October 1 every year is a special day for Nigerians, for it marks the country’s independence anniversary. It is a double celebration for the Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., whose birthday falls on the same day.
While Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960, the Speaker was born on October 1, 1965. Nobody could have guessed at his birth that he would become a national figure, the Number 4 Citizen in his fatherland, almost six decades later. It was a long walk.
Until he threw his hat in the ring to contest for Speaker last year, many Nigerians knew little or nothing about him. Well, that’s Speaker Abbas Tajudeen for you! He had maintained a low profile almost throughout his 12 years in the House since his first arrival in 2011. He is the first and only person to be re-elected for the Reps seat for Zaria Federal Constituency. He has held the mandate in four electoral cycles since his entry into politics.
My first one-on-one encounter with him was in March, 2018 when, as a parliamentary reporter covering the activities of the House for the Daily Trust Newspaper, I came across a bill he had sponsored. It was a draft legislation that sought the conversion of Kaduna Polytechnic—my alma mater and one of Nigeria’s first-generation polytechnics—to a federal university of technology.
As a parliamentary reporter, I picked interest in the bill. So, I approached him to shed more light on the draft, and he obliged. That encounter actually confirmed to me what I had heard about him—calm, calculated, intellectually deep. I saw a man who fits the description of someone ‘minding their business.’ He had sponsored many bills prior to that moment, but he never made any ‘noise’ about them. I wondered why a man of his intellectual depth with such a discerning mind kept to himself in the legislature, where cacophony was the order of the day among some lawmakers.
Thereafter, we met intermittently and greeted, sometimes on his way to the chamber. I also visited his office a few times. What struck me was after my appointment as the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the 9th House and now Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, in 2019. Unlike other lawmakers that always came around to see the Speaker for one reason or another, I never sighted Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen around the former Speaker. I knew he was in the House as a member, but he never bothered to frequent the Speaker’s office or residence.
Fast-forward to May 2024. I met him during the speakership campaign before his endorsement by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its preferred candidate for the Number 4 Citizen’s seat. He was to appear on a TV programme, and we had a brief chat before his appearance.
After his emergence on June 13, 2023, his first set of appointments was myself as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity and Dr. Jerry Uhou as his Special Adviser on Policy and Research. My new role in the Speaker’s Office brought me closer to Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., a prince of the Zazzau Emirate who holds the traditional title of the Iyan Zazzau.
What I have come to realize is that I actually knew nothing about the intellectual depth of the speaker. Here is a man who started his career as a primary school teacher between 1981 and 1988 with the Education Department of Zaria Local Government. He was not a fortuitous teacher. He was at the Katsina Teacher’s College from 1978 to 1981 and gained admission to the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, in 1982, and obtained a Diploma in Accounting in 1984. He later bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the same ABU in 1988.
His quest for knowledge saw him obtain a Master’s Degree in Business Administration yet again from ABU in 1993. His Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is in Business Management from the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, in 2010.
Not many know that Speaker Abbas Tajudeen served as a clerical officer with the Kaduna Cooperative Bank Limited from 1984 to 1985 and as an investment officer with the Trust Acceptance Limited between 1988 and 1989. He was also Accountant II with the Bursary Department of the Kaduna State Polytechnic (now Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic), Zaria, in 1989, and later became Lecturer II with the Accounting and Finance Department of the same institution and was the founding Head of Department. He became the youngest lecturer to join the services of the institution at the time.
Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILTS); Fellow, Chartered Institute of Marketers; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Administrators; Fellow, Chartered Institute of Treasury Management; Associate Member, Chartered Institute of Cost & Management Accountants of Nigeria; Associate Members, Chartered Institute of Management.
Two things happened recently, which partly necessitated my choice of the title for this piece. Speaker Abbas Tajudeen was the pioneer head of the department of accounting at the Kaduna State University (KASU) in 2005. The institution is about to hold one of its annual international conferences next month. One of the lecturers contacted me and said they wanted the speaker to be their guest of honour. They also plan to give the speaker an award. When I told him the Speaker had worked at the institution about two decades ago and even started the accounting department, he marveled.
The second incident was on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. Some students of KASU’s Department of Political Science visited the National Assembly on an excursion. They decided to visit the Speaker at his office to seek his fatherly advice and present him with an award. As the anchor, I was taken aback that the students did not know the speaker had worked at the institution.
But the above are not the only reasons for my choice of the title. When Speaker Abbas Tajudeen sponsored a record-breaking 74 bills in the 9th Assembly, out of which 21 were signed into law by former president Muhammadu Buhari, it seemed nobody knew about it until the time for the speakership campaign. Just like many Nigerians, I also struggled to fathom why he didn’t make media buzz about such unprecedented achievements. Working with him for just a year plus, I have come to the realization that he is not only shy, but he doesn’t also like attention to himself. He is such a private person.
On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, the Speaker had an interaction with the cohorts of the 3rd Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI), which Gbajabiamila founded in 2022. A cohort from Ogun State asked the Speaker about his personal values and how they align with his constituents. His response held everyone spellbound and confirmed that he really not one to sing personal praises.
“Well,” he said, “I don’t know; I’m somebody who doesn’t like speaking about himself. I always prefer people should say who you are, rather than you telling people who you are. But we are politicians. Sometimes, we need to go out of the way just to convince the doubting Thomases, who do not know you abd may want to know you. The personal values I cherish most, my dear sisters and brothers, are nothing other than truth and transparency. And that is what I think, largely, is holding our 10th House today. The House believes that I am transparent to a greater extent; I am honest to them; I am open to them. It is the same thing that within the last 13 and a half years I have been giving to my constituents.”
Also working with him, I have come to know him as a compassionate, generous, and unassuming human being. Generosity runs in his blood. No wonder, he earned a Hausa sobriquet in Zaria, and the entire Zazzau Emirate: Iyan Zazzau Alheri Ne, which roughly translates to ‘Iyan Zazzau is a blessing.’ He is also a straightforward person. Just ask the people around him, and you’ll be shocked at what they’ll tell you.
As a teacher, he is also very attentive. You may think he doesn’t pay attention to what you’re doing, but you’re damn wrong! You’ll be dumbfounded at the details he knows about everything the people around him are doing. I feel that though he left teaching over a decade ago, he still lives by the teaching principles. He is unaccustomed to loquaciousness. He is likeable in every ramification. I remember the words of the Chief of Staff to the Speaker, Prof. Jake Dan-Azumi, during a recent meeting with him. He said, “You cannot sit in a room with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen for five minutes and not like him. He is that kind of person.”
Speaker Abbas Tajudeen can tolerate anything, but not dishonesty. In September last year, when he had a meeting with members of his media team, he reechoed this. He said to us, “Just do you work the best way you can. I have plans for everyone. But let me tell you this: I can take anything, but not dishonesty.” He lives by this principle.
He embraces everyone, including those that did not support him for speakership. Recently, I was with a member who supported him. The lawmaker told me that “I’ve never seen a politician like the Speaker. He brings everyone closer to him, even those that worked against him and openly called him names. That’s a mark of a great leader. He feels we’re all one, and that’s how it should be.”
You know what? Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., is jovial! Yes, you read that from me! I’ve never seen a jovial person like him. It is inherent in him, and it seems it is his way of easing tension occasionally. He’s also simple and humble. His simplicity and humility know no bounds.
Above all, the Speaker means well for Nigerians. He is concerned about the welfare and well-being of Nigerians. On a daily basis, you hear him talk about how to better the lives of the people. Honestly, he walks the talk. Since his assumption of office, he has engaged in and promoted many activities geared towards the betterment of the citizens.
For two years running, he has asked his friends and well-wishers not to sponsor congratulatory adverts on his birthday. Rather, he requested that such funds be channeled to charity considering the country’s prevailing situation. That’s reasonable and responsible leadership!
Being a proud teacher, he is a natural mentor that remains a role model to those of us who work with him and beyond.
In preparation for our special edition of the Speaker’s Newsletter recently, we interviewed some lawmakers, including the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu. He said some things about the speaker, which I felt compelled to share here.
He said, “He is a great man who comes with a very lovely demeanor. He comes unassuming, but highly loaded, highly intelligent, very humble, very selfless, and very liberal. And he’s a man who respects the opinion of his deputy. There are very few who are in leadership that respect the opinions of their deputies. Do you know what he told me when we emerged? He said, “My brother, you will be one of the best deputy speakers we ever had.” To tell you the truth, I’m blessed working with him. You don’t take him for granted. I pity those who look at his lovely soft nature and think that is a weakness; no, it’s not. He’s a strong, firm, and highly principled man who believes in justice and fairness. You just have to know your limits. Once you cross those limits, the other side of him will be revealed. He’s a very patient man.”
As the Speaker marks his 59th birthday, I pray for more fruitful years and sound health in service to humanity.
Krishi is the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Speaker.
