It was the great Indian political leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who once said that leadership is not about flexing muscles, but about getting along with people.
The Jasawa Community in Jos seemed to have realised this, hence decided to recognise leaders that have not only been getting along with them but whom they have been getting along with in their developmental strides.
The Jasawa community, which comprises mainly the Hausa-Fulani communities in the old Jos, decided to reward those that have identified with it in its moments of harvest, as well as its difficult moments over the years.
The community has come a long way as an entity in the struggle for the betterment of its peoples, and has been resilient and dogged to causes that would improve the lots of its citizens. It has, over the years, contributed immensely to the development of Plateau State, through trade and commerce, farming and various empowerment programmes.
That it is now going the extra mile to honour those that stood by it over the years and contributed in uplifting the standard of living of its inhabitants, comes as a testimonial to those to be honoured, marking them out for their worthiness, compassion, sincerity and belief in advancing the course of humanity.
This year’s annual merit award of the Jasawa Community Development Association, held today, Sunday, May 11, 2025, honoured five illustrious and outstanding personalities.
They are Professor Sheikh Khalid Aliyu, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, CON, Alhaji Murtala Ahmadu Laushi, Alhaji Hassan Sallau Natija and Alhaji Salis Umar Danzaki.
It is meant to be a celebration of excellence, dedication, and selfless service to deserving personalities with friends and family, as well as members of the entire community.
Though from Wase local government area in Plateau South senatorial zone, it is instructive that the Jasawa community decided to go beyond their immediate environment to honour the immediate past deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase.
Many commentators have described the development as a loud testament to how the former deputy speaker has been impacting positively in the lives of even those who are not within his own constituency.
A commentator, Garba Sarki, who lives in Jos, said this shows not just the benevolence of the immediate past deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, but that he is also a cosmopolitan person.
He said: “While other politicians would do projects or assist only those within the voting constituency with the expectation that the gesture would be reciprocated when it’s time for elections, the award of merit by the Jasawa community to Hon. Wase shows that he is not that type of politician but one who is genuine in advancing the course of humanity.”
Many would agree with this position because it was through Wase’s intervention that hundreds of rural roads, water schemes and electrification projects, classrooms, empowerment and solar streetlight projects in several parts of the country came to be.
In his capacity as the deputy speaker of the 9th Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase sponsored several bills targeted at improving Healthcare Access for different zones of the country, and championed the establishment of Orthopaedic Hospitals in each of the Six Geopolitical Zones by amending the Act to create 3 additional Orthopaedic Hospitals that previously had none, viz—Edo (South South), Jos (North Central) and Jalingo (North East).
It was through these that the Federal Medical Centre at Wase and the Orthopaedic Hospital Jos, Plateau State were established.
As chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Federal Character, he fought consistently to bridge the disparity and imbalances between various states and regions in terms of employment and infrastructure distribution, in order to bring them in line with the constitutional requirement of federal character.
Many agree that Wase is deserving of this and many more recognitions as he has demonstrated that the effect of good governance and quality representation can be felt everywhere.
~ Danladi Ibrahim wrote from Lokogoma, Abuja.
