Salihijo’s rise to fame started with what ordinarily would have been a condemnable government action. It began in 1995 when the then Head of State General Sani Abacha jerked up the pump price of petrol to N11 per litre. Similar increases in the past had a domino effect; cost of living to already pauperised Nigerians automatically increased. Thus this particular hike did not go down well with most Nigerians.
But the late Abacha decided to play it differently by establishing the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund (PTF) and mandated it to take custody of the N2 difference brought about by the fuel price hike. The PTF was placed under retired General Muhammadu Buhari. This was where Salihijo came in. With the vital help of his Afri Projects Consortium (APC), comprising of four professionals, Murtala Aliyu, a former Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; Hajiya Amina Az-Zubair, who later became an SSA on MDGs to the President; Nuruddeen Rafinadadi, who is now the president of NSE; and last but not the least Abdulrahman Dahiru, the Managing Consultant of APC. The PTF made an unprecedented impact on the citizenry and its efforts are still being felt.
To date, many years after the then President Olusegun Obasanjo had scrapped the organisation, the asphalt is still shining, the classroom blocks and student hostels are still in visible positions, the taps would have still been running had they not been deliberately uprooted, the medical equipment are still being utilised and has outlived other sets brought after the PTF and their logos still intact, the drugs have refused to disappear not only from the hospitals but also from patent medicine stores. The PTF story is still the best intervention policy in our 52 years of nationhood.
Salihijo, who was at the helm of management consultancy for the fund, played a very significant role in this success story. At a particular time in the hey days of the organisation, the consortium was managing over 500 projects.
Soon charlatans from different walks of life were grumbling. They said the PTF was running a parallel government; that nepotism was at the behest of its activities; that its projects were lopsided; that this, that that. But both Buhari and Abacha waxed their ears from such impostors and rode on undeterred. By the time Obasanjo’s axe came rampaging, the PTF has recorded an unrivalled success before and after.
How did Salihijo made it despite the attacks? Immediately he was handed the job, the young professional rallied round in the consortium a repertoire of professionals from several fields and put them to task, the first time such large number of indigenous professionals were engaged in projects across the country from quantity surveyors, civil engineers, architects, town planners, and different other fields of professionals. Mediocrity was never condoned, nor was lackadaisical attitude allowed. People were not merely invited to the ‘parallel government’ to come and eat. They came armed with their professional qualifications and the zeal to put it into practice. For the next one year, no single stone was laid, giving room for charlatans to sustain the fire. But undaunted, the APC went on strategising, planning and recruiting. Soon the real action began.
The end result was that for the first time in history, many parts of the country, including the most obscure corners, realised that indeed there was something called government. They felt the impact right at their doorsteps, right in their veins; brand new road networks, heavily subsidised medicine in the hitherto ‘mere consulting clinics’, instructional materials in schools, potable water, name it.
Even when Obasanjo was descending on the PTF, projects were going on all over the country. He instantly halted them and went into a wild goose chase for any sharp practices to nail the perceived ‘parallel’ administrators. He could neither find nor concoct any. Of course, General Buhari was not in politics at that time, but his only fault was that he participated in a government programme created by the late Abacha. Obasanjo later stopped settling all PTF debts; no doubt the witch-hunt was not paying. Most of such suspended projects had been allowed to decay in a desperate move to prove that the PTF did a tawdry job. But this failed to becloud Nigerians, as 13 years after the demise of Salihijo Ahmad and almost the same time after winding up the PTF, and with over three trillion naira sunk into road projects alone, our high (and low) ways are becoming direct links to the cemetery. Our schools are crying for help that is not forthcoming. Our taps have forgotten when last they dripped a single drop. Our Aagriculture is still at its lowest ebb. To this day the witch-hunt merely went on to affirm the trustworthiness of General Muhammadu Buhari’s PTF and its management consultants, Salihijo’s APC.
As we mourn Salihijo’s death 13 years after, we are left with no option but to believe that the failure of our nation is simply a failure of leadership. Here we are with fuel prices skyrocketing by the day with attendant rising cost of living; PMS today is at 97 naira per litre, but nobody seems to know where the monies realised are put. Government continuously fund fuel subsidy, servicing the pockets of few marketers with lots of trillions of naira compared to a very little three naira difference which has made tremendous changes in the life of Nigerian people and the economy. Here we are with a supposedly elected government opting to hand over the mandate of the people to capitalist-oriented fuel marketers. Here we are saddled with a liability masquerading as a democracy, even when what we felt was dictatorship was satisfying our needs. Insecurity has reached an advanced stage, assassination has become a daily affair in many states. Sadly our clueless government has remained unaware of where the problem lies. Instead, they continue to point accusing fingers wrongly at perceived political enemies. This forces us to keep on wondering whether this democracy is worth it! If only another PTF will come and utilise the difference between the N22 price of petrol this democratic government inherited in 1999 and the present N97 price regime!
Born on November 23, 1957 in Ganye, Adamawa State, late Salihijo Ahmad emerged the overall best student of his set when he obtained an upper second-class degree in Quantity Surveying from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1981. He had his primary education at the Mayo Belwa 1 Primary School before proceeding to the Federal Government College, Odougbolu, Ogun State. He later attended the School of Basic Studies, ABU, Zaria between 1977 and 1978.
Soon after graduation, Salihijo went into private practice and worked as a Senior Quantity Surveyor for Qu-ess Partnership, Kaduna from 1982 to 1985. In 1985 he, together with bosom friend Murtala Aliyu, established the Associated Cost Consultants (ACC), and in 1995 they invited three others to form the Afri Projects Consortium. During his lifetime, Salihijo received many awards including the 1998 National Productivity Merit award. He was a registered Quantity Surveyor, Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (FNIQS), Member of the Institute of Facility Management and Member, National Institute of Management. He was involved in many projects including preparation of projects and servicing of funds from the African Development Bank (ADB) to the Gombe Federal Medical Centre, among others.
Late Salihijo could easily be described as one of the few gentlemen among Nigerian professionals. A deeply religious, dignified and friendly individual, Salihijo built up an uncountable number of people and left an indelible mark on many minds. He may not easily be forgotten even if he is remembered privately. He attained success not by accident, but through hard work and dedication. He was quoted to have said, “You can attain success by accident but you cannot sustain it by accident”.
Late Salihijo died of cardiac arrest in Abuja on Monday, July 5, 1999. He was survived by two wives and eight children. He died as an inspiration to both the leaders and the led. He was a model of emulation today and forever. Single-handedly he was able to personify diligence, professionalism, trustworthiness and selflessness. Millions who were not privileged to meet him personally are still feeling his impact.
Garry writes from Dawaki Quarters, Gombe.
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