By Adamu Muhd Usman
“The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand: The angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.” — George Eliot
Time flies, positions change, money disappears, beauty fades, power shifts, events pass, empires fall or collapse, memories are forgotten, history is distorted, and people die. With the issue at stake, I will link my above terminologies to the great Sir Winston Churchill during the aftermath of the Second World War, when he witnessed the fall of Hitler’s Third Reich. In his usual rhetorical style, referring to the gallantry of pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain, he said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,” meaning the entire British Empire and its people owed their victory and survival to the few British pilots who fiercely fought to stop the dreaded invasion of England by the Nazis.
What is in place now, especially in today’s Nigeria, is not only far from this, but truly the opposite, directly due to the actual and serious dearth of faithful, honest, committed, courageous, selfless, prudent, sincere, generous, dedicated, and servant leadership on the part of the leaders. The North, the entire nation, and even the African subregions are held to ransom and find themselves engulfed in an unending spiral of geo-socio, educational, economic, and political turmoil.
As everyone knows who Sule Lamido was and is, we haven’t thought to search for his replacement or the one to inherit him. Heredity doesn’t limit itself only to material things like wealth, assets, or power; heredity also encompasses knowledge, attitudes, and ideology.
Sule Lamido was a merchant since the early ’70s, during which he traveled the nooks and crannies of southern Nigeria. He was a unionist, a parliamentary representative (NASS/Rep), in late 70s. A civil servant in the ’80s, a political party leader, a diplomat in the late 1990s, and an executive governor in 2007.
Lamido’s record as a politician, minister, and governor of Jigawa cannot go unnoticed for generations to come, even to the most undiscerning and least politically inclined among us. The giant strides achieved in education development, healthcare delivery, agricultural programs, potable water supply, societal orientation and reorientation, civil servant and pension matters, youth and women empowerment, rejuvenation of commerce, information technology, rural and urban development, political stability, mutual understanding, unity of purpose, farmers/herdsmen conflict resolutions, and road constructions are commendable. Perhaps one of Lamido’s biggest achievements as Jigawa governor is his human development and social security programs, including the Talakawa Summit and Jigawa Summit on Investment.
Lamido has spent the greater or most part of his life defending and working for a free society.
One thing remains obvious about this genuine politician and great leader today: his character, competence, capability and quality of being brave, courageous, and wise in determining a better future, people’s well-being, selfless service to humanity, and making a world of difference to hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
Lamido’s noble, fruitful, and wise ideas of struggle and the actualization of true democracy, especially in the Fourth Republic, during the SDP era when he was the national secretary of the party that gave birth to the success of the late Chief MKO Abiola as Nigeria’s freest, fairest, most peaceful and credible elected democratic president, and in the Fifth Republic in 1998/9, where he was among the nine founding members and the last man standing in the corridors of politics and still in the PDP, are remarkable.
Sule Lamido is alive, vibrant, visible, and very active in politics and the PDP despite all odds.
Sule Lamido has been in the corridors of Nigerian politics for over four decades. He has never been accused of bigotry, nepotism, tribal, religious, regional, or sectional sentiments.
Lamido has witnessed political witch-hunts, intimidation, victimization, humiliation, deprivation, and oppression in the process of bringing back democracy and its values. He was jailed several times, especially during the PRP and the military junta, because of his struggles for politics, liberation of the downtrodden and true democratic rule.
Lamido will always be remembered for the struggles he underwent, the hardships he encountered, the contributions he offered, the sacrifices he made, the institutions he built, and the achievements he made as a human being and as a politician who believed in representative democracy. Sule Lamido is a true and authentic Nigerian democrat, a reliable and consistent Nigerian politician, and a father of present Nigerian politics. He was a parliamentary/legislator (Rep) diplomat (Minister) and executive (Governor)
Sule Lamido always speaks his mind, and his stance on national and even international issues always aligns with the interests of the common man. He never succumbs to sentiments. He is not a fair-weather politician, and he is firmly rooted in the principles of progressive politics. Equally important is that he brings his rich personal experience to bear in all he does.
The gossip, the political analysts, and the entire populace are overwhelmingly convinced that the political gladiators in the region and across the board cannot produce a match for Sule Lamido, let alone surpass his credentials and achievements. This is certainly so because Lamido is the most experienced politician in the region, if not in the country. Without mincing words, this is by virtue of the roles he played in various political parties as a career politician from years past to his present stage, followed by his working experience in government circles. And don’t forget that his political association with political heavyweights across the globe is his political asset that cannot be matched, at least by any person in the region now and possibly in decades to come. Based on political, democratic and governance values and experiences, character, capacity and competency Dr. Sule Lamido (CON) is the type Nigeria needs.
With all it takes on the ground, the question now remains: Who will replace Lamido? This is a vital and hot question that needs to be attempted, if not fully answered, to fill that gap among the politicians, political leaders, democratic settings in Nigeria, elites, northern elders, Jigawa citizens, and most of all, in the Sule Lamido Political Dynasty (SLPD), the Hurriyya family.
It is an open character about Sule Lamido that he is humane, a teacher, a mentor, radical, courageous, politician, democrat, a leader, and a father. He is a bridge-builder and a nationalist.
Who will be in Sule Lamido’s shoes must be someone who is humane, acceptable, presentable, and capable of accepting, holding, and managing humanity, especially the Hurriyya family, and who will represent Jigawa people at all levels of humanitarian, official, and political engagements in line with present societal and global realities.
The person to replace Sule Lamido must be able to live and serve people irrespective of tribe, clan, region (section), religion, or political affiliations.
He must believe in and stand for his people. He must speak for the people, project and protect their well-being and aspirations, and above all, provide genuine selfless servant-leadership guided by the fear of God, needed to take Jigawa to the next level, not guided by selfishness, arrogance, pride, anger, and hostility driven by antagonists, praise-singers, or narrow-minded tendencies of vendetta.
History is always the best judge of men and events. Like a looking glass, it shows everyone his or her time image. No matter how it is manipulated to suit a particular person, thing, or purpose, the mirror will always reflect the image that comes before it.
Still, the question remains or the struggle is ongoing: In search of the next Sule Lamido or In search of another Sule Lamido.”
If it is not Sule Lamido, it is not Sule Lamido.
Adamu writes from Kafin-Hausa, Jigawa State.
