Sunday, May 10, 2020, was a sad day for accounting practitioners, scholars and students in Kano and Jigawa states as we suffered the irreparable loss of Alhaji Abubakar Ahmed Badawi. After sustaining him for 75 years and three months, his creator decided to take him to his final abode, hopefully, heaven.
Alhaji Badawi’s death came 42 days after the tragic loss of an elder statesman of the profession, Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim, FCA. He passed to the great beyond on March 29, 2020. The late Ibrahim was the first chartered accountant in the old Kano State, past chairman of the Kano District Society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and a one-time member of the Governing Council of the institute. Like Badawi, Ibrahim was a father, mentor, professional colleague and promoter of this writer at various levels. May his soul rest in aljannatul fiddausi.
Alhaji Badawi’s life was full of exciting accomplishments in public financial management in particular and contribution to humanity in general. It is important, therefore, to highlight some of his contributions to the accountancy profession, mentorship of future generation, deep-rooted social work and various inputs to national economic development for the present and future generation of accountants to learn some lessons. This would also make readers to appreciate the values of the attributes he held on to as he set many excellent records that might be difficult to equate by the present and future generation of accountants in Nigeria and beyond.
Alhaji Badawi began his career as a public servant in 1970 when he got his first appointment in the old Kano State civil service, until 2006 when he retired. As a thoroughbred professional, his retirement became another opportunity to render professional services as a consultant to the SPARC, DfID, World Bank and many other development partners. He also served as a resource person to many capacity- building training consultancy firms, especially on public financial management topics.
Alhaji Badawi’s integrity, independent-mindedness, competence, loyalty, humility and hard work endeared him to the first civilian governor of the old Kano State, the late Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, who appointed him as accountant- general of the state in 1982, just 12 years into his civil service career. He was retained by Rimi’s successor, the late Alhaji Abdu Dawakin Tofa, likewise the late Alhaji Sabo Bakin Zuwo. He occupied the position until 1984. This shows that Alhaji Badawi had the privilege of working with all the three civilian governors of the old Kano State in the Second Republic as accountant-general. What a record!
In 1989, Brigadier Idris Garba appointed him as auditor-general for local government, a position he held until 1992 when Architect Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya moved him from that office to the office of the auditor-general of the state. He served as auditor-general for the state until 2006 when he retired from active public service. This shows that he had served in that capacity three years for local government and 14 years for state, making a total of 17 years in active service as auditor-general. He, therefore, worked with four military governors (Idris Garba, Abdullahi Wase, Dominic Oneya and Aminu Kontagora) and three civilian governors (Kabiru Gaya, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Ibrahim Shekarau) as auditor- general. This is another record to beat or equate, not only in Nigeria but even across the African continent.
All the governors he worked with accepted him as a trustworthy and reliable officer. With the godly attributes in him, he was able to discharge his duties meritoriously and retired from service unblemished. There was no trace of illegally acquired wealth against him. While discharging his duties, he mentored many people. Some of those he mentored were Alhaji Isma’ila Y. Takai (a former accountant-general, Kano State); Alhaji Badaru Abubakar (governor of Jigawa State); the late Auwalu Balarabe Wudil (former auditor-general, Kano State); Alhaji Ahmad Idris (accountant-general of the federation, AGF); Alhaji Ali Ben Musa (former auditor-general, local government); Alhaji Muhammad BB Farouk (auditor-general, local government ); Alhaji Tijjani N. Kura (former auditor-general, Kano State); Hajiya Amina Inuwa Sa’id (auditor-general, Kano State), and Alhaji Hassan A. Jakada (a retired director of audit), among many others. It is sad to mention that one of his mentees, Alhaji Musa Bebeji, died in the morning of the same May 10, 2020 when Badawi died. May his gentle soul rest in aljannatul fiddausi.
Should all the civil servants across the country adopt Alhaji Badawi’s attributes, the Nigerian civil service would become honourable, productive, reliable and incorruptible. It would ultimately become the foundation the country deserves for sustainable development.
In upholding the sanctity of the accountancy profession, Badawi was a dogged fighter. As accountant-general and auditor-general, he showed younger ones how to serve public interest. But in view of the ethical principles they are expected to comply with in the discharge of their various duties as accountants, the younger ones need to belong to professional bodies.
After obtaining his professional training at the United Kingdom (UK), he was one of the leading figures in the struggle for the recognition of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). His reason for joining the struggle, as he told this writer, was to create room for competition in the accountancy services market. He had a strong belief in the saying that “healthy competition is always a vehicle to efficiency and effectiveness.’’
As the war was won and the ANAN was recognised by law as the second professional accountancy body in Nigeria, Alhaji Badawi was made a pioneer council member of the association. His membership number had two digits. He became a rallying point for the ANAN in the northern part of the country, encouraging all qualified accounting graduates to belong, including this writer. He served as referee to any interested person who was qualified to be enrolled into the membership of the association.
Alhaji Badawi was also an excellent friend or associate of accounting students at various levels. He was always ready to be invited to give talks or present papers to students of polytechnic or university on topical accounting issues. He used to receive students in his office and house and allow them chance to engage him with questions or problems that would require his wisdom. He was also very willing to assist them with books, journals or even money to buy some relevant academic materials.
At Bayero University, Kano, Badawi was one of the 10 eminent accounting personalities nominated by this writer in 2002 when he was the head of Accounting Department. The vice chancellor then, Professor Musa Abdullahi, appointed them as honorary members of the department. For 18 years, Alhaji Badawi and Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim were active members of the department. They attended departmental seminars, meetings and annual national conferences. In fact, they assisted the department with contacts of individuals and organisations that contributed money and other resources for the conduct of the national conferences.
On retirement, Alhaji Badawi became a consultant to many development partners on various accounting and auditing matters and a resource person to some human development training firms on various topical issues.
By his continuous engagement as a consultant and resource person, Alhaji Badawi continued to serve humanity from 1970 till he died in 2020. And he was modest in his charges for all the consultancy services he rendered.
Now that Alhaji Badawi is back to his creator, we pray for him to be in the aljannatul fiddausi. We also pray for his wonderful family, especially his best half, Prof Gaji A. Badawi, to have the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. For us that have been his mentees over the years, and all our mentees as well, let’s hold on to his attributes: integrity, independent-mindedness, competence, loyalty, humility and hard work.
We shall meet again in aljannatul fiddaus, in sha Allah.
Professor Dandago is of the Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano. He wrote this piece with contribution from the ANAN, Kano State. He can be reached on [email protected] , 08023360386
