Alhaji Shehu Suleiman’s civil service career began in the old Native Authority (NA) system. He later became an Assistant District Officer in the Northern Regional Service. When the North Central state was created, he moved to Kaduna, where he held several positions in many ministries in the state. He was Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Information, Social Welfare, Economic Development, Land and Survey and Works. He capped his career as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) during the administration of Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar. In this interview, the 86-year-old veteran civil servant, who has retired to Zaria, shared his experiences.
How would you describe your early schooldays in Zaria?
I attended Elementary Town School (number one), which is now called Waziri Lawan Primary School. At that time we called it elementary school, not primary. From there, I went to a middle school, which was equivalent to senior primary school. I was in middle school for one year, then we had our exams and I moved to Barewa. At that time, it was Government College, Zaria.
Do you recall some of your mates in Barewa?
School mates or class mates?
Classmates and schoolmates.
I can remember many of them. Of course, some of them are dead now, but I can remember that we had Namadi Barau, Bala Adamu, Jibril Aminu as classmates who are still alive. If I have to include the dead ones, we had Ibrahim Waya from Kano, perhaps you have heard of him, then Abdulkadir Suleiman, Basharu Kwaru , also in Kano, as well as Ambassador Yahaya Aliyu.
Are you talking about Ambassador Aliyu, a former registrar of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU)?
Yes, he was my classmate. I can also remember Professor B D Musa, also of the ABU, as well as Justice Muhammadu Uwais.
Are you in touch with some of your classmates?
Yes, some of them, like Lema Jibrilu, Muhammadu Uwais. We always send greetings through other mates to know that they are alive without actually getting in touch with them, and so on.
What happened after Barewa?
After Barewa, I came home to rest.
Did you get married at that point?
Yes, I got married a few months after Barewa. I finished from Barewa in 1957 and in 1958 I married.
Was it part of the rest you talked about?
Yes. When I was waiting for results, I thought I should work, so I applied to the Native Authority in Zaria. The district officer in charge of the judiciary was Mallam Haruna, who later became the Wazirin Fika. When he saw my application, he said he was looking for somebody like me. We went on tour and conducted the courts on penal code and criminal procedures etc.
I was in the Zaria Native Authority for 9 months or so. We were always with Aliyu Jama’a.
Aliyu Mohammed?
Yes.
Was he another mate from Barewa?
Oh yes. The Emir of Zazzau asked the native treasurer to take us into the treasury. When we were there, the senior district officer in charge of finance, Mr Brown, came and went through our files and asked why we didn’t apply for scholarship. We said we were not interested. He tried and tried and we said we were not interested.
Why were you not interested?
We liked to stay at home.
Because you were newly married?
Yes.
You and Aliyu Jama’a were not interested in scholarship?
That’s right. One day, we were told that the emir wanted to see us in the palace.
Was that Emir Jafaru?
Yes. When we went there we saw the emir, the Senior District Officer, Resident and few others. The emir said he understood that we were asked to apply for scholarship but we refused. Suddenly, we said we would apply and he said we should go. So we applied and were selected.
I was to go to the Nigerian College, Samaru while Aliyu would go to Ghana to do Accounting. The emir asked whether Aliyu would go to Ghana with his wife and Ahmadu Fatika said he could not do that.
Shehu could go to Samaru but he would come to the town anytime he wished, but Aliyu could not go to Ghana with his wife, so the emir said he should stay. And Shehu would go to the Nigeria College, so we went there.
I was to do an advanced level diploma, which would lead to a degree in Administration. After one year, I met one M.D Bello, who we regarded as an elder brother. He was a junior scribe to my father in Zango Kataf. Eventually, he came to Kongo and started teaching.
He saw me and asked what I was doing in Samaru. I told him that I was trying to pursue an advanced level diploma and eventually go for a degree in administration. He asked why I would not go to a university for a degree instead of a crash programme opened by the Sardauna for nine months, after which one would become an Assistant District Officer.
We had had four courses already and the next one was number five, so he wondered why I would not go for that. I said they would not take me because I was too small. But he said I should not worry about that.
I told him that Mohammadu Kapenta applied to go for an assistant district officer’s course but he was told that he was too small, so I thought that I too was too small.
Because of age?
Exactly. He said I should just apply. He also told Aliyu to apply, but he had already been appointed an assistant executive officer and posted to the Ministry of Education in Maiduguri. He also said my elder brother at Katuka should apply. We all applied.
But when my father heard that Aliyu had been posted to Maiduguri, he said no. At that time, Maiduguri was regarded as another world. Katuka withdrew and Aliyu and I applied.
So, after the course you became an ADO?
Yes.
You were posted to Benue State, which was in a very troubled situation. How was that posting?
The course supervisor was John Smith, who was a principal assistant secretary in the Premier’s office, working with Sunday Awoniyi and Liman Ciroma.
He knew we were working at the treasury, so he called me and said we both passed and would be posted. He said he would post me where I would work, after which I would be able to work anywhere. So he posted two of us to Benue.
I was to spend my holidays in Zaria while Aliyu would go to Kafanchan because that was where his parents were. I was to meet him at Kafanchan station so that he would join me and we would go to Benue. While I was at Tiv Division, Abubakar Mashegu was the Provincial Secretary.
In 1962 I was appointed a Provincial Census Officer for Benue Province. I worked in that capacity up to February 1964. After the census, I went back to Gboko headquarters. It was in 1964 that trouble started. There was war between the police and Tiv elements. They overwhelmed the police and soldiers had to be brought in.
What happened to you and civilian administrators?
I was receiving reports and passing to the police that rioters were going to attack, so that they would know and take action.
Didn’t you feel threatened by the crisis going on around you?
No. The police officer in charge was an Englishman. Sometimes when I went to report to them, I found a bottle of beer in front of him, and he was either sending telegrams or letters to British newspapers. At one time they sent 9 policemen to meet the rioters and all of them were killed.
Were the policemen Nigerians or Britons?
They were Nigerians. I reported what happened and the Senior District Officer in charge, who was the sole administrator, said it should be reported to the Provincial Commissioner. So I went to Makurdi, where I met Jolly Tanko Yusuf and I told him. He was the Provincial Commissioner.
On the spot he telephoned the Premier and told him and he said the commissioner of police would be coming. That commissioner didn’t come until I left Gboko because in 1965 I was given a division in Lafia.
And you became a full District Officer for the first time?
Well, not full; we were still Assistant District Officers. I was in a divisional office in Lafia. I was there for a few months and was posted back to Makurdi or Tiv Division. After a short time in Makurdi I was posted to Wukari Division. I was there when the 1966 coup took place.
I was there for about six months and was moved to Adamawa Division. I was there for only about three months or so and something happened in Muri and I was sent to that place. That was the time Ahmed Gazali was to go on leave.
I think there was crisis over the appointment of the Emir of Muri, was that the period you were posted to that division?
It was after that. However, the crisis was still on because those people who were opposed to the emir and were fellow contestants with him had not given up. In fact, that was the reason Ahmed Gazali was moved.
And the emir was accepted after sometime?
Of course, he was accepted.
Among all these postings to Wukari, Tiv, Lafia, Muri, Adamawa, which one was the most challenging for you? Which one do you remember fondly?
It was the posting to Tiv Division. But the most frustrating was the posting to Muri. I remember that we were trying to locate one village they called Woroshekau.We went by boat to one village with the surveyor, Mr Moss, an Englishman.
There were two teams, one from Wukari. We were looking for Sandiride, but Mr Moss said people from Muri told him that it was Woroshekau.
Were you trying to start a road project?
No. We were just trying to locate that place, from where we would trace the boundary to that village, then we would know whether it was in Wukari Division or Muri.
Looking at your curriculum vitae, when you moved to Kaduna you served in almost every ministry as a permanent secretary; is there any ministry you didn’t serve in?
I didn’t serve in the ministries of Health, Trade and Education.
As an administrator, was it difficult to move from one ministry to another, say from Works to Finance or Information, which have different roles?
The reason I moved from Information to Social Development was because of the crisis that happened with the Permanent Secretary then. He was removed and I was moved in there to take over from him.
I moved to the Ministry of Social Development but it was dissolved, so I was taken to the Ministry of Animal and Forest Resources. Again, I was not there for long and was moved to the Ministry of Economic Planning. That was when Aliyu Jama’a was appointed the Federal Director of Immigration. He was the Permanent Secretary Economic Planning. Then he was snatched away by Adamu Fika as Director of Immigration. So I was moved to the Ministry of Economic Planning.
From there, I moved to Land. I was there when Balarabe Musa was impeached. In fact, when I was moved to the Ministry of Land, people were surprised because Balarabe Musa was known as a very hard person.
Why were you moved to Land?
The opposition said they would not want me there because they knew I would not do their bidding. Those in their party (PRP) said they wanted to use land and contracts to attract people. But it was during that time that Balarabe Musa was impeached and Abba Musa Rimi became the new governor.
Did that affect your career?
No. The new governor succumbed to his party, which said they didn’t want me there. He wanted to remove me, but he didn’t know how to do it. So, somebody came from the State House, Abuja, looking for his file. He was told by the governor that his file had been sent to me long ago. So he came to me and said he was looking for his file and that the governor said he had sent it to me. I said no, but he insisted. I assured him that I would not hide his file. Just at that time, there was a phone call from Government House, saying the governor had finished with some files and we should come and collect them.
My secretary said she wanted to use my car to go and bring files. She took the files and put that man’s on top of the rest.
When she came back, she told him to come inside, where she put the files in front of him and gave him his own. He asked about the kind of work we were doing there and I said it was not his business.
Abba Rimi tried several times to remove me, but he didn’t know how.
There was a time when members of his party went to him and said he should remove me. When he removed me, people from Zaria came to him and asked why he removed Shehu Suleiman from the Ministry of Land and Survey, arguing that he never posted somebody from Zaria to that place.
He said that as long as I was there, I would not get what I wanted.
Why did you develop a reputation as somebody difficult to work with?
I don’t know, but sometimes I call a spade a spade. If I know the truth I will tell it, no matter whose ox is gored. I will always say things exactly how they are. I tell the truth, no matter how the listener is hurt.
What gives you this courage?
I don’t know.
Do you think this kind of attitude is the only way to tackle corruption in the civil service?
Well, it is one of the ways we can tackle corruption in the civil service, but not the only way.
How did you deal with the problem of corruption in the roles you played, especially as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Land?
As Permanent Secretary I met a few cases, which I understood very well. For instance, if I recommended somebody for issuance of a certificate, Balarabe Musa, who was very cunning, would ask questions, otherwise he would simply say, “not approved.”
And if he said not approved, it meant it was finished. But if he asked questions, I would start answering, and eventually, he may agree.
I remember that somebody came and said they wanted a land to develop an industry in Kafanchan but I said no, arguing that we wanted them in Katsina. At that time we were actually looking for somebody who would develop Katsina industrially.
Again, somebody came, a Lebanese or something like that and said he wanted a piece of land, but I said no because he showed me that he was going to give something. I tried to resist such things.
Did you get support from your colleagues to fight this kind of thing?
I didn’t even seek for support.
Why?
I was just doing my own.
In spite of your position you still became Secretary to the State Government ( SSG), were you surprised?
I was surprised. People thought I should be the Secretary to the Government after Isah Katsina, because among the administrative officers who were Permanent Secretaries, I was about the oldest. One of the most ardent supporters of that crusade was Ismaila Mamman, who was my commissioner. He was obsessed about it.
I learnt that the then military governor, Colonel Dangiwa Umar, wanted to sack you; did you have a clash with him?
No. We never clashed.
Was he the one who appointed you Secretary to the Government?
Yes.
What were the circumstances behind your appointment?
I told you about pressure from Ismaila Mamman and some others. He told me that when he was appointed governor and he was coming to Kaduna, one of the letters he read on the plane was from somebody who was suggesting that I should be appointed secretary to the government.
Did you disagree with him sometimes, although he was the governor?
Only once or twice. There was a time he said he would appoint his Principal Private Secretary as permanent secretary and I said he could not do that because there were three or four people in front of him waiting to be appointed into that position.
At the end, I told him it was the tradition that before one was appointed a Permanent Secretary, one would have to work in the field.
So you insisted that the man was not suitable to be a permanent secretary?
Exactly. Secondly, there was a time he put somebody as chairman and I said no. We argued but he had the upper hand and appointed him.
You finished as Secretary to the Government and that was the end of your career in the civil service; were you comfortable enough to retire at that point?
No. There was a circular Babangida issued in 1988, stating that all the Permanent Secretaries should assume the title of Director General. At that time, I was also an SSG. I was supposed to have been removed in 1988 from the position of Permanent Secretary.
Up to the time I left the SSG position, that circular was still extant, but I had not reached the retirement age – 35 years of service. But I was retired.
So it wasn’t a voluntary retirement?
No.
Was that the end of your career?
I was told there was a vacancy in the Federal Civil Service Commission because one commissioner was leaving. I was asked if I were interested in replacing him and I said yes. There was a promise that the letter of appointment would be sent to me on Wednesday, but I didn’t hear anything, so I went to Lagos.
Eventually, I went to the Federal Civil Service Commission as a commissioner.
Since you retired, what have you been doing?
Nothing.
Are you contented with your pension; is it enough?
Of course not; in fact, they reduced the pension. My pension was N89,000 per annum and they said I was overpaid, so they reduced it to N58,000. That’s what I earn per annum. My state pension is N28,000.
How is life in retirement?
Well, it is manageable. Living in a place like Zaria where you have so many people coming to you for something, you just have to bear.
Does the government involve you in committee in order to tap from your experiences?
No. During the Makarfi administration, there was a time some people came and said they wanted my curriculum vitae because they were going to recommend me for an honour, but I said it was too late. They said I should send it to them before 9am the following day. But instead of sending it to them, I sent a letter to the governor, thanking him. I was not interested.
Why are you not interested in national honours?
I don’t know; I just feel that I don’t want. It would probably sound too strong to say I don’t deserve it, but I just feel that people who have done more than me should be given the honours.
But people who have done less than you have been given?
Those who have been given perhaps did more.
You are from a traditional ruling family and I believe you have link to Emir Jafaru, yet you don’t have a traditional title, why?
Jafaru is my father’s elder brother. In the first place, nobody offered me a traditional title. Secondly, I didn’t ask for it; and I will not ask. When I came back to Kaduna, the Emir of Zaria thought I was interested in a title.
One day, I went to him to ask that somebody be appointed a district head.
You lobbied for somebody else?
Yes. But he did not give it to the one I recommended, he gave him something else.
Considering your civil service experiences, are you involved in how things are run in Zaria?
No. They are not involving me in anything and I have never asked for any.
What do you do with your time; what is your typical day like?
When I wake up in the morning I listen to radio. Because of glaucoma, I can no longer read newspapers.
Apart from glaucoma, do you have any other health challenge?
Glaucoma is the most prominent. Before it set in, I used to read a lot. I spent six years going to the National Eye Centre, but before they discovered that it was glaucoma, I had already spent four or five years.
How is family life for you?
It is okay. At this moment, I have my wife and Abdullahi, who is an applicant, and Zainab. We make up the family.
You have a rather small family.
It is small, but there are others hanging around, such as orphans.
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