Malam Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Chief of Staff to the Senate President, is an elder brother of Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, politician and educationist. Here, the elder Baba-Ahmed talks about his brother’s political career, work as an educationist, their childhood, and more. Excerpts:
Daily Trust: What kind of person would you say Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed is?
Malam Hakeem Baba-Ahmed: He is a very disciplined and motivated individual. He is very focused in whatever he does. I’m not sure where he gets his motivation from. He obviously comes from a family where, long before he was born and even when he was growing up, some very standards had been set. So, there is a context within which you can judge him. But still, he has a very strong character. He can be very stubborn when he sets a goal for himself, and be very aggressive in its pursuit. He is also very obedient, and yet so focused on an issue that it is difficult to persuade him that he is in the wrong direction. Fortunately for him, and for us in the family, he hasn’t been in too many of the wrong directions.
DT: At what point in your lives, before he joined politics, did you see signs of his choice of career, both in politics and as an educationist?
Baba-Ahmed: I think from a rather early age. When he completed his primary school, he went to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), and he was doing very well up till his final year. Then he decided he didn’t want to be in the military anymore. It was a single mandate decision. He came to me first in the family and told me, ‘I don’t want to be an Air Force officer anymore’, and I was angry. So, I explained the implication of that to him, but he was quite adamant. I made my inquiries and established that there was nothing wrong with his record in the school. That particular instance registered in my mind the young man that can be very clear about what he wants to do. It was the first time that I saw glimpses of someone who could decide in what direction his life would be and pursue it without any doubt.
We supported him. He went to University of Maiduguri and completed his degree successfully, then travelled to the UK and did his Masters and PhD in near-record time. Even before he joined politics, he was a very focused and disciplined individual. I doubted whether those qualities were going to be properly contextualised or transferred into the political process, and I did worry when he said he was going to join politics, whether he could transfer those characteristics. But he did that, and very well.
DT: Speaking of politics, do you share some political views?
Baba-Ahmed: A lot. For instance, we both believe that this country is worth serving, worth fighting for, and even dying for. We love this country. Our father brought us up to believe in Nigeria, to love it, work for it, and leave legacies that others can build with. That, we share. We are intolerant of abuse and mediocrity. We believe a country like Nigeria deserves the best, and that politics is about service and not for politicians to be served. We didn’t sit down for me to impart those values, but there was a context in which he grew up, values and standards he met. I think these political views are shared by virtually every member of our family.
DT: Growing up, what kind of little brother would you say he was?
Baba-Ahmed: He was so far down in the hierarchy. Our father died in 1987, leaving thirty children. I think Datti was number twenty-eight, but he is extremely respectful. He respects the hierarchy, and fits in perfectly. But even with that rank, he created a position for himself. He respected everybody. I was so far ahead of him that I would only hear about what he did as a kid. Years later people would say he imagines, creates, and builds things. That quality survived, because literally, if I am to say one thing about him that stands out, I’d say he is a builder.
DT: Is there one single trait of his that you admire the most?
Baba-Ahmed: Yes, his tenacity. When he sets a goal – it’s incredible, I don’t know where he gets the energy and drive for it – he achieves it. He came straight from nowhere and decided he was going to join politics, he was going to join President Buhari’s party, and he wanted to be a member of the Federal House of Representatives. He went into that campaign with the single-minded ambition to win that seat, and he did.
While he was there, the issue of the then-president Obasanjo’s third term ambition came. He threw himself neck-deep and joined the people who said they were going to scuttle it. They did it. He left the house, contested for Senate, something people felt was way above his head. But he did it. He contested and successfully won. When that seat was taken away from him, he decided he was going to build a university. He came to me and asked if he should become a governor or build a university, and I said to him, ‘build a university, that is a more solid foundation. You can become a governor later. What we really need in the north is a world class, high quality university’. He listened to me, and started from scratch. He didn’t have much money, and was literally building it block-by-block. So, if you ask me about one outstanding quality, I would say his tenacity. If he sets his mind on something, he gets it.
This is a member of a huge family that has very clear lines about hierarchy and propriety and everybody has to take his place. If you come to our family gatherings and see how we relate, you will have to ask about ten people in the family to show you who Datti is. In spite of all the things he has achieved – he is the pro-chancellor of Baze University, he has founded the most successful northern university – you are likely to find him in the context of our family, in a place where you would think is too humble. His ability to balance his personal life as against social norms is amazing.
DT: Do you have a particular moment during which you were proudest of him?
Baba-Ahmed: It was when he won the Senate seat. It was a very difficult task. It was one of those things people thought was impossible. He was taking on a former governor in a zone that was very difficult. He had laid the groundwork as a member of the House, conducted an excellent campaign and won his election to the Senate. I cannot tell you of a moment when I was prouder.
The other one, of course is, every time I go to Baze University and walk round, I feel a sense of pride that one individual had a dream and translated it into this edifice of excellence and service. These two, particularly, stand out and I am proud that he is my younger brother.
