By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo
The Farmer Governor of Niger State,His Excellency Mohammed Umaru Bago was born on 22nd February,1974.A seasoned banker and Management Expert.A distinguished Nigerian who has been living a life worthy of emulation.
He was a three -term member of Federal House of Representatives representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency between 2011-2015,2015-2019, and 2019-2023,where he made his mark.
The young Bago attended Marafa Primary School,Minna and Federal Government College,Jos.He obtained his West Africa School Certificate and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Politicial Science at Usman Danfodio University,Sokoto.
Furthermore,he has bagged several post graduate diplomas and master’s degrees, including a post graduate diploma in Management from the Federal University of Technology, Minna in 2001,a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in economics at the Ambrose Ali University,Ekpoma,in 2003,and a Masters degree in Finance at University of Calabar in 2005.Umaru Bago is also a distinguished alumnus from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.Of recent he attended a course at the Harvard University in United States.
According to Wikipedia he joined politics in 2007 but prior to that time Bago had worked with the United Bank For Africa (UBA), First City Monument Bank(FCMB) and Afri-Bank PLC.
He contested as a Gubernatorial candidate under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2023 general elections and won .Bago was sworn-in on 29th May,2023 and hits the ground running immediately with his Urban -renewal plan.The abandoned Shiroro hotel is now being converted to Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Teaching Hospital, construction of flyover in Minna Metropolis is ongoing.No more issue of paying percentage to civil servants.
He has been a Philanthropist long before becoming Governor of Niger state.For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic he distributed 11 trailer loads of rice to his constituency as a palliative.To improve the educational quality of his constituency,he bought 1000 forms of JAMBS to his people.
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago is a workaholic and a prayer warrior.If as a person you are able to combine the two then you will certainly go far in your endeavours.Because when others are sleeping in the thick of the night, you are awake.That is one of the traits of great men.Just as Henry Wadsworth L. Puts it “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept,were toiling upward in the night”.
No matter how hardworking you are as a leader you need the Almighty for guidance through prayers, that is why late Sarduna of Sokoto,Sir Ahmadu Bello prayed “In our prayers,let us beseech the Almighty God for continued and peaceful progress and for the furtherance of prosperity and happiness of the people of this land”.
His Excellency has empathy, because amid ravaging inflation Governor Bago has proved that he is not one of the “siddonlook” Governors who cannot think out of the box to address food Inflation in their states ,his prompt intervention had brought sharp drop in the prices of grains in Minna.A mudu of rice that had gone up to 2,200 is now 1,600.I have said it in my previous piece that it is never a nice time for the Governors who cannot think out of the box.
To boost agriculture, Governor Bago has procured 300 tractors and that is a demonstration of his excellency’s administration commitment to achieving food sufficiency programmes in Niger State.He said before the end of the year the state would have purchased 1000 tractors.Certainly he is a Governor with a progressive vision
Interestingly, as the Governor’s performance is illuminating beyond the shores of Niger state,the Leadership Newspaper has nominated his Excellency as one of the Leadership Newspaper Group Governors of the year 2023.The event is coming up on March 5, 2024 in Abuja.The Group Managing -Director of Leadership Newspaper Muazu Elazeh described Niger State as a work in progress in terms of urban renewal and the green economy initiative under Bago’s administration.He made the statement while on a visit to Niger State Government House.
Great men are known for empathy and generosity, and that they are also prayer warriors.As the Farmer Governor of Niger state, Mohammed Umaru Bago clocks fifty,I pray to Allah to grant him long life, good health,prosperity and the guidance to pilot the affairs of Niger State to a promised land.
Many happy returns to His Excellency.
