Adams Abonu
It was Lula da Silva, erstwhile President of Brazil, that remarked, “To enhance influence, one must build bridges across divides. The ability to build and maintain such bridges distinguishes an individual and the synergy created makes service to accrue.” The inspirational leader whose transformative prowess held sway in the Southern American nation for over a decade was adducing to a viable virtue of greatness.
The bridge builder analogy captures the very essence of the person of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a testament to the strength of character that an individual could portray.
Adamu’s personality has been a subject of broad analysis by pundits, well-wishers and antagonists alike, as they examine the phenomenon of a man who has become triumphed in a life of public service to become the moral conscience of the senate.
For a personality whose star shines bright in a clime with a dearth of elderly mentoring, Adamu’s rise through the ranks in the national scheme of things has distinguished him as a veritable rallying point for national development. His inspiring political trajectory, the quality of his political virtues, which are viable lessons in leadership, and his humane disposition to issues that affect the wellbeing of his people and Nigerians at large speak volumes that makes this tribute as he joins the septuagenarian rank worthwhile.
A glimpse into the early days of Adamu reveals an erudite preparation for a future of distinctive service to humanity. Born on July 23, 1946 to a farming family in Agwada, in present-day Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, he had his earliest education at Senior Primary School in Keffi before proceeding to Government College, Makurdi, between 1960 and 1962. In the intervening period before 1965, he was at the Government Technical College, Bukuru, near Jos, Plateau State, for a Certificate in Technical Education. He was later to enrol at the Kaduna Polytechnic in 1968 and graduated in 1973 with a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Engineering.
Adamu’s quest for learning and urbane disposition created in him the hunger for a law degree, which he actualised between 1987 and 1993 upon graduation from the University of Jos. He was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar as Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
He says, “My education at Government College, Makurdi, actually prepared me for the life ahead. By the alphabetical arrangement of my name, I became the first student in my set and it was the more interesting.
“The engineering discipline also prepared me for successful enterprises. I have a lot to thank Allah for, for making me have the exposures I had while studying to become an engineer. But my mind has always been attracted to the cause of justice and further learning of the ways to improve the society. I enrolled into the university to read law because of the penchant to better serve the public from a more learned and informed point of view.”
Adamu came into national consciousness in 1977, when he was elected into then Constituent Assembly for the drafting of a new Nigerian constitution, which heralded the short-lived Second Republic. Prior to this time, he had worked variously as an engineer with the Electric Company of Nigeria (ECN) from 1967 to 1973 and the Northern Nigerian Development Company (NNDC). He was Project Consultant in the construction of the prestigious Durbar Hotel and Murtala Muhammad Square, both in Kaduna.
A pioneer member of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Adamu was later to serve as secretary-general and then chairman of the Plateau State chapter of the party between 1978 and 1983. He doubled as chairman of the Benue Cement Company in Gboko while serving as state chairman of his party.
When the General Sani Abacha junta mooted the idea of returning the country to civil democracy with a new constitution, Adamu was appointed into the 1994 Constituent Assembly. The same junta appointed him as Minister of Works and Housing in 1995, a post he held until November 1997.
Regarding his role in the infamous Abacha junta, Adamu says, “It was a call to serve the nation and I heeded it. It was an opportunity to bring my humble experience to bear and I did my sincere best in serving the people of Nigeria.”
When the ban on political activities was lifted by the regime of General Abdulsamami Abubakar, who took the reins of power after the demise of Abacha, Adamu joined other Nigerians, like late Solomon Lar, Sunday Awoniyi, and others, to form the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He became the party’s candidate for a successful bid for Governor of Nasarawa State in 1999.
His tenure as governor of Nasarawa State for two consecutive terms, the politics of that era and the giant strides of his stewardship have remained subjects of real political analysis long after he left office. He has to his credit essential projects like the Nasarawa State University in Keffi, the Farin Ruwa Water Project and key socioeconomic infrastructure, which demonstrate his concern for posterity.
The launch in 2005 of his Free School Feeding Programme designed to provide nutritionally-fortified diets to primary school pupils to encourage enrolment and boost educational interest became a model for many states of the federation. Such legacy projects have come to endear him to his people who flock to him in their numbers for leadership. The Sarkin Yaki Keffi, a traditional title of valour bestowed on him by his people, remains the undisputable leader of Nasarawa people.
When Adamu became Secretary of the Board of Trustees of then ruling Peoples Democratic Party under the chairmanship of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, many attested to the viability of the advisory organ of the party in power. The sense of duty and mutual respect between him and the former president brought considerable respect to the PDP BoT. But the maverick politician resigned from the position when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made an attempt to probe his role as chief executive of Nasarawa State in a rare demonstration of accountability.
As leaders of thought in Nasarawa West senatorial district shopped for a worthy representative ahead of the 2011 general election, they found a better choice in Adamu, whom they prevailed on to volunteer his experience and lead them. Though the then governor, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, whom Adamu had helped to emerge as governor, tried unsuccessfully to use the party machinery against him, the race was a done deal as massive support accrued to Adamu from the people of the district. Adamu served in the seventh National Assembly, playing very strategic roles in the maturing senate and acting as an unseen hand in the stability of the legislature. He led the bloc of former governors who formed a huge size of the senate.
When crisis erupted in the PDP in 2013 due to what he described as “the unbridled ambition of those within the corridors of power and a politics of selfishness and grandstanding,” Adamu joined other aggrieved party chieftains to defect to the All Progressives Congress alongside five serving governors and more than 20 of the 62 PDP senators. This defection was one of the major factors behind PDP’s defeat at the last general elections.
Adamu said he made frantic effort to salvage the situation in the PDP, including meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan, but to no avail. The entry of Adamu into the formative processes of the now ruling APC added to the credibility of the new party and helped it to garner a great deal of public goodwill.
“With leaders like Senator Abdullahi Adamu joining APC with his years of experience and political capital, the issue of APC taking power across board in the coming election is clear. It is clearly to our advantage that such people of known sagacity would embrace the change we seek,” Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura said of the famous defection in November 2013. The people of Nasarawa West returned their leader to the red chamber during the last general election in a smooth process that saw the opposition candidate, Aliyu Wadada of PDP, graciously conceding defeat. Adamu saw “another opportunity to further improve the lot of my people and the generality of Nigerians.”
Adamu is the senate committee chairman on agriculture in an era when the nation seeks a return to the land as a result of dwindling crude oil revenue. He is a leader worthy of emulation. Nigerians wish him Allah’s continuous blessings.
