Mrs. Chinyere Osanga, not real name, was as usual out in the street within the popular Banex Plaza in Wuse2, Abuja, in 2021. She was hawking along with her two under-aged children to earn a living as well as raise money to meet the needs of her family, specifically, paying the school fees of her four children.
According to her, her husband died when her last male child was five months old. Conseqently, the death of her husband left her with the burden of providing for their four children. But she didn’t know God Almighty had a different plan for her.
On that fateful day, through divine orchestration, she came across the humane, detribalised and God-fearing Honourable Aliyu Muktar Betara, a fifth timer of the House of Representatives, representing the very unique people of Biu, Bayo, Shani, Kwaya Kusar federal constituency, Borno state.
The divinely arranged encounter she had with Aliyu Betara changed her life for good. She received a humongous amount of money to establish a business while two of her four children were awarded scholarships from secondary school up to the university; all of which came courtesy of the Betara Humanitarian Foundation.
It is, however, noteworthy that the foundation had, during the height of the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno state and some parts of the North, rendered humanitarian services to millions of Nigerians. It provided food, housing, medical care, scholarship, etc.
Thus, the humanitarian gestures towards Mrs Osanga should indeed serve as an eye opening to some tribal jingoists, religious bigots and political chauvinists, who deploy divisive tendencies among Nigerians to achieve their selfish interest.
Come to think of it, Mrs. Osanga is not a northern like Honourable Betara. She hails from Enugu state, theSouth-east geo-political zone of Nigeria. Again, Mrs Osanga is a Christian and she is apolitical not a member of any political party, which should have disqualified based on religious, tribal and political considerations.
Interestingly, Honourable Betara is a devout Muslim and a founding member of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He has been a parliamentarian for 20 years. But, as a nationalist who is passionate about the peace, unity and development of Nigeria, the ranking law maker and a patriot par excellence shuns primordial sentiments to embrace a Nigerian with whom they are not of the same faith and tribe; he transformed her life and those of her children.
Betara’s remarkable act of love should serve as a food for thought for the ruling elite and wealthy Nigerians. It is a call to shun primordial sentiments and other fault lines for peace and development of Nigeria that everyone will be proud of. They should emulate Betara’s detribalised and non-partisan disposition.
In fact, Mrs. Osanga is just one out of thousands of Nigerians, including this writer, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who have benefited from the kind and large hearted Honourable Aliyu Muktar Betara.
Many of his staff are not related to him either by religion, political, or ethnic affiliation. This places him over and above his peers and contemporaries. Thus, Nigerians across board are praying and showering encomiums on him as he clocked 58 life transforming years on November 22, 2024.
It is instructive that the birthday boy (laughter) Aliyu Muktar Betara’s chief security detail for decades is a Christian. In fact, to demonstrate his humane and detribalised disposition, two of his cooks are Christians and are not from his home state of Borno.
Hence, those wishing to see Nigeria disintegrate will be highly disappointed because with a detribalised leader like Betara, Nigeria will soon join the comity nations.
There is a seeming replication of the leadership qualities of Honourable Betara on many of his aides. Each of the 36 states including the FCT is fully represented in his employment schedule.
An interaction with any of his staff reflects a true image of Honourable Betara’s humane lifestyle in them. They are all welcoming, polite, kind, hardworking and respectful to everyone that comes across their path.
From the security post of his office to the main office, you will notice well behaved Nigerians that deserve national and international awards in view of their integrity, hard work and patriotism.
However, among the aides, the exemplary integrity of the aide that catches my attention the most is Mr. Nnamdi, an Ibo; ebullient gentleman. Nnamdi, from my discovery, has been working with Honourable Betara for over two decades as one of his most trusted and reliable personal assistants.
Thus, by every standard, Betara deserves national recognition in view of his immense achievements in the area of human capacity building and community development in his immediate constituency, Borno state, the North, across Nigeria and even beyond.
It is as a result of these monumental achievements of a colossus that I write this piece to celebrate a humane and detribalised leader with a large heart as he marked his 58th birthday on Friday, November 22, 2024, with pomp and pageantry.
It is now crystal clear why millions of Nigerians across political, religious and tribal affiliations are already campaigning for him in all the nooks and crannies of Borno state to take over the mantle of leadership of the state as the tenure of the incumbent governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, will come to an end on May 28, 2027.
Suleiman, a politician, community development expert and public affairs commentator, writes from Okpoga, Okpokwu local government area, Benue state.
