He is easy going and unassuming but frank to a fault. He doesn’t suffer fools for nothing. Some say he is arrogant, others say he is a trouble shooter. But those who know him, both at close range or afar, will describe him as one who speaks the truth, no matter whose ox is gored and to whosoever.
Those in power are afraid of him but the wise one draws closer to him and tap from the well of insight and knowledge, God has endowed him with. He is loved by most of the staff.
His appearance is deceitful as that of a man that cannot hurt a fly, but those who know his worth utilise his intellect to achieve great, sustainable and enviable success. He is the brain behind the tremendous revenue successes of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Water Board.
This rare gem is Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad Maradun, the amiable Head of Commerce of FCT Water Board. Born in Maradun in Zamfara state, he is also the Chief Imam of Ibadar Rahman Masjid, Bwari, FCT.
Since he took over the office in late 2022, the revenue base of the agency has jumped above expectations, leaving the workaholic and goal-getter general manager of the water board to sleep with his two eyes closed.
From figures hovering around N178 million monthly, the FCT Water Board now records nothing less than a whipping N300 million monthly as revenue. It explains that most of the leakages have been blocked and welfare of staff has increased drastically while staff morale has been given a big boost.
Maradun is a worthy lieutenant. He did not rise to this position of head of commerce overnight neither was it a bed of roses all along. He has the scars of battles he has weathered through and today he has reasons to thank God for his blessings. According to him, he has no regrets as he has maintained his stand for the truth always.
Aliyu Muhammad Maradun actually joined the Federal Capital Territory Water Board in 1992 and ever since has been working in different capacities across the length and breadth of the board. He rose through the ranks from assistant trade officer, area commercial officer in different area offices to deputy director of commerce.
He also headed the Revenue Generating Units at the area offices level and at the headquarters. Maradun managed Areas and Districts of Garki, Jabi, Wuse, among others. He also managed the headquaters units of ministries and parastatals, plazas, filling stations, and other major water consumers as well as Measurement and Evaluation Units.
Along the way, he was involved in all data generation, processing, translation and management of all FCT water consumer information, physical censuses, system automation, modifications and transformation from February 1992 to date, with relative contributions in most recorded successes in the system.
However, the Zamfara born administrator also attended various revenue generation enhancement programmes within and outside Nigeria. These include partnering the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in formulation and rolling, implementation of Water Advisory Programme, Non-revenue Water Strategic Management and Control for Efficiency spanning eight years (2002-2020) with an opportunity for rigorous training in Yokohama City, Japan in 2018.
He has to his credit a proficiency in computer operations with particular forte in applications and programmes related to daily revenue generation, recording and processing; word processor, internet browser, teleconferencing software, digital spreadsheets and project management tools.
When things were serially falling apart for the Commercial Department of FCT Water Board, the purposeful leadership of the agency’s General Manager, Engineer Tauheed A. Amusan, assigned him to head its reorganisation and reorientation. With the requisite support and encouragement from the general manager, the revenue growth from Maradun’s assumption of office in October 2022, has not only been persistent, but also intensifying. This he reassured of sustaining, aggressively.
Besides his work in the office, he is also a unionist and that has been his albatross. Because of his desire to see that loopholes in the revenue generation are blocked, he became a meddlesome interloper to those who were feeding fat from the system.
In the trade union activities, he started off as the Chairman of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) FCT Water Board branch from 2011-2014 and later became the Vice Chairman AUPCTRE FCT Council as from 2014-2017 and became the Chairman AUPCTRE FCT Council as from 2017 to Date. He is also the Vice Chairman AUPCTRE Federal Zone from 2018 to Date.
A graduate of economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, he has several awards in his name including Best Graduating Student Business Education in 1991; Certificate of Award for Outstanding Strides towards Africa’s Quest for Development, via antecedents of Union Leadership, Civil Service Meritorious Service to God, Humanity and Africa in 2020; Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Performance in Revenue Generation in 2006.
Maradun has also attended many courses and workshops including Yokohama City Water Co. Ltd, and JICA Yokohama International Centre, Japan; Michael Imodu Institute for Labour Studies; AUPCTRE FCT Council workshop, Kaduna and Kano; Information and Communication Technology Unit GSTC, Garki: Nigeria Labour Congress Organised Workshop, Labour House and many others.
Indeed, Aliyu Muhammad Maradun is an asset to the FCT Water Board and any manager who wants to succeed, especially in administration and financial improvement, then he has an ally in Aliyu.
Abdul, a public analyst, writes from Abuja.
