In the entirety of human transactions and interactions across all epochs, certain ideals espoused by outstanding individuals remain immutable in their value, relevance and reverence. These ideals of hard work, trustworthiness, resilience, dedication and determination continue to bequeath names and footprints of individuals who have distinguished themselves to the ultimate adjudication of history and prosperity for fair judgement.
It is in recognition of the above ideals, coupled with his holistic transformation of Nigeria’s transportation sector that the Daura Emirate Council confers a very significant traditional title of Dan Amanar Daura on Rt Hon Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation.
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Today, men and women of timber and calibre, leaders and followers, northerners and southerners, Muslims and Christians, friends, associates and well-wishers from all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond will converge on a rendezvous that was historically the administrative headquarters of Hausa land, Daura, to witness the crowning ceremony of the highly revered, generally accepted and wholly detribalised Nigerian as Dan Amanar Daura (The Trusted Son of Daura).
The revered title of ‘Dan Amana’ in Daura, according to Wakilin Tarihin Daura (custodian of the history of Daura), Alhaji Abubakar Magaji Fada, has not been conferred on anyone for a long time in the emirate. This, he said, was due to the significance of the title and the burdens attached thereof.
“When you talk of trust, you know it is a great burden; therefore, Dan Amana is given to only persons proven to be trustworthy. It is not as if we don’t have trustworthy people to confer the title on here, but Amaechi has not only proven to be a trustworthy person but also is committed to the development of the emirate in particular and the country in general. So the emirate council has found him well-deserving of the title, and with the approval of the emir, the council passed a resolution to confer it on him.
“We all know that the minister has been a very close confidant of the son of the emirate, President Muhammadu Buhari, and in their relationship, he has proven to be a man of integrity; and that is one consideration.
“Another consideration is the massive developmental projects he brought to Daura, and our emir, Dr Farouq Umar Farouq is a kind of person who appreciates whosoever cares about his people. He believes and accepts the fact that it is his responsibility to look after his people; therefore whoever is instrumental to the development of our people, His Royal Highness will appreciate and honour him,” he said.
Distancing the honour from any political motive, Sarkin Tarihi said, “Emirate and partisan politics are two different things entirely. We honour him due to his contributions to the development of our people and as a close confidant of the Bayajiddan Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari, not for political reasons.”
This appreciation has gone beyond Daura Emirate. A former senator from Adamawa State, Silas Jonathan Zwingina, was quoted to have said that Daura Emirate had every reason to reward the minister with the title because of the university project. But the fact that the university is a corporate social responsibility project by a company was more admirable because the minister could have diverted the funds for some personal usage.
“So I commend him sincerely for that because it is either there would have been no corporate social responsibility project in the manner of the university or it would have been diverted. The gesture by Amaechi is beyond Daura. The spirit is that every multinational company that has a big project here should have a corporate social responsibility project that is visible, identifiable and publicised in the manner the Daura community has done,” he added.
Senator Zwingina further dispelled insinuations questioning the appropriateness of the time as saying, “There is nothing extraordinary with the timing. It is just about a community that has learned to show appreciation to a man who has done them good, a man who has served this country well, very diligently and producing outstanding results, both as a minister and director-general of President Buhari – two successful campaigns, a man whom they so trusted and have decided to turban him with such a very prestigious title as their ‘Dan Amana’. Honestly, Amaechi truly deserves the title and I think we should see it that way, on its merit and not otherwise.”
Therefore, man’s true character is not defined by what they are endowed with, in terms of wealth, wisdom or power, but by how much impact they make on other people’s lives which such endowments as Angelou Maya, American poet, once said that “…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Amaechi made Daura people particularly and Nigerians generally feel happy. It will never be forgotten.
The man, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was born on May 27, 1965. In May this year, he would be 57 years. An astute politician, currently serving as the minister of transportation in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari, Amaechi had previously served in the oil-rich Rivers State as Speaker of the State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and governor of the state from 2007 to 2015. And in all the positions he held, Ameachi left indelible footprints in the sand of time. On his current position, his performance in the area of transportation is marvelously revolutionary.
He had his early education at St Theresa’s Primary School from 1970 to 1976. He earned his West African Senior School Corticated in 1982 after attending Government Secondary School, Okolobiri. Amaechi received a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours) in English Studies and Literature from the University of Port Harcourt in 1987, where he was the president of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS).
He completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in 1988, and thereafter joined Pamo Clinics and Hospitals Limited owned by Peter Odili, where he worked until 1992. He was also a director of several companies, including West Africa Glass Industry Limited and Risonpalm Nigeria Limited.
During the transition to the Third Republic, Amaechi was the secretary of the National Republican Convention in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Between 1992 and 1994, he was special assistant to the deputy governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. His boss believed in Amaechi as a young man with potential in politics and brought him under his wing. In 1996, he was the Rivers State’s secretary of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) caretaker committee during the transition programme of General Sani Abacha.
In 1999, he contested and won a seat to become a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly to represent his constituency. He was subsequently elected as the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Amaechi was elected the chairman of Nigeria’s Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies. In May 2003, he was re-elected as the Speaker. In 2003, when the National Assembly moved to hijack the legislative functions of the State House of Assembly as enshrined in the constitution, Amaechi, along with his colleagues, approached the Supreme Court for redress and emerged victorious.
In 2007, Amaechi contested and won the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship primary election for Rivers State in 2007, but his name was substituted by the party, an action he challenged in court. The case eventually got to the Supreme Court. He became governor on October 26, 2007 after the Supreme Court ruled that he was the rightful candidate of the PDP and winner of the April 2007 governorship election in Rivers.
So, as a believer in the supremacy of rule of law, when his mandate was snatched, Amaechi did not resort to violence but sought redress in the courts.
As the governor of Rivers State, his administration invested in infrastructure development – construction of roads and bridges, sticking to the vision of connecting all parts of the state by road. He was also committed to urban renewal and modernisation of transportation services. His administration began building a monorail to provide mass transportation within the city of Port Harcourt. Some power plant projects (Afam, Trans Amadi, Onne) were also built to improve power supply in the state. He was re-elected for a second term on April 26, 2011.
Due to his patriotism and firm belief in the unity of the country, in August 2013, Amaechi, along with other serving governors, formed the G-7 faction within the PDP, where some of them eventually defected to the new opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), proving his national outlook. As a result of his doggedness and commitment, the APC, along with its then presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, appointed Rt Amaechi as the director-general of the presidential campaign. His unflinching determination and unwavering focus manifested in the 2015 APC’s election victory.
In 2015, Buhari appointed Amaechi as minister of transportation when the ministry was in moribund. He resuscitated the ministry and ultimately transformed Nigeria’s transport sector with scattered projects across the six geopolitical zones of the country. His startling performance encouraged President Buhari to reappoint him in 2019, paving the way for him to become Nigeria’s longest-serving minister of transportation.
It is indeed immensely rewarding that your reforms, transformations and giant strides in the Federal Ministry of Transportation are being identified, recognised and appreciated by Nigerians across all the divides.
Today, people felicitate with a man whose indispensability in Nigeria’s political trajectory remains ascensional. To borrow the words of Walt Whitman, “keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.” Thus, Dan Amanar Daura, Rt Hon Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi, the father of modern Nigeria’s transportation sector whose presence is felt everywhere across the country, keep your face toward the sunshine as the shadows will only trail behind your indefatigable personality.
