PMB’s Next Cabinet And The Case For Saleh

TRACKING >>There still exists a distinguished class of dignitaries in the military, police, civil service, para-military, private and the public sector. Even in the first republic we can still remember such names as Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sadauna of Sokoto, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, all of blessed memory whose legacies still live on.

Today, however, we are blessed to have in our midst men and women whose love for country have continued to promote socio-economic development and move Nigeria to enviable position in the comity of nations. One of such personalities is Dr. Ahmad Saleh whom I happen to know and have maintained close relationship with since 1994. He has created positive image and admiration amongst all class of Nigerians due to his neutrality, selflessness, patriotism, hospitality and humane nature.

There is hardly any administration from the Babangida regime till date that Dr. Ahmad has not made visible contributions to. But the most acknowledged aspects are his recent valuable efforts for the re-election bid of President Muhammadu Buhari and the election of the APC governorship candidate in Taraba State, Sani Umar. The moral, material and human contributions of Dr. Ahmad in that direction cannot be quantified. For bonafide APC members and supporters in the state, the name Ahmad Saleh goes beyond ringing a bell as an erudite and grassroots politician, mobilizer and chief campaigner of the enthronement of true democratic norms, value and all inclusive governance. His vast experience on military tactics, intelligence gathering, politicking and human capacity development made the presidential committee on the recovery of Federal Government assets to delegate tasks and obligations to him.

There are also enormous corporate services, communitybased activities that Dr. Ahmad Saleh has been involved in. A celebrated guest on different radio and TV talkshows who has proffered solutions to challenging security, social, international, human rights issues, Dr. Ahmed has helped in giving ideas on how to achieve success in all these and other related fields. No wonder, stakeholders in the nation’s political endeavour are recommending and rallying him to represent them at the national level.

It is going to be a wise decision if Tarabans and the APC at both the state, zonal and national level nominate this accomplished administrator as a minister of the Federal Republic. Only credible, selfless and patriotic politicians should be considered and penciled down for ministerial appointments. This next level must convey only result-oriented public servants and politicians who possess ideas and whose initiatives can benefit all and sundry and the nation at large. From Dr. Ahmad’s private life and humanitarian contributions, he stands first amongst his peers in national service. Ordinarily, the Taraba State-born politician would have chosen to restrict himself to consultancy and private business since he holds a PHD in his field of study.

His zeal for service delivery, human emancipation, community service, youth development and women empowerment made him to resort to politics in order to contribute to nation building. Many Nigerians are of the opinion and view that integrity, credibility and standards should be the consideration in the choice of Buhari’s new ministers. Godfatherism, mediocrity and money bag should not be the criteria for choosing the president‘s next cabinet ministers. A choice of Dr. Ahmad Saleh from Taraba State would further take and draw Buhari’s developmental strides to the most remotest part of Taraba State created out of Adamawa State which has suffered setback and under-development due to corruption and misplacement of priorities. – Mahmud, a public affairs analyst wrote from Abuja