Leadership at any level is not a one size fits all kind of deal. At every point in Nigeria’s history, and in the different arms of government, we need different kinds of leaders. In legislating particularly, only those who truly understand the concept of governance know that in this new dispensation, it takes a certain persona, practicality, training and experience to be a good legislator and create far-reaching policies that can indeed renew Nigerians’ hope. One look at Senator Jibrin Barau’s (CON) trajectory over the years is enough proof that he is a legislator like no other, a master at the art of legislating the bedrock of true and fair governance.
At Nigeria’s national level, after our hurdles as a country, this is not a time for teething inexperienced hands to pilot the legislative, it is the time for masters to join hands with the new government to fulfil the country’s collective dream.
Senator Barau, for many years, has been no teething legislator, some may rightly say he has spent the last couple of decades grooming himself for the job of the Deputy Senate President of the 10th National Assembly being inaugurated today.
The Kano-born Nigerian politician who has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and in the Senate since 2015 is a practical lawmaker with his eyes on the prize, a quality lacking in many leaders.
A bachelor’s degree in accounting holder, and master’s certificate in Financial Management and pricing, Master’s certificate in Management and Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Senator Jibrin also holds a certificate in Financial Management for business decisions from Cornell University, United States.
With several flourishing businesses with vast interests in the manufacturing, insurance and construction sectors of the Nigerian economy, his success in the private sector prepared him adequately to begin a process of championing the cause of his people through the instrumentality of politics.
In a past interview, he shared his deep understanding of the duties of the legislature, proof that he is a round peg in a round hole. He had said, “Legislature is a distinct arm of government that doesn’t work based on sentiments, it works on your ability to get the job done.”
His assertion is proof of his knowledge of his duties in the 10th Senate, his practical understanding of what it means for the Nigerian Senate to succeed and a glimpse into the kind of far-reaching policies and bills that the Senate will pass into law under his watchful eyes.
After all, real revolution is about the need to re-evolve political, economic and social justice and power back into the hands of the people through reasonable legislation and policies. It is easy enough to give rousing speeches or call for legislation that cannot be passed, but only a practical and experienced legislator would understand this delicate balance.
It would be remembered that since Barau’s passion for his people motivated him to contest election in 1999, he has not looked back and has gathered experience from all over.
A one-time Commissioner of Science and Technology in Kano State, while in the House of Representatives, he served as the Chairman, the House Committee on Appropriations. He was also a member of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Power during the same time.
In later years, he served as the Chairman of the Kano State Investment and Properties Ltd, owned by the Kano State Government. In 2001, he was appointed to serve as a member of a committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to review Nigeria’s Budgetary process, and in 2009, he was appointed by the Kano State Government as a member of the Kano State Business Incentive Committee.
Upon his return to electoral contest in 2015, Senator Barau contested and won the election to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Kano North Senatorial District under the platform of All Progressives Congress. He was appointed same year as the Vice – Chairman Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) of the Senate and subsequently became the Chairman of the same Committee.
In the later part of 2016, he was reassigned to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETfund as the Chairman of the Committee. He is also a member of the Committee on Niger Delta, Industries, Land Transportation and Appropriations.
On October 3, 2019; he sponsored a bill for the creation of the Federal Polytechnic, Kabo, Kano State.
America’s 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson once said that “You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.” This is why a knowledgeable and fully actualised legislature in any society remains the key to effective governance, the kind that Senator Barau is certain to bring about as Deputy Senate President.
Seun OLOKETUYI
Executive Producer of Best of NOLLYWOOD Awards
