FOOTPRINTS OF THE GEM OF IMPACTFUL AND SELFLESS LEADERSHIP: Celebrating Rt. Hon.Yusuf Buba Yakub @ 52yearsa
Exactly today fifty- two years ago in cosmopolitan Kaduna, little Yusuf Buba Yakub was born to the family of Capt. Buba.
Life began for the young Buba after completing his Primary School education at the Army Children’ s School,New Cantonment “A”,Kaduna, in 1979.From Kaduna, he had proceeded to Maiha,a sprawling,bubbly town of those days in his native Gongola State ,which was considered quite conducive to the kind of education that was expected to leave very lasting impressions on such young and impressionable minds as young Yusuf’s.
At the Government Secondary School,Maiha,then Gongola State,young Yusuf had the very first knowledge and taste of what home ,as distinct from the Kaduna of those days that very much appeared like a mini Nigeria, was all about .More importantly,Yusuf was able to apply discreetly his ” city” wisdom to deal freely with students,some of who had come to Maiha from all parts of the country and as far as from the neighbouring Cameroon,to acquire good education and the necessary finesse needed to function in and to deal with the challenges of a richly endowed emerging great Nigerian nation of the 70s.
Perhaps,it may be right to suggest that it was from Maiha,given the diverse backgrounds of those that dwelt in it in those days and the realities that sprouted from that cosmopolitanism,that the young Yusuf cut his leadership teeth and his quick knack for problem- solving. For,in that academic environment,he had come face- to-face early in his quite maliable mind with the challenging realities of staying alone,making critical decisions for himself and,indeed, for many others, who had found in him a rallying figure of sorts in many matters of life. All of these,generally speaking,had obviously helped in no small measure in teaching the very independent- minded youth the lessons he needed to horn his leadership skills in a place that was an admixture of boys and girls from everywhere around, including the faraway cities of Kaduna,Jos,Kano,Maiduguri as well as the surrounding Adamawa communities and villages.
Rt. Hon. Buba remembers those days as exciting. This is largely because,for the very first time ,he says ,he was able to dwell among his people and made friends with those from communities near his own . With those relationships came such strong bonds of friendship that glued future socio- political ties,a greater number of which have endured to this very day. He informs that it was such excitement and the deep- seated zeal to explore deeper the very psychosocial make-up of his people that further informed his choice to stay back upon graduation from Maiha in order to enroll into the College of Preliminary Studies in Yola. From there, young Yusuf would further move to the College of Legal Studies in pursuit of a Diploma in Law. At the end of that academic stint, however, he decided to further move northwards to Bauchi for an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration and Management at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University.
Already fully prepared for some kind of independence from parents and other kith and kin at a time most of his age mates were still learning to master the contours of their immediate environment,young Yusuf launched himself into many personal ventures and enterprises that would eventually set him apart as a man of dreams,action and resilience.He was restless to win in all fields that took his fancy and dogged in the pursuit of his vision and convictions.
He plunged headlong into business,farming, catering,commodity trading, writing,politics and into just anything from which he thought he could raise a financial empire that would enable him live his dreams of the kind of life he had seen in Kaduna and the many places those engagements had made him visit.Life seemed so good and largely promising. He lived large and happy and was, obviously,headed for a great rendeavous in life when, suddenly,the beat went down and the great empire he had envisioned came crashing before his very eyes like a pack of cards! The entire scenario was such a pitiable fall that had left,almost perpetually,a bitter taste in the mouth and lessons that would also endure to this very day.
The welcoming arms of Abuja,the Federal Capital Territory,became the only succour for the young and forlorn Yusuf,who had sought an exhilarating escape from his woes and everything that reminded of his painful loss. He had received such a great humbling from the realities of his past experience as an investor. Now he had learnt from his mistakes and needed to move on with his life in a place that was for him a virgin and promising land. He was prepared to do all it would take to bounce back to reckoning as a ” big boy”. He had enrolled for a degree in Political Science at the University of Abuja while driving his desire to be a Real Estate Developer in the city.
As if taking a cue,one after another, everything had suddenly begun to fall into place,albeit,much sooner than he had really expected. Rewards for every little effort came fast and in good measures. Soon,he was on the way to recovering all the years that the locusts had eaten. Again, bountiful harvests from years of loss and real hard work were beginning to pour in torrential speed. It was time to live real life again,but this time he was better armed with the benefits of experience.
The Years of Public Service.
Through a twist of faith and some act of providence,Abuja had suddenly become a promised land for the young man who ,more or less,had fled his home in a tat of despair.There was no gainsaying the fact that the Federal Capital City was the place of his settlement and he had seen that in all he did again and again. His eventual meeting with one of the promoters of his destiny in Abuja was,finally,all that he needed to consolidate his stay in the city.Buba was appointed an Aide to Alh. Dahiru Bobo,the then Director General, National Boundaries Commission. It was this appointment that took him to all parts of the country and beyond in assignments aimed at determining boundaries between States,resolving disputes and securing national territories with contiguous nations around Nigeria. But,more importantly,it was the job at the National Boundaries Commission that had exposed Hon. Buba to the workings and rudiments of the civil service environment ,while setting him up for the years ahead in his eventual foray into public service.
Armed with several professional certificates, including a B.Sc in Political Science from the University of Abuja,Hon. Buba also relaunched himself into the politics of the FCT. With very huge financial capacities, he began to sponsor and mentor upcoming politicians who,in turn,held him in high esteem as a leader that was selfless, unassuming, humble and,above all, generous. As his influence grew, he received invitation regularly for business and political meetings from very important personalities in Government,in the military and from the original indigenes of Abuja,whose ears had been filled with the tales of Buba’ s generosity and honest dealings by their youth who prospected for land across the city.
Consequent upon his outstanding political credentials in the FCT, especially,with the amount of development he had midwived in the area at the time,Hon. Buba was at this time constantly inundated with the request to present himself for an elective office in the FCT. He would always,humbly,express gratitude to those who believed he would make a good lawmaker,but insisted that he must not be an elected representative to do the many things he was doing in the FCT and for its indigenes at the time. Many honours, recognitions and accolades came at this time and continued to build the social capital of the emerging national leader.
It was at this time that some well- known national progressives had approached Hon. Buba to join them to form a progressive political platform that they hoped would help them take away the stifling grip of the ruling People’s Democratic Party from the neck of the nation. That movement saw the birth of the Advanced Congress of Democrats ( ACD), led by the former National Secretary of the erstwhile Social Democratic Party( SDP),Engr. Chief Alexis Anielo of blessed memory. In spite of being , obviously,the youngest among the founders of the Party , Hon. Buba was trusted with the coffers of the Party when he was appointed the first National Treasurer of the Party from where he would rise in the years ahead to become the Party’s well- respected National Chairman and Leader with very towering influence among the few political parties of those days.
Political Offices Held Across the Years.
It is important at this point,for want of space,to peer through the many political positions Hon. Buba has held in the preparation for tomorrow’ s leadership.
These include:
- Local Government Treasurer, Social Democratic Party ( SDP),Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa State,1992-1993;
- State Organising Secretary,United Nigeria Congress Party( UNCP), Adamawa State,1996-1998;
- Agent of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo at the Jos Presidential Convention,1999;
- National Treasurer, Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD),2005-2006;
- Member ,National Exco, Action Congress ( AC),2006-2008;
- Caucus Member,All Progressives Congress ( APC), Adamawa State, 2014;
- Member, House of Representatives,2015- 2019;
- Chairman,House Committee on Nigeria- China Relations,2016- 2019;
- Member,National Executive Committee ( NEC),All Progressives Congress ( APC),2016 – Date;
- Chairman,Ad Hoc Committee on Dapchi School Girls Kidnap,2017;
- Re-elected Member,House of Representatives,2019- 2023;
- Chairman,House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee to Determine Why the Eastern Ports are Not Being Put to Maximal Use,2019;
- Chairman,House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs,2020- date Business and Other Extra- curricular Activities
- Chairman,Yuby Farms,2005- 2015;
- President,Yuby Fish Village Cooperative Society,2010-2015;
- Member,Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria,Abuja.
- Founder, Captain Buba Foundation,2014- date ,among many other positions.
- Welding and Metal Works;
- Hair Dressing, Barbing and Tailoring; *Hat and Bead- making,Soap and Detergent- making and Tye and dye;
- Computer Appreciation, Graphics and Design
- Baking and Confectionery and in other areas of skills acquisition and development.
