The Reality Of Senator Umar Tanko Al-Makura that I Know.
The Al-Makura, that I worked for over a decade and know very well is a system’s person who is extremely organised in character, very intelligent, meticulous, painstaking and regulations-compliant.
Ask those who know him closely more than I do, or have worked with him in the past. Ask his childhood friend and DG Campaign Organisation, Ambassador Musa Illu, ask his former deputy, Hon Silas Ali Agara, ask Ambassador Henry Omaku, ask Nasiru Tanko (his principal private secretary).
You may also ask Danazumi Mohammed (his former chief of staff), or Barr Mohammed Hassan, his former Commissioner for Justice, or Hon Hajara Danyaro, his former adviser and now member representing Nasarawa Central, at Nasarawa State House of Assembly, they know him very well.
How about Sonny Aggasi, his commissioner of environment for almost 8 years, Mohammed Atose, his SLA for four years, what of Tanimu Tancy, Alhaji Adamu and Sarkin Makada, his personal driver who continues to be in close contact with him daily? I should also know a thing or two about his work regimen too; after being associated with him for more than a decade.
The first eleven (11) set of his commissioners who organised a coloquim to mark his 70th birthday in November, 2022 and so many others too numerous to mention, you can ask them about this distinguish personality, Senator Al-Makura.
The Sarduanan Gwandara, always has his plans and itineraries, which define his local and national engagements, all pre-planned and worked out, except for emergencies and save-our-soul situations, which may precipitate adjustments.
I, won’t forget the jovial side of Al-Makura; we were in his house one of those days during campaigns early 2011 and he invited us over to a dinner table. It wasn’t a buffet, but we all had to stand in a file while people took their rations, went round and returned to their seats.
Al-Makura’s humourous nature and charisma regularly keeps people around him and that he has been doing since I know him more than a decade ago.
Not many leaders are futuristic, not many leaders have capacity to look into the future, to not only visualize a future but possess the will to pursue that vision.
Senator Umaru Tanko Al-makura is a leader who saw the tomorrow of Nasarawa State. Having realized that the state has great potentials, he ensured he laid a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the state.
Aside of his pragmatic approach to governance, entrenching accountability, transparency and prudent management of resources, Senator Al-makura, at the end of his 8-year tenure as governor, took certain key decisions many leaders in his position would never contemplate but for which Nasarawa State and its people, will live to appreciate till the end of time.
These decisions were the masterstroke of a consummate leader, whose preoccupation with the development aspirations of Nasarawa State and its people, was unparalleled. Senator Al-makura is a leader whose blood pulsates with how to move Nasarawa State forward, mostly in a bid to make up for lost time occasioned by the brazen profligacy of the immediate past.
When most leaders will look for a collaborator, a pliant stooge to plant as successor, Senator Al-makura instead, choose a successor with total independence, a successor who cannot and will not be compromised.
Senator Al-makura’s decision to pick Engineer Abdullahi Sule as his successor wasn’t a popular decision, especially that so many of his lieutenants were also warming up to takeover from him.
Not only that, Al-makura’s decision to disrupt the entrenched sharing formula between the three senatorial districts, with only the Southern and Western senatorial districts producing the governor of the state since Nasarawa State was created, didn’t go down well with critical stakeholders especially from the Nasarawa West, who regarded his exit as another opportunity to produce the next governor of the state.
Aside of his decision to break that jinx, by allowing Nasarawa North senatorial district to produce his successor, Senator Al-makura took another decision that many people failed to appreciate.
Having came onboard to challenge wastefulness in government, Senator Al-makura knew the state is continuously challenged especially with the fall in oil prices. For Senator Al-makura, it was inconceivable for a state like Nasarawa to expend its lean resources to facilitate the election of his successor.
Al-makura told those who cared to listen that he wil not use public funds to campaign for his eventual successor! While searching for his successor, he made it known that financial independence most be key deciding factor in whoever will takeover from him.
Senator Al-makura was also critical about the pedigree of his successor. He was emphatic that his successor must have the capacity and requisite experience to build on his efforts to reposition Nasarawa State. Al-makura wanted somebody who could do better than him.
These key decisions taken by Senator Al-makura, many can testify, are being justified since the emergence of His Excellency, Engineer Abdullahi Sule as the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State.
Kudos to Senator Al-makura, Nasarawa State under the leadership of Engineer Abdullahi Sule, is growing from strength to strength, with the state gradually making its mark in the political trajectory of the country.
This result is not a fluke, not accidental but the carefully executed vision of a selfless leader who has the state and its people at heart.
As a lawmaker representing Nasarawa South at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Senator Al-makura has transmuted into a national leader, whose altruistic disposition stood him out as a true progressive .
His role as a lawmaker has further endeared him to the people of his immediate constituency as he continues to build infrastructure and people, bringing much need dividends of democracy to his constituents while also, actively engaging in proffering critical decisions to move the country forward.
In conclusion, for those who may not know, Distinguish Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, was the the Governor of Nasarawa State, from 2011 to 2019 and a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from 2019 to 2023.
That is the Umar Tanko Al-Makura (Sarduanan Gwandara), you just may not know.
Salihu Abdullahi Osuko
(Garkuwan Giza)
Media Aide To Distinguished People’s Senator Umar Tanko Almakura.
