Engineer Nuhu Gidado probably needs a re-introduction. Why? He had taken a step back from his erstwhile political spotlight and has retired to a private life of peace and serenity; pre-occupied with spending a lot of time with his grandchildren. He was Deputy Governor of Bauchi State from 2015 to 2018, having resigned just a year before his tenure came to an end. He was Commissioner for Education while he was Deputy Governor and successfully led the education reforms that saw to a huge percentile increment in the number of students that passed their WAEC or NECO exams; a statistic where Bauchi’s ranking or position wasn’t too encouraging.
Before Nuhu’s foray into politics, he was the Chairman of Brixman, an indigenous construction firm with offices in Abuja, Bauchi and Yobe states. He was also founding Chairman of Buildings, another construction company where he operated a partnership with Engr. Habu Mamman, former Managing Director of Yankari Games Reserve in Bauchi. Before plunging into private practice, Nuhu was the Project Manager at NDIC, where he oversaw the construction of the current NDIC headquarters in the heart of Abuja’s Central Business District, just on the expressway from the Airport. Before a stint at NDIC, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Nuhu Gidado rose to become Area Engineer in Bauchi state ministry of works and housing, where he supervised so many construction projects for various governments in Bauchi, during the military regime days of the 80s and 90s. From the beginning of the 4th Republic’s years of democratic rule, he has been engaged as a private sector professional, highly utilised for developmental projects throughout the state, especially during the fantastic years of the Ahmad Adamu Muazu administration in Bauchi. Nuhu’s engineering is very detailed. Inch detailed, a perfectionist kind of detailing in his work and there’s no wonder why he is sought after. Word has it that most times after he is done with a project, he exhausts more than 70 percent of his budget in fine tuning the details and finishing of his work.
Nuhu is a very popular politician in Bauchi State, favored by the masses, who nicknamed him ‘Zuciyar Talakawa’, meaning the heartbeat of the masses. His first sojourn into the very tedious and murky waters of Bauchi politics was in 2011, during the CPC era, which was fumbled up in Bauchi, with drama and uncertainty. Nuhu could have easily won the party’s ticket at the time, except that the party just wasn’t stable back then. It gave rise to the present day APC and the rest is history. In 2015, Nuhu Gidado was Deputy Gubernatorial candidate to M A Abubakar Esq of the APC. They won convincingly and became Governor and Deputy, steering the affairs of the state, up until when Nuhu Gidado resigned due to personal reasons.
Nuhu Gidado is generous to a fault. He doesn’t say No and can give you his last penny and go to bed in peace. He is of the Ibrahim Tahir school of generosity and college of unlimited charity. He gives till he drops dead out, without a dime for the next day. He is sort of too compassionate and would hardly pass off a person in need, as soon as he finds out the situation of the needy person. At a time, all his relatives and his wives’s relatives, all lived in his 3 bedroom flat in Abuja. The house was filled to the roof and was ever ready to collect even more occupants. His accommodating wife accommodated everyone and his house is usually a beehive of people and activities. He became friends and still is; with all our friends at the University of Abuja. Students from Unibuja referred to him as Uncle Nuhu, just as we did. We were like, ‘see these guys, when did he become Uncle to them?’ He took care of everyone that he knew. He could never save for himself. He was another Talba, agonisingly, as times had changed and Talbaing wasn’t just viable anymore.
The truth is, had Nuhu Gidado not resigned and had remained in the 2019 race in Bauchi, it would have been difficult to oust the APC. He was your consummate politician who was an actual man of the people. The masses identify with him, and trust that he would take care of them and protect their interests. Now that the APC is heading for the polls, Sardaunan Talakawa is one of the assets in plain sight, that the APC needs to gear up and utilise, as a crowd mover and political power shaker. Late Talba christened him Baban Abuja, because he was our rallying point in Abuja. He practically raised us, right from our school leaving certificate days, to full adulthood and marriage life. Baban Abuja has a vital role to play come 2023 in Bauchi, for the APC. Baban Abuja is currently the Chairman Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic at Damaturu Yobe state. Its his birthday and what a time for me to celebrate him. Happy Birthday Baban Habuja. May you live long, as your fountain continues to shower the myriads of masses that look up to you as a ready succor, amen.
–Tahir is Talban Bauchi.
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