An Encounter With Ahmad Abubakar, The Senator With A Difference -By Gozie Irogboli

My meeting with Senator Ahmad Mo’Allahyidi Abubakar is an interesting and a memorable one. And I felt I should document it for people to learn from the encounter. As a public affairs commentator, I have always seen it as a bounden duty to monitor and analyze public policy as it affects the citizenry, and not that of individual’s private life. I do not always like writing about individuals for obvious reasons but when necessary, I do it for people, especially the youth, to learn in this era when real mentors and role models are becoming rare.

The first thing that you notice about Senator Ahmad Abubakar is his simplicity and gentle disposition. I also appreciate his openness and candour in expressing his views on national issues. I accompanied a friend, Prince Chuks Moses, the President of African Farmers and Cultural Organization (AFCO), to his office. When we got there, we were told that the amiable Senator was praying and shortly after the prayer session we were ushered into his office without protocols. We had a fruitful discussion with him on a wide range of issues from business, politics, economy and global affairs. The soft spoken Senator impressed me with his vast knowledge of the challenges confronting the nation at present. As a patriot, he declared that he is deeply worried and concerned about the state of the nation and his body language indicated so. He blamed the greedy political class to which he belongs for the woes of the African sleeping giant.

Senator Ahmad Abubakar was born in Ganye Emirate Council, where he had his primary school education before proceeding to North East College of Agricultural Science in Maiduguri and later Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria where he bagged his Bachelor degree in Quantity Surveying in 1980 and a Master’s degrees in Construction Management. He is a politician, a business mogul and a thorough-bred professional.

His journey into partisan politics began with the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He was a foundation member of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) when the party was formed in 2009. He was also a foundation member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013 as the CPC which he belonged together with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the ANPP were the legacy parties that formed the (APC). His efforts and participation in politics seemed to bear fruit when he contested and was elected to represent Adamawa South Senatorial District in the Senate in 8th Assembly between 2015 and 2019 under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), taking over from Senator Barata Ahmed Hassan. And while in the red chambers, he distinguished himself as a vocal Senator advocating for the rights of the people. He made his marks in several senate standing and ad-hoc committees where he served. Some of the committees include: Culture and Tourism and Oil and Gas where he served as the vice-chairman. He was a member, Banking and Other Financial Institutions committee, member Education (Basic & Secondary) committee, member Legislative Compliance and member Federal Character and Inter Governmental affairs committee. He was also a member of the Senate Committee on Bureaus of Public Procurement (BPP) and also a member of the ECOWAS Parliament. Moreover, before his election into the Senate, Senator Ahmad Abubakar had held strategic positions where he played critical leadership roles for his party. For instance, he was the Secretary APC Reconciliation Committee North Eastern Zone in 2014 and a member of APC Congress Committee, Yobe State in 2014.

In business, the indefatigable Senator has fared very well. He is the chairman of Integrated Facility Management Services Ltd (IFMSL), a leading indigenous facility management concern that is involved in the rehabilitation and management of many government facilities. Some of the facilities managed by his company include: Kaduna International Trade & Investment Centre, Kaduna (1997-2010), Eagles Square Abuja, Murtala Mohammed Square Kaduna, and the Nigerian Export and Import Bank building Abuja. Others are the management and improvement of the Abuja International Conference Center (ICC), the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) Headquarters & Residential Quarters in Abuja, Presidential Complexes in Lagos (Dodan Barracks and State House, (Marina) and Nigerian Army Strategic Bulk Storage Facility in Enugu. His company also undertook the rehabilitation and resumed operations of Health and Medical Industries; a Jos-based company that specializes in the manufacture of cotton wool, bandages and gauge.

As a professional with a knack for efficiency and productivity, he knew that government facilities are poorly managed and hence he is an advocate of privatization of public enterprises. And he was part of the Technical Committee on Commercialization and Privatization, (TCPC) that commercialized government companies for improved performance. He believed strongly in Public Private Partnership (PPP). And, to his credit, he has a record of improving the standard of every facility under his care.

The distinguished Senator was of the view that the poor maintenance culture in the country is the result of ignorance of facility management skills. This was why he was one of the leading figure in facilitating the study of Facility Management in our higher institutions of learning. Senator Ahmad Mo’Allayidi Abubakar belongs to many professional bodies. He is recognized at home and abroad as facility management professional. He holds a Facility Management Professional (FMP) certificate of (IFMA, USA). He is also a Certified Public Private Partnership Professional (IP3, Washington DC). He was the pioneer President of International Facility Management Association in Nigeria (IFMAN) Abuja Chapter and is a Fellow Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, a Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants (NIMC) and a Fellow Association of Facility Management Practitioners of Nigeria (AFMPN).

My main interest in the amiable Senator is that he is one of those I call professionals in politics— those who have established themselves in their various professions before venturing into politics; those who do not see politics as zero-sum game, who are not afraid to leave office when they should. When he was asked why he served only one tenure as Senator, he replied that he is not a jobless politician. He explained that as a leader and a professional that there are many ways to serve the people apart from occupying elective positions and political appointments. “Our great leader Waziri Ibrahim thought us politics without bitterness and we believe in that philosophy. Politics is about leadership and service to the people. Politics is not just about quest for power but service and effective representation. It is not a do-or-die affair. If you are actually coming to service, why then do you force yourself on those you are supposedly coming to serve?”

Gozie Irogboli

(goziei@yahoo.com)

An economist, banker, a novelist and public policy analyst