The new deputy governor of Bauchi State, Audu Sule Katagum, was sworn in at the beginning of July thereby bringing a fresh start and unity into the executive branch of government in the state which had operated for more than one month without a deputy governor.
Katagum, who was the immediate past Chief of Staff to Governor Mohammed Abubakar, replaced Nuhu Gidado after the latter submitted his resignation letter on May 24, 2018.
Gidado, in the letter, explained that his decision was based on his commitment to serve for only a single term as deputy governor of the state, pointing out that, “Ordinarily, I should have remained up to the end of the tenure, but with the currently dampened spirit and waning zeal as regards my official engagements, my continued stay will not be fair and truthful to you as my brother and leader.”
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He believes that staying on in office beyond the time he opted out would have been unfair to the system and his conscience, just as he further reminded the governor that during their meeting on April 19th, he had informed him that he was thinking about stepping aside and then thanked the governor and the people of the state for the opportunity to serve as deputy governor.
Born on the 5th of October, 1958, is one of the children of the late Waziri of Jama’are in Bauchi State who died recently. Coming from a humble and yet royal background, Gidado has had his career finely sculptured by the best of institutions, especially the famous and prestigious Barewa College, Zaria, where he obtained his ordinary level certificate, and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated with a degree in Building Engineering. He holds the prestigious traditional titles of the Sardauna of Jama’are in Bauchi State and Olotu Aare of Laje land in Ondo State.
Like the late premier of the erstwhile Northern Region of Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and particularly his self-acknowledged role model, the late renowned nationalist, Dr Ibrahim Tahir (Talban Bauchi), Nuhu Gidado is an embodiment of altruism as he lives a modest life style to the extent that he is seen as someone who sacrifices everything for the less privileged.
He is considered as a silent but gallant fighter, a leader of a movement that is out to institute social justice, empowerment of his people, a beacon of hope for the hopeless, a shining light for the masses and finally, a true player in the fight for a new Nigeria.
A humanist, Gidado has helped several needy pupils. Although he started his philanthropic works informally, he has since established a not-for-profit organisation called the ‘Nuhu Gidado Organisation’ which has formally taken on the social services he was rendering to the society.
The people of his home state, Bauchi, having discovered his very compassionate nature and his philanthropy, were quick to nickname him “Zuciyar Talakawa” which in Hausa, means the ‘heart of the masses’ and, surely, they call on him at all times.
His home is always a beehive of activities where all throng to seek succour. It was not by sheer coincidence, therefore, when in 2011, Gidado heeded the calls of his follower and contested for the governorship of his state under the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); but it was not to be. With the formation of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he made another shot at the governorship but lost to the incumbent at the party primaries; and based on principles, he was picked as the running mate. It is believed that his popularity and influence contributed to the success of the party at the polls.
Gidado, like late Garba Gadi before him, also fell out of the political tunes that his principal, Governor Mohammed Abubakar, was dancing to leading to the chasm that developed between the two men.
Indeed, before the shocking resignation, it had become almost a whisper in the political circles of the state that Gidado was not going to run with Mohammed Abubakar in 2019.
Reliable sources in government circles had even revealed that the former chief of staff now deputy governor had been pencilled down long ago by the governor to run with him as his running mate when it became glaring that Gidado was having an irreconcilable political differences with his principal.
The exit of Gidado has inevitably opened the window of opportunity to Katagum Emirate also from the Northern Senatorial district of the state to position itself strongly for the governorship seat possibly in 2023, if Mohammed Abubakar succeeds in his re-election quest come 2019.
The governor picked Katagum because the zone had been agitating for it, coupled with the fact that there is an intense political rivalry between Katagum and the Jama’are Emirates where the ex-deputy governor came from. That was why Katagum zone had not been giving the government the needed support because they said they were marginalised despite their numerical strength.
During the swearing-in ceremony of Katagum as the new deputy governor held at the multi-purpose Sports Hall in Bauchi, Governor Abubakar urged him to adhere to his oath of office and allegiance in the discharge of his duties.
Speaking after the oath, Katagum promised to support the administration to deliver dividends of democracy to people of the state and work assiduously towards the re-election of Governor Abubakar for the second term in 2019 in order to enable him finish the good work started by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration in 2015.
Political analysts now watch whether or not the change would impact positively on the forthcoming governorship election in the state due to the fact that the governor had in the recent past been faced with sharp opposition from stakeholders led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
Reacting to the development, a member of the State House of Assembly representing Dass constituency, Maryam Garba Bagel, said that, “the resignation did not come to me as a surprise. I expect more people with remaining consciousness in this government to do likewise. If you parade yourself as someone who has the development of Bauchi state and the comfort and goodwill of her people at heart, then believe me, you will not be able to tolerate the direction this government has taken from day one,”
One of the 2019 gubernatorial aspirants under the ruling APC in the state, Muhammed Bala Jibrin, who served as a commissioner in the administration of Isa Yuguda said: “Even though I know nothing about the inner workings of the government of Bauchi State under Governor Mohammed Abubakar, the resignation came not as a surprise to me. When we said he was running the system on a trial and error mode, we knew exactly why we said so.”
In his own reaction to the development, Professor Abubakar Sani Malami, who is aspiring for the governorship seat, described it as an “open secret following the not-too-good relationship between the duo since the inception of the APC led administration in 2015”.
The aspirant, who also served in the Isa Yuguda administration, said, “My reaction would be that it is an open secret that the relationship between Nuhu Gidado and his principal has been sour. In the first instance, it had been a marriage of strange bedfellows.”
While also reacting to the development, another former commissioner in the Isa Yuguda led administration, Garba Dahiru, who is aspiring for the Bauchi South Senatorial seat under the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that, “As for him, (Nuhu Gidado), it is the best decision taking the variables together.”
As for social critic, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, who was the Secretary of Transition Committee of the APC in 2015, the development was surprising because, according to him, “even the vine missed this. The duo (Governor Abubakar and former Deputy) seemed to be moving on well; so one would wonder what went wrong; more so when both sides haven’t expressed the source of displeasure.”
While expressing dismay over the development, Aliyu Tilde who himself has defected to the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) from the APC, said that he was not happy over the development, but wished the governor and his former deputy the best in their political endeavours.
What political watchers in the state are waiting to see now is whether Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar will be able to repeat the feat achieved by his two predecessors by winning a second term in office despite considering the many opposition against his aspiration within and without.
and then