Blends of distinct chords make up life’s orchestra. Each chord comes with its own note and significance, but their essential mix gives a kind of musical harmony that lifts the human spirit. In life’s amazing symphony, the story of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, by his sweet chords and actions, gives a meaning that is both mythical and sublime. His streaks in contemporary Bauchi State and Nigeria are no less profound by whatever definition and often likened to different interpretations of an elephant by the six Hindustan blind men which show how limited human faculties can be when describing enigmas that defy rationality.
This is why he has been typecast aptly as the “The Detribalized Emancipator” who has not lost touch with home for the liberation of the downtrodden from underdevelopment, poverty and insecurity. Essentially, Dogara is both an enigma and a role model for aspiring development enthusiasts, the youths, politicians, businessmen and women.
In the public sphere, not limited to Nigeria alone, perception plays a crucial role in the way we react to issues or do things daily. The image we portray either of ourselves or the environment is therefore very important to the response we get from others within social contexts. In other words, it is imperative to portray oneself in a certain light for others to take one’s actions seriously. This is what is referred to as branding in corporate political cycles. One man who by his dance of fate and training understands the underpinning principle of being in public glare selflessly and who premises his actions towards the ideals of effective leadership and good governance is Rt. Hon. Dogara, former Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives; the voice of the people from Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa to represent them on a fast lane to greatness.
His rise to prominence is not by sudden flight. He has really crossed the Rubicon: as a lawyer/public administrator born to a humble family, he held several public responsibilities within his professional calling before venturing into politics. The man is simply a technocrat in leadership to do the needful as his contribution to the development aspirations of Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State and Nigeria.
In his calling, he has made unquenchable history by challenging a status quo that allegedly brought underdevelopment to the doorsteps of his people shamelessly as a fashion. When he made bold to confront the mess, it was a case which his opponents who were used to the recklessness considered as “dead on arrival”. But Dogara armed with his resilience and determination changed the narrative and today, Bauchi State is heading to being a safe place for investment and leisure.
So intrinsic are Dogara’s offerings. More like well-tuned harps, or the nice pitch of violins in listening ears, his strides call people’s attention to the hope they inspire in the collective psyche. His caper over Bauchi State’s sphere has left enduring cadences. The very reason he was re-elected for the fourth time by the electorates in 2019, the summation of which has been variously described as expected ‘quality governance like never before’.
The desire to be an outstanding breed, quite distinct from others, inspired his super-curiosity and love for new challenges. This undergirds his stance to always give back to the society where his roots are traceable. The desire to contribute his quota to the development of Bogoro/Dass/T/Balewa, Bauchi State and Nigeria has since become enduring covenant between him and the Almighty God.
In his 2019 Muslim Eid- el-Fitr message to the people, he averred “2019 has been a particularly exciting year for our determined effort to regain our standing in the forefront of development and remain steadfast. We are steadily moving forward with confidence in our abilities to achieve further greatness”. What an inspiring note in a leadership needy Nation!
Rt.Hon. Dogara is a selfless politician who doesn’t only take stock of the needs of the populace but also find means of putting smiles on their faces with uttermost satisfaction and praises to the Lord.
He is now widely acknowledged as a steady contributor to the socio-economic and political development of Bauchi State and struggling to find a convenient space for the state on the political map of Nigeria in such an unprecedented manner never experienced before. This is why the people are rising in larger numbers to receive him everywhere he goes with interest and such interaction affords the people an opportunity to shower praises on their illustrious son. In most of the communities he visits, the people become so excited and express their unalloyed support to have him as their senator in 2023 now that he has been adjudged an icon and garrison commander in Bauchi State politics.
His actions and deeds in government and practical unbroken connection to his root clearly describe his quality of leadership never witnessed before and little wonder even people from other climes yearned for his return to the House in 2019 and now calling for his contest to the senate in 2023.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues.
