Barewa College’s Annual Dialogue and Honours Awards, By Jibrin Ibrahim

The centre of focus for your entire occasion was Common Yakubu Gowon, who had celebrated his ninetieth birthday on Saturday, 19 October…Gowon has all the time been a mannequin to check and study from due to his nice ability set in good and selfless governance. Whereas at Barewa Faculty, Common Gowon was a exceptional athlete who participated in several sporting actions together with pole vault, lengthy distance operating and was the captain of the boxing crew. He was additionally the goalkeeper of the Faculty’s soccer crew.

On Saturday, my alma mater celebrated this 12 months’s Annual Dialogue and Honours Awards. This 12 months’s theme was “Nigeria’s March to Renaissance: Classes from the Lifetime of Common Yakubu Gowon”, was nicely chosen as your entire Nation has a lot to study from his exemplary life and management. There isn’t a shock that he’s a product of such an illustrious college that has produced so many nice leaders for our nation. The college has a protracted historical past beginning in 1922 with the institution of Katsina Coaching Faculty. Since that point, the Faculty has produced my generations of leaders for Nigeria. Our affiliation, Barewa Previous Boys Affiliation (BOBA) is for all college students which have attended iterations of the school –  Katsina Coaching Faculty, Katsina Larger Faculty, Kaduna Faculty, Zaria Secondary Faculty and Authorities Faculty, Zaria. The college was renamed Barewa Faculty in 1972.

Barewa Faculty has been capable of preserve a formidable and clear college custom and tradition within the varied phases of its existence. Little question, the truth that BOBA has been in existence and energetic since 1939 is a part of the reason of this capability to keep up this tradition of excellence over time.

Barewa Faculty prides itself within the variety of males who’re achievers of their respective fields, males who gave invaluable and selfless service to the nation, particularly at its most determined moments of want. Barewa Faculty produced the primary Premier of Northern Nigeria, (B87) Sir Ahmadu Bello, the primary Prime Minister of Nigeria (145) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The one two indigenous Governors of Northern Nigeria (B73) Sir Kashim Ibrahim and (B669) Common Hassan Usman Katsina. The Faculty additionally produced 5 Heads of State and Presidents of Nigeria. (B783) Common Yakubu Gowon, (B941) Common Murtala Mohammed, (B394) Alhaji Shehu Shagari (B394) and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (B2465). It additionally produced a Sultan of Sokoto (B2612) Sultan Muhammad Saad 11 and plenty of Emirs and Chiefs.

The Chairman of the event was Professor Iya Abubakar, former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello College and sensible mathematician who grew to become a professor on the tender age of 28. He’s at the moment 92 years outdated and blessed with God’s grace, nonetheless had the power to successfully steer the actions of the day. The dialogue was set in movement by one other former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello College, Professor Ango Abdullahi, who spoke eloquently in regards to the character, expertise and dedication of Common Gowon, as his senior within the Faculty, and later as Head of State and elder Statesman.

I moderated the talk on “Nigeria’s March to Renaissance: Classes from the Lifetime of Common Yakubu Gowon”, with a wonderful panel composed of the theologian, Rev (Prof) Yusuf Obaje, the activist Dr Usman Bugaje and Lt Gen Abdulrahaman Dambazau, former Chief of Military Workers and Minister of Inside. All of them drew consideration to the competence, humility and sense of public service of the sooner generations of leaders and mentioned that renaissance is feasible provided that we will return to that sort of management. Present leaders are too corrupt and self-centred to maneuver the nation ahead.

The centre of focus for your entire occasion was Common Yakubu Gowon, who had celebrated his ninetieth birthday on Saturday, 19 October. This milestone birthday was marked with tributes and celebrations from just about all Nigerian leaders and residents indicating the deep respect and admiration for him. Gowon has all the time been a mannequin to check and study from due to his nice ability set in good and selfless governance. Whereas at Barewa Faculty, Common Gowon was a exceptional athlete who participated in several sporting actions together with pole vault, lengthy distance operating and was the captain of the boxing crew. He was additionally the goalkeeper of the Faculty’s soccer crew.

The Common joined the Nigerian Military in 1954 and obtained his fee as a second lieutenant on his twenty first birthday on the nineteenth of October 1955. He attended the celebrated Royal Army Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom (1955–56), Workers Faculty, Camberley, United Kingdom (1962) in addition to the Joint Workers Faculty, Latimer, 1965. He was a part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Drive within the Congo in 1960–61 and in 1963.

Common Gowon grew to become Nigeria’s youngest navy Chief of Workers on the age of 31 to the Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi led Army Administration.  He was a number of months later to develop into Nigeria’s youngest Head of State in circumstances he by no means envisaged. Common Gowon left a monumental governance legacy that has laid the inspiration for contemporary Nigeria.

The creation of 12 states by Common Yakubu Gowon in 1967 marked a pivotal second in Nigeria’s historical past, signalling the start of a unified nation. By dividing the 4 areas into smaller, extra manageable models, Gowon set the stage for the promotion of nationwide integration and discount of ethno-regional tensions. This daring transfer helped bridge the hole between Nigeria’s numerous backgrounds, fostering a way of shared identification and citizenship. This restructuring laid the groundwork for a extra inclusive and consultant authorities.

I imagine that Gowon’s state creation train had far-reaching penalties, reworking Nigeria’s political panorama and paving the best way for future improvement. By empowering minority teams and lowering regional dominance by hegemons, Gowon’s reforms promoted nationwide unity and stability. The brand new states enabled more practical governance, improved useful resource allocation, and enhanced illustration for marginalised communities.

Moreover, this decentralisation helped to dilute the tensions that had fuelled the civil warfare, permitting Nigeria to start rebuilding and therapeutic. As Nigeria continued to evolve, Gowon’s imaginative and prescient for a unified nation remained a guideline, shaping the nation’s progress and informing subsequent state creation workouts which have introduced the overall variety of states to 36 plus FCT at the moment. Gowon’s legacy on this regard stays a cornerstone of Nigeria’s federalism.

The restructuring of Nigerian federalism by Common Gowon had far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s political panorama. The creation of latest states helped to distribute energy extra evenly, giving voice to beforehand marginalised communities. This, in flip, contributed to the nation’s reconciliation efforts after the civil warfare.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by his Minister of Schooling, addressed the occasion declaring that he received elected on the premise of a transparent coverage framework, the Renewed Hope Agenda:

“On this framework, training has the standing of our compass with which we will proceed to navigate and smoothen our hitherto tortuous improvement path to have a Nigeria the place each citizen has unhindered alternative to understand his or her life ambition and lead a significant life that’s helpful to himself, rapid neighborhood, the nation and the worldwide neighborhood. As the sunshine of the nation, my administration is working very onerous to sharpen Nigeria’s give attention to making certain an abundance of human and materials assets for the training sector that might invariably result in improved academic outcomes in Nigeria.”

He introduced that the Ministry of Schooling has produced a Roadmap which units out a transparent pathway for revamping our academic system to make sure equitable entry to high quality training, improved studying outcomes and a strengthened system; concluding that: “We will not settle for distinctive tales of excellence in varied academic pursuits by Nigerians outdoors the nation with out seeing extra of identical inside our shores.”

A professor of Political Science and improvement guide/skilled, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Growth, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.