Six Decades: All Set for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s Birthday

Six Decades: All Set for Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s Birthday

With Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s 60th birthday some days away, it flashes upon the vigilant mind that he has a most interesting and engaging dossier.

Born on February 5, 1960, the man who is currently the governor of Kwara State is a progeny of Abdulganiyu F. Abdulrazaq (SAN), another great man who is prestigious for his station as the first lawyer from northern Nigeria. A Muslim, the governor is descended from the natives of the Oyo Kingdom – the part that is now Ilorin West local government, to be exact. Notwithstanding, Governor Abdulrazaq is a fluent speaker of English and Hausa along with his indigenous Yoruba tongue.

Oscillating between Kaduna and Ilorin, Abdulrazaq was educated at the primary and secondary levels; so he is home-trained through and through. As to tertiary education, his virtuosity in business and entrepreneurship remains a clear proof that he could have done well enough without it, and he has. Thus, he has only drunk from cisterns of management and administration, without the experience and bore that protracted education never fails to supply.

At an early age, the young Abdulrazaq already set his eyes on empire-building ventures and enterprises. That vision did not desert him, as he came into his own while carving his initials on the petroleum industry as a spirited oil mogul. In fact, at 31, he had founded Nigeria’s first indigenous oil and gas trading companies, NOPA Oil Services, as well as First Fuels, the first indigenous company to lift crude oil and petroleum products to the United States, Europe, and Asia.

With politics, Abdulrazaq’s fighting spirit saw him take gubernatorial loss after gubernatorial loss from 1999 until 2019 (when he eventually won the hearts of the Kwara people). A good 20 years in the making, his government is already making enough waves to fill up the history books. From scholarship grants, capital, and venture empowerment, to sportsmanship and tournament patronage, he is a darling to his people.
At 60, all is set to see Governor Abdulrazaq honoured and celebrated for his leadership, industry, humanitarianism, and philanthropy.

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