In western democracies and other politically advanced climes, mentorship remains the best guarantor of a sound and seasoned leadership at state and federal levels, meaning that political offi ce holders who performed outstandingly at the local level can also be trusted to do same at higher levels.
Th erefore, ingenious personalities from their antecedents of pragmatic policies that transformed societies can easily be spotted to place them at higher pedestal. In America’s political history, then Governor Bill Clinton of the small state of Arkansas gained nationwide prominence on account of his resilient and visionary approach to governance, which played very pivotal role in propelling him to the precincts of presidential power and prestige. Out of the Kennedy political dynasty, came John and Robert, both erstwhile senators from Massachusetts and New York, respectively.
Th ey were considered presidential materials as a result of their youthful vigor, freshness, competence and dynamism that were brought to bear in policy formulation and implementation. Sailing through the Great Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair has successfully contested elections on the platform of the Labour Party for three consecutive terms on account of his eloquence, brilliance and unalloyed commitment to national unity, peace and progress without regard to sectarian or sectional affi liations.
Th us, it can be gleaned from the above that leaders do not just emerge from the blues, with time they come on stage, learn the ropes, master it after painstaken and uncompromising commitment to hard work, competence, professionalism and exemplary performance in all its positive ramifi cations and become materials for crucial national assignment. Indeed, auspicious leaders many consider as the right material for presidential offi ce are those who have shown no trace of ethnic or religious bias and are ready to work with all manner of people as well as all shades of opinions and ideas as far as they are geared towards enhancing the nation’s socio-economic development.
In our clime here, Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, a fi rst class chartered accountant, consummate technocrat, prolifi c professional and exemplary public servant par excellence, aptly fi ts this description. Indeed, for his outstanding records of excellence in all the places where he has worked, Dankwambo received the deserved accolades and encomiums both nationally and globally.
Having thoroughly crafted and applied his endowed skills of the noble accounting profession from his storied days at the fi rst rate accounting fi rm, Coopers and Lybrand, to his enviable tenures as the Accountant General of both Gombe State and the federation and presently as Governor of Gombe State, Dankwambo has always seen his vocation as an avenue to write his name in the sands of time.
Today, an essential ingredient – honesty of purpose for the common good of the society – is not just lacking, but one is jeered at if one tries to uphold it. But to the principled Talban Gombe, he has chosen to uphold commitment to honesty, integrity and fairness as well as justice in all his dealings and endeavours, despite the temptation to do otherwise which many in similar position have succumbed to engaged in.
He is seen by his followers and admirers as an entirely diff erent personality from ordinary men as he commands respect and adulation from the Olympian heights of credibility, fastidiousness and unimpeachable honour. Th e transformation of the Accountant General of the Federation’s offi ce, which has some of the prudent fi nancial policies enjoyed by the government today, was all initiated and implemented by him.
Th e magnifi cent edifi ce, Treasury House, Treasury Single Account (TSA), the e-payment system, the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMS) were actually part of the Dankwambo’s brain child in the whole of the Federal Government’s fi nancial management system. Th at has signposted the fact that Dankwambo does not execute his offi cial duties or functions by chance or blind luck. Instead, he burns the midnight oil in order to raise the bar of professionalism and exemplary performance to the next level in the scheme of things, no matter the obstacles or challenges that may be encountered.
Extending the trend of good and accountable governance, when he became Gombe State governor on May 29, 2011, there was a sense of optimism, hope and excitement that the state would be pulled out of the woods of tyranny, autocracy, absolutism, political violence, corruption, maladministration and godfatherism that had plagued and halted the development of the state. Indeed, Gombe people yearned for a better deal at the onset of has administration, Dankwambo did not fail or disappoint. Rather, he surpassed the wildest expectations; the reason they overwhelmingly returned him in 2011 even in the face of Buhari’s political hurricane. Today, in health, education, roads, rural and urban infrastructure, power, agriculture, human and capital development, Dankwambo has transformed Gombe State to become the North-eastern symbol of political, economic, social development cum purposive leadership model. Gombe State used to be known as the theatre of dare-devil political thuggery.
Well, that is history now as the various ethnic, religious and linguistic groups live together in perfect harmony. Th is was as a result of ensuring justice and fair play, equitable distribution of resources without discrimination on any basis at all. It would be an over statement to say Nigeria is in dire need of a responsible leader, a nationalist leader, one who is well prepared, young, energetic and charismatic that is in tune with current global trends in economic and political spheres. We may be talking of Dankwambo here. Mohammad is a public aff airs analyst.
