba’s empowerment drive, describing him as a true son of the soil who has made significant impact in the lives of his constituents. “All our representatives must engage in empowerment, they
must ensure that truly our people feel the impact of democracy… today we have come to witness the good things senator Victor Ndoma Egba has brought for his people of the central senatorial district. I also want to thank our son for being part of that family that have made Cross River State proud”, Imoke said.
On his party, the Senate President who was the Special Guest of Honour used the occasion to join the endorsement train for Ndoma Egba’s fourth term ambition. According to him, the Senate Leader has done
much in the empowerment of his people to deserve another term.
While commending the unity between Governor Imoke and Senator Ndoma-Egba, not minding the rumours making the rounds that the duo have been at loggerhead over 2015, Mark said: “The governor said
something vital here today which is sustainable empowerment; how would we have sustainable empowerment? It’s very simple, if Victor Ndoma Egba goes back to the Senate there would be sustainable empowerment,
if he doesn’t return, sustainable empowerment cannot be sustained….I hope the language is very clear to those who have ears, go home and spread the message”.
At the end of the exercise, which was more like a carnival with his numerous admirers and supporters joining the tour, Ndoma-Egba told journalists that the cost of the projects that were inspected excluding the
Trans-African Highway and the Calabar-Oban-Nsan-Okoroba road can be put at N7 billion. According to him, “There are projects that I have attracted to the constituency that we can’t put a cost to. One of them is part of the Trans-African Highway in my constituency. That is in
millions of US dollars. Then there is the Calabar-Oban-Nsan-Okoroba road. It is a major project running into tens of billions. It is about 80 or 90 billion naira.”
• Michael Jegede, Abuja.
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A Toast to Dangote
Uche Ohia
|
As a small boy spending
Christmas with my parents in the village in the early 1970s, I rode out
proudly to the village playground one evening on my new Chopper Bicycle
with my black and white football fastened to the carrier at the back. If
I thought all the other kids would eat out of my hands because of my
prized toys, I was mistaken. Initially, many could not hide their
admiration. But when it seemed that I was the focus of attention, they
kept their distance. Some made snide remarks or gestures and a few
glared at me and at the excited kids clustering around me.I found out
that good fortune does not always endear anyone to all his compatriots.
It was a lesson I never forgot.
Since he became the
legendary man with the Midas touch and particularly since March 5 when
he made history by being listed in Forbes 2008 list of world
billionaires, Aliko Dangote has had to contend with such ambivalence
that beclouds public attitude to affluence.
According to the
American publishing and media company, Nebraska based investment guru
Warren Buffet (the sage of Omaha), has become the richest man in the
world with $62b, Mexican communications magnate, Carlos Slim Helu, is
ranked second with a net worth of $60b, while computer software colossus
Bill Gates (who held the title of the world’s richest man for 13
unbroken tears) is 3rd with $58b. Dangote with $3.3b is ranked 334 (a
position he shares with 14 others). This makes him the richest black
person in the world ahead of black American TV talkshow icon Oprah
Winfrey ($2.5 billion), Mo Ibrahim ($2.5 billion) and South Africa’s
Patrice Motsepe, who is ranked 503 with $2.4 billion. Dangote is
preceded by two white South Africans: Nicky Oppenheimer of DeBeers Inc.
at no 187 and Johann Rupert at no 284.
From a modest commodity
trading concern established in the late 1970s buoyed by a loan from a
benevolent uncle, Dangote has today built a multi-billion naira
conglomerate with heavy investments in commodities, banking,
agriculture, manufacturing, textile, import, exports, agro sacks,
freight and port operations. His interests cover such essentials as
cement, salt, sugar, rice, flour, pasta, and his operations go beyond
Nigeria to Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. Dangote creates wealth and
jobs. He has a staff strength of over 15,000 with a broad minded
employment policy devoid of discrimination. And he pays hefty
taxes!Dangote’s achievement brings to global focus the positive
potentials, the acumen, intelligence, energy and resourcefulness that
are abundant in Nigeria.
Still Dangote’s name
evokes mixed reactions. For some, he is a beneficiary of government
patronage who profited from a vile political cronyism and bought up the
people's patrimony at auction prices. He is seen as creating a virtual
monopoly over his products and fiddling with the supply chain to push
prices up or down despite the incentives and waivers granted to him. Not
a few consider him fit for anti-trust trial. But we have a predilection
for demonizing wealthy compatriots. Ndigbo explain it with an adage:
nwata ibeya kpakaliri na-nku na-asi n’okpara nkeya n’ajo ohia (a child
whose peer fetches more firewood than him, claims that his peer gathered
his own firewood in the evil forest). Indeed, the universal perception
of great wealth tends towards the statement in Mario Puzo’s novel, The
Godfather attributed to the French novelist, Balzac: “behind every great
fortune, there is a crime”. Maybe. Maybe not.
All over the world, it is
the duty of government to regulate business - to check the emergence of
monopolies and to ensure fair competition. Which astute businessman
will not take advantage of a system that provides ample latitude for him
to realize his dreams? Which ambitious businessman will not hasten to
maintain the best possible relationship with the government in power?
Which businessman will not apply his economic muscle to influence
politics in order to expand his investment opportunities? They all do
one way or another! Did Buffett not hold fundraisers for both Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama for president based on his belief that both
would make "great Presidents"? Were the earliest billionaires in the US -
J.P Morgan, J.D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie - not tagged as
robber barons? Dangote’s business empire was not built during the
privatization scheme.
As a man with a dream and
the determination to realize it, he only took advantage of an
opportunity he saw to expand his tentacles. Dangote invests in Nigeria
because he believes in Nigeria. And he calls on everyone else to do the
same.
But there is a thread
that runs through all billionaires: philanthropy. The legacy of the
greatest entrepreneurs is that they devote substantial time and
resources to charitable activities. Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford, and
Bill Gates, all have foundations established in their name which serve
as a platform for demonstration of corporate responsibility. Warren
Buffet gives out a chunk of his wealth to charities. Bill Clinton
described Carlos Slim Helu as “the most important philanthropist in the
world most people have never heard of". Soon the question will boil down
to how much of Dangote’s billions are trailing back to the community
through acts of compassion. How many chairs has he endowed in Nigerian
Universities? What cause is he devoted to? Which national malady is he
committed to its eradication? These are the signs of social
responsibility.
About a year ago, the
Dangote Foundation (DF), a proposed operating and grant making entity
that would focus on improving the living conditions of all Nigerians
through support for projects which tackle hunger and water supply
problems, strengthen the quality and quantity of health and education,
and promote economic empowerment at the community level was made public.
Aside from a N15m donation by DF to UNICEF to support the polio
eradication campaign in northern Nigeria, donation of food items to
orphanage homes across the country, and recent plans by Dangote Group to
launch a programme called “Own A Truck Scheme” whereby the company’s
truck drivers would become owners of the trucks they drive, little else
has been heard of DF. Compared to the N200m donation which Dangote made
to Obasanjo’s 2003 re-election campaign and N200m to the Presidential
Library project, the DF initiatives seem like a drop in the ocean.
Americans celebrate the
American Dream warts and all notwithstanding the fact that there are no
American success stories that do not have controversies trailing them.
By his humility, modesty and robust achievements, Aliko Dangote is a
Nigerian success story - the Nigerian Dream writ large. We ought to
celebrate him and others like him. In a country where billions are more
commonly associated with budgets or the charge sheet of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dangote deserves a toast.
By Uche Ohia
uchebush@yahoo.com; 0805 109 0050
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Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III
By Uche Ezechukwu
Monday, March 07, 2011,BACK PAGE
At a time when Nigerians are faced with horrendous and disappointing failures in leadership at the various levels, it is not surprising that superlative performers at their leadership posts are nowadays treated with lack of recognition. At a time when betrayal has become the distinguishing habit of most of those to whom we entrust our lives and circumstances, it is hard to blame citizens when they fail to extol men and women who are making sterling contributions to the society. One of such rare people is a retired army general, astute and intellectual diplomat, scholar and administrator – among many other attributes – and currently the Sultan of Sokoto, the head of the Sokoto Caliphate and the leader of Nigerian Muslims.
Last week, the second of March, marked the fourth anniversary of the coronation of Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III as the 20th Sultan of Sokoto and the head of the 200+ year-old Caliphate, founded by Sheikh Othman dan Fodio in 1804. (He had ascended the throne in November of the previous year, 2006 at the death, through a plane crash, of his predecessor). It would almost be trite to assert that before ascending the most prominent and enduring traditional stool in Nigeria, if not Africa, the former army general (whose bio-data is as thick as a book) had been adequately prepared professionally, intellectually and politically to occupy the position which, like most other such institutions, was being confronted by the challenge of marrying the ancient with the modern ways of life of millions, while at the same time trying to make both relevant in the vicissitudes of the present day demands.
Abubakar III ascended the leadership of the Sultanate, two years after the bi-centenary celebrations, during which the essence of the Caliphate was being put to question by some who were not great fans of an institution which they claimed had outlived its usefulness, just as better informed people, who have had the benefit of studying and watching the operation of the Sultanate from very close quarters, have continued to insist that its roles have become even more relevant now than ever. A major relevance of the Sultan is that as the head of the Muslim community (umma) in Nigeria, he holds a delicate but very important ace to the stability of Nigeria which can only be assured through a deft management of religious relationships in the country. Remarkably, Sultan Abubakar III ascended the throne at a time of great challenges in inter-religious and ethnic relationships in the country.
He personally acknowledged this fact on October 28, 2008, while receiving an honorary doctorate from Anambra State University. The Sultan acknowledged that the country was experiencing great challenges in its religious and ethnic relationships occasioned by the escalation of religious and ethnic differences, particularly over the vexed issue of indigene-settler relations. Wondering how Nigeria had been brought to a stage where “friend turned against friend, neighbour turned against neighbour and state turned against state, to maim and kill, without any compunction and to leave a trail of destruction...”, he reasoned realistically that the sooner Nigerians of all backgrounds appreciated that it does not make any sense for anybody to be regarded as stranger in his or her own country, the better for all, and unless Nigerians were not desirous of existing as citizens of one country, sturdy bridges of understanding must be built consciously by all Nigerians of all ethnics and faiths to achieve the imperative of peaceful co-existence.
He has acted more as a doer than a preacher in the way he has immersed himself deeply into activities that would realistically and sustain build these bridges. Through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Interreligious Council (NIREC), which the Sultan as the head of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) co-chairs with the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a big momentum was generated in the management of religious relationships in the country. Needless to say that the dedication and level-headed activities of this council of the 50 men and women (25 each from the two religions), has contributed immensely to keeping these crises from going overboard. The unique maturity and chemistry between the Sultan and another great bridge builder, Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, have gone a long way in erecting these bridges across the religions and cultures.
It is on record that the Sultan made history when he journeyed to Abuja in May last year to officiate as a keynote speaker at a national event of CAN during which he elaborated on the need for a better appreciation of and on the imperatives of building on the things that bind Muslims and Christians rather than stressing on their differences. It would be useful for such a gesture to be reciprocated by an equally high ranking Christian leader.
I had the opportunity of being invited to deliver the keynote paper at the NIREC conference in Bauchi in April 2010, and have since then, been afforded the opportunity of getting deep insights into the workings of the little-advertised Council as well as the enormous contributions which the organization and its members have made, as well as NIREC’s unprecedented potential for building religious harmony in the country. I have also been able to appreciate more deeply how far personal integrity, committed patriotism and deep knowledge of leaders can take a people and their society in the right direction. That fact ensured that Sultan Abubakar III and Archbishop Onaiyekan achieved a great deal and it is very obvious that even now that Onaiyekan has yielded his seat to another, by the virtue of his departure as CAN’s leader, the impact he left on NIREC and the society will remain enduring, as long as the sultan remains a part of that patriotic commitment and vision.
The Sultan is a man of great knowledge and patriotism, and contrary to what some might think, the Caliphate is not a conservative institution and will continue to remain relevant because it is guided by a deep belief and commitment that no society can survive and endure without building strong bridges of understanding, continually repaired and strengthened across many aspects of the society. For the Sultan Abubakar III and his forebears, these bridges must be built on justice, knowledge and good governance, through the service to the people and not through a situation, whereby leaders, “simply regard politics and struggle for political power as the shortest route to fame and fortune”, as the sultan stated in his lecture paper entitled ‘The Responsibilities of Leadership in National Development’, at NIPSS, Kuru in March 2009.
Like the 19 others before him, Sultan Abubakar III has continued to insist that justice and knowledge constitute some of the strongest bedrocks of a sane, progressive and stable society. In his paper at the Fifth Annual Lecture of the Post Graduate Studies of UNILAG in June 2009, the Sultan succinctly remarked that, “the Sokoto Caliphate...was predicated on the firm belief that knowledge constitutes a necessary ingredient for effective leadership and good governance. Leaders must not only be educated and knowledgeable but must also be guided by knowledge and understanding to manage efficaciously, the affairs of the citizenry”. To him, good education is a sine-qua-non for good governance and good citizenry, just as he holds that Nigeria cannot go forward without justice to the citizens. Most Nigerians today bemoan the fact that lack of knowledge and inadequate education has become the bane of our national and local politics.
He has shown an unparalleled commitment to ensuring that leaders and the led continue to appreciate the great gains that can be made through the enthronement of certain imperatives which, as he believes, Nigeria cannot do without. These imperatives he recognizes as that of purposeful and visionary leadership; a common citizenship with its requisite rights and obligations; and nurturing talent and providing opportunity to each citizen to realise his or her potential.
According to him, “we must also nurture talent and provide opportunities for our entrepreneurs in different parts of the country to contribute their quota to national development. Where a particular region, like the South East, has specific talents in process engineering and manufacturing, the nation, as a whole must come to the full support of this region with the view of making Nigeria self-sufficient in its area of expertise. And the same should be done for other regions...”
Sultan Abubakar III has time and age on his side, and if the big bridges he has already built and building within this short time in office between the different peoples and their cultures and religion, not to talk about the unique vistas and knowledge which has brought to bear, from his vast and varied exposures and experience, on our society, are anything to go by, then Nigeria will be the best for it. Ultimately, it will be appreciated by all that what matters most are not the bridges of concrete across our physical terrains and landscapes, but rather those built across our minds, relationships and perceptions...because it is those that make for human progress, social justice and over-all social development.
That being so, it should no longer the likes of Julius Berger who should be extolled but the likes of Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, the 20th Sultan of Sokoto, that should be decorated with the shibboleth of Nigeria’s bridge builders.
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Monday, April 11, 2011
FOUR YEARS OF BRIDGE BUILDING
Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III
By Uche Ezechukwu
Monday, March 07, 2011,BACK PAGE
At a time when Nigerians are faced with horrendous and disappointing failures in leadership at the various levels, it is not surprising that superlative performers at their leadership posts are nowadays treated with lack of recognition. At a time when betrayal has become the distinguishing habit of most of those to whom we entrust our lives and circumstances, it is hard to blame citizens when they fail to extol men and women who are making sterling contributions to the society. One of such rare people is a retired army general, astute and intellectual diplomat, scholar and administrator – among many other attributes – and currently the Sultan of Sokoto, the head of the Sokoto Caliphate and the leader of Nigerian Muslims.
Last week, the second of March, marked the fourth anniversary of the coronation of Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III as the 20th Sultan of Sokoto and the head of the 200+ year-old Caliphate, founded by Sheikh Othman dan Fodio in 1804. (He had ascended the throne in November of the previous year, 2006 at the death, through a plane crash, of his predecessor). It would almost be trite to assert that before ascending the most prominent and enduring traditional stool in Nigeria, if not Africa, the former army general (whose bio-data is as thick as a book) had been adequately prepared professionally, intellectually and politically to occupy the position which, like most other such institutions, was being confronted by the challenge of marrying the ancient with the modern ways of life of millions, while at the same time trying to make both relevant in the vicissitudes of the present day demands.
Abubakar III ascended the leadership of the Sultanate, two years after the bi-centenary celebrations, during which the essence of the Caliphate was being put to question by some who were not great fans of an institution which they claimed had outlived its usefulness, just as better informed people, who have had the benefit of studying and watching the operation of the Sultanate from very close quarters, have continued to insist that its roles have become even more relevant now than ever. A major relevance of the Sultan is that as the head of the Muslim community (umma) in Nigeria, he holds a delicate but very important ace to the stability of Nigeria which can only be assured through a deft management of religious relationships in the country. Remarkably, Sultan Abubakar III ascended the throne at a time of great challenges in inter-religious and ethnic relationships in the country.
He personally acknowledged this fact on October 28, 2008, while receiving an honorary doctorate from Anambra State University. The Sultan acknowledged that the country was experiencing great challenges in its religious and ethnic relationships occasioned by the escalation of religious and ethnic differences, particularly over the vexed issue of indigene-settler relations. Wondering how Nigeria had been brought to a stage where “friend turned against friend, neighbour turned against neighbour and state turned against state, to maim and kill, without any compunction and to leave a trail of destruction...”, he reasoned realistically that the sooner Nigerians of all backgrounds appreciated that it does not make any sense for anybody to be regarded as stranger in his or her own country, the better for all, and unless Nigerians were not desirous of existing as citizens of one country, sturdy bridges of understanding must be built consciously by all Nigerians of all ethnics and faiths to achieve the imperative of peaceful co-existence.
He has acted more as a doer than a preacher in the way he has immersed himself deeply into activities that would realistically and sustain build these bridges. Through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Interreligious Council (NIREC), which the Sultan as the head of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) co-chairs with the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a big momentum was generated in the management of religious relationships in the country. Needless to say that the dedication and level-headed activities of this council of the 50 men and women (25 each from the two religions), has contributed immensely to keeping these crises from going overboard. The unique maturity and chemistry between the Sultan and another great bridge builder, Archbishop John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, have gone a long way in erecting these bridges across the religions and cultures.
It is on record that the Sultan made history when he journeyed to Abuja in May last year to officiate as a keynote speaker at a national event of CAN during which he elaborated on the need for a better appreciation of and on the imperatives of building on the things that bind Muslims and Christians rather than stressing on their differences. It would be useful for such a gesture to be reciprocated by an equally high ranking Christian leader.
I had the opportunity of being invited to deliver the keynote paper at the NIREC conference in Bauchi in April 2010, and have since then, been afforded the opportunity of getting deep insights into the workings of the little-advertised Council as well as the enormous contributions which the organization and its members have made, as well as NIREC’s unprecedented potential for building religious harmony in the country. I have also been able to appreciate more deeply how far personal integrity, committed patriotism and deep knowledge of leaders can take a people and their society in the right direction. That fact ensured that Sultan Abubakar III and Archbishop Onaiyekan achieved a great deal and it is very obvious that even now that Onaiyekan has yielded his seat to another, by the virtue of his departure as CAN’s leader, the impact he left on NIREC and the society will remain enduring, as long as the sultan remains a part of that patriotic commitment and vision.
The Sultan is a man of great knowledge and patriotism, and contrary to what some might think, the Caliphate is not a conservative institution and will continue to remain relevant because it is guided by a deep belief and commitment that no society can survive and endure without building strong bridges of understanding, continually repaired and strengthened across many aspects of the society. For the Sultan Abubakar III and his forebears, these bridges must be built on justice, knowledge and good governance, through the service to the people and not through a situation, whereby leaders, “simply regard politics and struggle for political power as the shortest route to fame and fortune”, as the sultan stated in his lecture paper entitled ‘The Responsibilities of Leadership in National Development’, at NIPSS, Kuru in March 2009.
Like the 19 others before him, Sultan Abubakar III has continued to insist that justice and knowledge constitute some of the strongest bedrocks of a sane, progressive and stable society. In his paper at the Fifth Annual Lecture of the Post Graduate Studies of UNILAG in June 2009, the Sultan succinctly remarked that, “the Sokoto Caliphate...was predicated on the firm belief that knowledge constitutes a necessary ingredient for effective leadership and good governance. Leaders must not only be educated and knowledgeable but must also be guided by knowledge and understanding to manage efficaciously, the affairs of the citizenry”. To him, good education is a sine-qua-non for good governance and good citizenry, just as he holds that Nigeria cannot go forward without justice to the citizens. Most Nigerians today bemoan the fact that lack of knowledge and inadequate education has become the bane of our national and local politics.
He has shown an unparalleled commitment to ensuring that leaders and the led continue to appreciate the great gains that can be made through the enthronement of certain imperatives which, as he believes, Nigeria cannot do without. These imperatives he recognizes as that of purposeful and visionary leadership; a common citizenship with its requisite rights and obligations; and nurturing talent and providing opportunity to each citizen to realise his or her potential.
According to him, “we must also nurture talent and provide opportunities for our entrepreneurs in different parts of the country to contribute their quota to national development. Where a particular region, like the South East, has specific talents in process engineering and manufacturing, the nation, as a whole must come to the full support of this region with the view of making Nigeria self-sufficient in its area of expertise. And the same should be done for other regions...”
Sultan Abubakar III has time and age on his side, and if the big bridges he has already built and building within this short time in office between the different peoples and their cultures and religion, not to talk about the unique vistas and knowledge which has brought to bear, from his vast and varied exposures and experience, on our society, are anything to go by, then Nigeria will be the best for it. Ultimately, it will be appreciated by all that what matters most are not the bridges of concrete across our physical terrains and landscapes, but rather those built across our minds, relationships and perceptions...because it is those that make for human progress, social justice and over-all social development.
That being so, it should no longer the likes of Julius Berger who should be extolled but the likes of Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III, the 20th Sultan of Sokoto, that should be decorated with the shibboleth of Nigeria’s bridge builders.
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