Yobe Minister designate, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu and the reward for loyalty, humility and patience

Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu during the ministerial screening at the senate

For many who have followed the political developments in Yobe State very keenly,  Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, the immediate past Deputy Governor of the state is one politician that has been severally used as a sacrificial lamb  from the build-up to the 2019 general elections.

His nomination as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to represent his home state therefore did not come as a surprise from the facts at hands. It is also quite frank that the nominations of Engr. Abubakar Aliyu as a ministers will come as a shock to many people especially those that have already considered him as a political neophyte  after fallen victim of forces of power play that saw him skewed out of the equation despite almost crossing the red-line to become a senator and member house of representative.

His journey to becoming a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can be described  as one voyage on a political  sea characterized with high turbulent waves.

 For those who do not believe in God, it was as if the ‘Jarma of  Potiskum’ was effortlessly and blindly riding against the storm as everything seem to be falling in the opposite direction any where he tried to put his nose or anywhere his nose was taken to.

But the nomination of Engr. Abubakar Aliyu as ministers is a clear manifestation of how, ‘the ways of God are different from the ways of man’ and waiting  for  God’s times is the best thing for anyone in life as well as the proverbial dog that enjoys the fattest bones.

While the duo of  Engr. Aliyu and his boss Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam were serving out their two term mandatory tenure in office, the rumour of his succession started building up in the state  but he warned his  supporters against any action that would heat the polity in the state. Instead, he asked them to go and pray and allow the will of Allah on his ambition be done.
READ Also: https://impactonlinenigeria.blogspot.com/2019/07/ministerial-screening-how-loyalty.htm 

It turned out otherwise that Gov. Mai Mala emerged as the anointed candidate of the party and later elected as governor.

Unlike the proverbial money that refuses to release any water jar back to his benefactor, Engr. Aliyu on the second sharing formula hand0over his senatorial seat which the party had given him to another candidate even after he had attended the screening exercise at Abuja for the peace of the party at the state.

 His story at the ministerial screening on how he later refused to take the slot for the House of Representatives so as not to disrupt the already existing agreements within the party from his zone made him so attractive in the eyes of members of the Red Chambers as Sen. Kabiru Gaya described him as “a loyal, humbled and a competent gentlemen” standing before the chambers.

That show of humility also earned Engr. Aliyu a smooth screening at the Red Chambers as he was asked to “take a bow and go” without any questioning from any of the senators. A rare privilege accorded to only former law makers.

Sen. Kabiru Gaya from Kano north raised the motion that the senate should set aside its tradition and exempt Engr. Aliyu from rigorous questioning describing him as a nice and humble gentle whom he said is also competent.

Sen Gaya said; “ He has been a loyal deputy governor for ten years. I have known him for  many years. This is a person that was given another opportunity to take a seat at the House of Representative but he refused. He has been nice and humble. He is also a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers and so I believe he is qualified to appeal to our colleagues that this is a gentleman to the core and we should allow him take a bow and leave”.

 For Sen. James Manager, Engr. Aliyu earned himself the respect of the Red Chambers because of his “fantastic humility” and therefore asked the senate to free Engr. Aliyu for questioning.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan before putting the motion to vote said he is proud of Engr. Aliyu as the nominee from his state.

Lawan described the nominee as “loyal and competent, and humble”

“He is loyal, committed and competent. He has been doing well and he followed the footsteps of the former governor. We are proud of our nominee,” Sen. Lawan said.

Though the story at the ministerial screening may appear brief from the way it was told but its composition was however done in ten years during his stewardship as a deputy governor to Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam.

Engr. Abubakar Aliyu has received several awards as the most loyal  and longest serving deputy governor in the political history of Nigeria. Throughout his tenure as deputy Governor, he maintained a cordial relationship with his boss despite political patronizers attempts to throw banana pills along their path.

In one of his interactions with the media towards the end of his tenure as deputy Governor, Engr. Aliyu was quoted as saying; “Naturally, I am a very loyal person. Not only to my boss but everyone that comes my way and interacts with me. To my boss, I am and would always be, because he is my mentor. Another thing is that, one has to be patient, honest, truthful and avoid lying, breaking promises or hypocrisy. I always tried my best not to be found in any of these. I don’t harm or reciprocate harm. That is why I was considered loyal and, my inspiration is from the teachings of my religion, Islam.

“As a Deputy Governor, l maintained loyalty to the governor which added value and trust to our relationship. Unlike what was obtained in some places, my governor invested his trust in me and nominated me twice to serve as his deputy. The 10 years have been of service to the people,” he said.

In the area of competence, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu was never found wanting in any assignment that was given to him by his boss, Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam to execute. Indicatively, he was delegated for many adhoc jobs including the overseeing commissioner for Health, Commerce, Integrated and Rural Development.

His exemplary leadership at State Adhoc Committee on Immunization propelled Yobe State into that first position as the most improved state in primary health delivery nationwide, His commitment in the Save One Million Life also earned the state a $29 grants as well as glorious accolades from Bill Malinda & Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation.

Engr. Abubakar Aliyu developed a strong coordinated approach with humanitarian actors in the State with his appointment as the chairman of another adhoc committee on the Resettlement, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. He brought all the humanitarian actors working in the state under one roof and streamlined their activities to mitigate duplication in interventions in care and welfare of Displaced people in the state.

The kind words of the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan on Engr. Aliyu during the ministerial screening exercise  demonstrates the confidence that Yobe State has in their ministerial candidate, as Lawan said, “ we from Yobe are very proud of the choice of Engr. Abubakar Aliyu as our nominee. He is very loyal, committed and competent person. He is one person that everyone in the state is proud of his nomination as minister”.

His choice as minister from Yobe has also underlined the unity that Yobe State APC has always known for under the leadership of former Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, now senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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