Gwarzo; an achiever per excellence

By Ibrahim Sani Shawai

An American Engineer and writer, Alfred Armand Montapert once remarked that “the monument of a great man is not of granite or marble or bronze. It consists of his goodness, his deeds, his love and his compassion”, this is the undiluted description of the personality of Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo, a former Deputy Governor of Kano State and former Gubernatorial candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) who was recently nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as one of the ministerial nominees to be confirmed by the Senate.

Gwarzo is one silent achiever who many have come to trust in view of his per excellence ability to live up to expectations in all tasks assigned to him; in fact many observers of good governance have remarked that if anyone wants a job well-done, Gwarzo is the man to go for.

Over time, the good people of Kano State and political commentators from Northern Nigeria have had to ask where Gwarzo had been in view of his impeccable qualities and leadership traits which they thought should be harnessed to bridge the leadership gap at the national level. At last as many of his supporters would say, they now have a moment to rejoice as President Tinubu’s second batch ministerial list contained the name of this fine gentleman.

The antecedents of Gwarzo had made it extremely difficult for anyone to push him aside as he has over time acquired enough experience to make noticeable impact at an international stage.

It was really a good pick for President Tinubu who choose a fine gentleman and a humble leader as Gwarzo to serve in his cabinet. Mr. Gwarzo’s sterling qualities and performance profile must have impressed Mr. President and like the saying goes, a golden fish has no hiding place, Gwarzo has become the proverbial golden fish that cannot be hidden.

In Nigeria and as a matter of fact Africa generally, the unpleasant events impacting the continent bear witness to a deep-seated leadership crisis. Good leadership has been of high demand by Nigerians within and outside the country in view of its role in helping to revise the trend of poverty, unemployment, underdevelopment as well as bridging gaps in governance.

One of the most important areas, most Nigerians had yearned for good leadership over the years is in the area of having good leaders to help the President drive his agenda and propel all round growth that will give Nigerians a breath of fresh air. No matter how good any President is, if he lacks politically-decent technocrats and competent leaders in his cabinet, his agenda for the people may become a mere wish as no leader can solely bring his administration to benefit the people without having members of his cabinet who share in his vision for the people and in this regard, Mr President has picked one man from Kano State that will help him drive his renewed hope for Nigerians. With leaders like Mr. Gwarzo who can step into the arena and enact a radical change that will serve as foundation for the overall good and development of the country, no one needs a soothsayer to tell us that we are now heading to a positive path where the destination can only be progress and development. With Gwarzo in Mr President’s cabinet, the future will be indeed bright for Nigerians.

Many political watchers who have followed through on the antecedent of the former deputy governor of Kano State believe that the leadership trait of Mr. Gwarzo have had great testimonies of the capacity of Gwarzo’s to rise up to any challenge and create a pathway for lasting solution for the benefit of mankind.

One of the numerous voices that testified of Gwarzo’s capacity to deliver following his nomination by Mr President is the founder of Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria Professor Adamu Abubakar Gwarzo who in a congratulatory message described the former Deputy Governor of Kano Engineer Gwarzo as a well-experienced leader.

In his words, “Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo as a former Deputy Governor of Kano, Local Government Chairman and Commissioner of water resources has all it takes to deliver as a minister and member of the Federal Executive Council with his wealth of experience.
“His track record in public service and good human relations with people at the grassroots say a lot about him as a politician who puts the interest of his people in all affairs.”
This opinion above is shared by millions of Kano indigenes and those outside the state who have had close-range relationships with the former deputy governor.

Abdullahi Tijjani Muhammad Gwarzo was born on the 23rd of September, 1960, at Getso, Gwarzo Local Government area of Kano state. He started his early primary education at the famous Gwarzo day primary school, where he completed his primary education and obtained a primary school leaving certificate in the year 1977.
He proceeded to one of the Kano state science education project secondary schools at Dawakin-Kudu, in the year 1982, he completed his secondary school education, upon which he obtained the senior secondary certificate.
He was admitted into the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, where he studied Textile Engineering and was awarded a Bachelor of Science (Tech) degree in the year 1988. Between 1988 and 1989, he was posted to the Old Bendel state to serve his country in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps((NYSC) scheme. At Asaba, he was posted to the Asaba Textile, where he worked and thereby acquiring significant practical experience in his field of study. Consequently, upon the completion of the NYSC scheme in 1989, Abdullahi Gwarzo, returned home, and joined the political activities of the third republic, where he pitched his tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
After the rigorous and exhaustive electioneering process, in 1991, he contested for the Chairmanship of Gwarzo local government council and emerged victorious, serving between 1991-1993.
He has also served as the Executive chairman of Gwarzo Local Government Council, between 1997-1998 (NCPN), 2004-2007 (ANPP) during which he served as the State ALGON Chairman, and as well a caretaker chairman between 2003-2004(ANPP).
He was appointed as the Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Kano State on special duties in the year 2007.

As the saying goes, Luck favours the hardworking, in the year 2007, while he was working towards securing  the ticket of his party to contest the Gwarzo/Kabo Federal constituency, he was overwhelmingly drafted to partner His Excellency Malam Ibrahim Shekarau on the ANPP ticket, as the Deputy Governorship candidate in the 2007 elections.
Following the victory at the polls, he became the Deputy Governor of Kano state, a position he held until 2011.
While serving as the Deputy Governor of Kano state, he was assigned to supervise the state ministry for water resources, where he superintended the construction of a 75,000,000 liters per day, Watari water works, and the reticulation of the greater Kano water project, which earned him the mantra ‘RUWA BABA’.
He later defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), where he contested as the party’s Gubernatorial candidate in the 2011 governorship election, which he lost.

From the little biography highlighted above, it is clear that Mr Gwarzo is eminently qualified by education and experience to hold any political position in this country and time will further unveil his leadership prowess which Nigeria will need to address more demanding national challenges.

Over time, Mr. Gwarzo has proven to be a dependable ally whose love for his people has never been in doubt. Being a deputy comes with the challenge of loyalty and total allegiance, yet the then Governor Ibrahim Shekarau never had issues with Gwarzo as it is being witnessed in some political space in some states, this shows that Gwarzo  would be loyal to Mr President and his quest to turn Nigeria’s fortunes around for the common good of all Nigerians.

Written by Ibrahim Sani Shawai and can be reached via [email protected]