Reminiscences With Alhaji Sulaiman S. Baffa
Alhaji Sulaiman S. Baffa was a permanent secretary under the late Alhaji Audu Bako’s regime in Kano State. He was also the managing director of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and later the Union Bank. Alhaji Baffa, who is an indigene of Jigawa State, is
How has the journey of life been for the past 78 years? Alhamdulillah! Life has not been easy; but I must say I am pleased with myself and what God has given me, namely, good life, good health and so on. But sincerely speaking, it would take days to narrate my story for the past 78 years. In summary, I was born in a rural village called Auyo in the present Jigawa State. I was enrolled into a western school at the age of six. At the time I was taken to school I was the only child to my father. It was a tradition in my family that my father would enroll a child into a western school every year, and because he didn’t have many children, he had to enroll the children of his relatives and friends. Because there was no other child to take to school that very year except me, my father had no option than to enroll me at the age of six. The first reaction of the headmaster was that I was too young to be enrolled, but somehow, it was resolved and I was admitted.
In 1950, I moved to Hadejia Middle School, which was like a senior primary school. We were the pioneers of Hadejia Middle school. I also went to Kano Middle School. At every stage of my life, I was always the youngest among my colleagues. In fact, I was always rejected during admission, but somehow it was always resolved.
Having finished from Kano Middle School, I sat for several examinations to further my studies. I wanted to go to a college of agriculture, which I think was in Zaria at that time. I also sat for another examination to go for Pharmacy. But I couldn’t attend any of the schools I chose because I was involved in an accident and admitted in a hospital in Kano. When the schools resumed in 1955, I was not even aware of what was happening. I was in the village and there was no means of communication at that time. Eventually, I learnt that I was supposed to be in Katsina because Form Three had been moved from Kano to Katsina. I was among them, but by February it was rather too late. When I met the headmaster of Kafin-Hausa, he told me that a senior inspector of schools, who was a white man, was coming for inspection. He said I should tell him about my situation and I agreed. Interestingly, the moment the white man saw me he recognised me and was surprised to see me in the village when school was in session. He asked what I was doing in the village and I told him everything. He said I should be in Katsina because all my colleagues were there. He said it was too late for me to be admitted in Katsina because the session had gone far. However, he promised that he would do everything possible to solve the problem when he got back to Kano.
A few days later, I got a message from him that all schools had resumed but the only school I could get admission to was a new teacher training school in Gombe. He promised to make sure that I was enrolled if I were interested. I told him that I was interested and I was enrolled. Within a week, everything was done and I was asked to go to the Gombe Teacher Training College.
Who were your classmates at the Hadejia Middle School?
I can recall quite a number of them, but most of them are dead. But the surviving ones include Tafidan Hadejia, Alhaji Bello Gumel; Alhaji Usman Sambo, AVM Hamza Abdullahi (retired).
Are you still in touch with your classmates?
Yes, I am. I spoke to one of them yesterday. My closest classmate at the Kano Middle School was Alhaji Abba Abdullahi, a one-time acting governor of Kano State. He was my closest friend and we are still together.
You were trained as a teacher in Gombe; did you teach?
I taught for two and a half years. It would interest you to know that I started teaching in my former secondary school in Hadejia. I was there from 1959 to 1961. As faith would have it, I did not have the opportunity to enjoy any scholarship to study abroad, but I attended the Institute of Administrative Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. An advert was placed in the newspapers for those who were interested to be trained as administrative officers. I applied and went for the course. After graduation we were posted across the North as assistant district officers. I was posted to Plateau Province in 1962. In a nutshell, I can say that I joined the government of northern Nigeria in 1962 as an assistant district officer, which was the lowest level.
As a permanent secretary, you got to the peak of the civil service; how would you compare governance in your days and now?
Well, I mostly served under military governments. I came to Kano when states were created and I happened to be the first administrator to be posted back home. Six states were created in the North and six administrators were posted to their respective states to be the first secretaries of the executive council. I came here in July, few weeks after the creation of state.
Did you encounter any challenge during your first time in a big office?
Of course I was shocked because I didn’t even know where to start from. I asked myself a series of questions: Why the office? Where to start from? And so on. But despite all these I had no option than to do my job. Alhaji Hassan Lemo, whom I believe is still alive, was a provisional secretary to the government. I worked with him and that really helped me. Again, by the time I arrived in Kano, commissioners had already been appointed and the governor was my commissioner.
You worked closely with the late Alhaji Audu Bako; how would you describe him as a leader?
The late Audu Bako was a very
hardworking leader, yet he was simple. I have not seen a character more amenable to whatever situations brought. Bako could shout, but he never got angry. He was always considerate. I am sure his cabinet was formed to help him achieve results. People like Alhaji Inuwa Dutse, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule; Mai Unguwar Mundubawa, Alhaji Sani Gezawa and quite a number of them greatly helped him to achieve a lot while in government.
At what age did you become a permanent secretary?
I became a permanent secretary at the age of 30 after working in many ministries, including the cabinet office. When I got to that highest level in the civil service I thought I would not be fair to others and even myself if I continued. So at the age of 39 I put in my resignation letter.
Where did you go after your resignation?
I had to find a job for myself, using my avenues here and there. At last, the opportunity came to join the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and I took it because at that time the job was quite attractive. I headed the northern office of the bank as an area manager.
You were a professional administrator, not a banker; did you find the banking job difficult?
Of course I found the job difficult because I wasn’t a trained banker. But you know, whenever you put in your best, you can handle most situations. And I did. I was trained in Nigeria and abroad, including UK, US and France. After the trainings I was posted to various branches in the region on attachment. In 1979, I was ready to go into the area manager’s office. Before the end of 1980, I was moved to the head office in Lagos. I stayed in the UBA, Lagos for 13 years, during which I rose from the position of an area manager to the managing director of the bank.
Did you return to the North when you left the UBA?
What happened was that the government, which owned most of the shares in all the banks in Nigeria, decided to control the banks. They decided to transfer directors and managing directors and even relieve those they felt should give way to others. That kind of situation arose in 1990 and I was moved to the Union Bank as managing director. By 1993, I was relieved of my position as the managing director of the Union Bank. I was performing the lesser hajj (Umrah) when the incident happened. When I came back, changes also happened in government. Chief Shonekan was the interim head of state and at that time and I was recalled to manage the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting, which I did for six years and retired at the age of 61 in 1999; that is one year beyond the retirement age.
What happened after retirement?
I returned to Kano where I live with my family.
What are you doing for a living now?
Even before my retirement, I was into farming all along. I have always had the desire to have date farms. I have been into the business of dates for a very long time, even when I was in government and the banking sector. I am into farming for business. As a banker I don’t do anything for the fun of it. I am really enjoying doing it at every stage.
Apart from farming, are you doing any other business?
I am not in any other business. However, I have shares in some companies.
If you were to advise the Nigerian government on how to develop the nation’s economy, what would you say?
Obviously, what I would say is that we should do things the way they ought to be done. We should utilise our potentials to develop our economy and other sectors. We don’t have to depend on a mono economy; there is the need to diversify. For example, we need to develop the agricultural sector. If this had happened, we wouldn’t have been where we are today. Also, let us be consistent in whatever we do.
Apart from agriculture, what other sectors do you think Nigeria should also pay attention to?
Agriculture is so vast that from there you can move into many other things. You would have raw materials, food etc. In mining, we also have natural advantage because we have large deposits of minerals underground, and we can utilise them. But that would take a long time because we are just beginners in this aspect of business. However, if we are determined we can achieve something great. From mining, I am sure many other things would come up. Remember that these are areas of huge potential employment. I am sure that if we take agriculture seriously, millions of people would get employment.
There was a serious debate on whether the Nigerian government should devaluate its currency. What is your take?
I think the whole debate was centred at the pronouncement of the government, and I hate that. Nature takes its own course. The naira had already been devalued even before the government spoke. The dollar has risen by more than 50 per cent because the Central Bank said it did not have enough dollars to sell, so importers have to look for other means to buy dollars and do business. So devaluation has virtually taken place and it is affecting demand and supply. If you want more dollars, you have to pay higher. I have never been in support of such pronouncement on devaluation of the naira by anybody or government. We
Recently, I heard the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, talk about millions of tons of rice that Nigeria intended to produce. I hope they based their calculation on past achievements, processes and so on. If that has been done and a process is followed meticulously, certainly, we can achieve it
should let things take their own course.
Successive governments at the federal, state and even local levels have introduced several policies and programmes in their bid to improve agriculture, but most of such policies and programmes failed along the line. Where do you think the problem lies?
I can only give an answer based on my experience as a former acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture in Kano. You see, you only succeed in doing anything when you take it as business. We have been talking about what we want to achieve in agriculture. Recently, I heard the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, talk about millions of tons of rice that Nigeria intended to produce. I hope they based their calculation on past achievements, processes and so on. If that has been done and a process is followed meticulously, certainly, we can achieve it. But sometimes it is just a general wish, a dream. If we want to actualise our dream we have to meticulously plan for it, give it timelines and monitor the timelines to ensure that at every point we are really making progress. Once we keep on monitoring all these, I am sure we can achieve a lot. This is how things are achieved.
Can you share your joyful moments in life?
Honestly, they are many and I can remember them all. It would be difficult for me to choose anyone among them. I have enjoyed life. At the moment I don’t have high blood pressure.
Is any of the moments unforgettable?
Well, the only time I suffered low blood pressure was between the time I left the civil service and when I joined the UBA; it was a time of anxiety; high anxiety indeed. Other unforgettable moments in life include the time I started work, when I gained admission from one school to another, when I joined the civil service, among others. At every stage, I had to pray and thank the almighty God for what he has done for me. I feel good. Even when I retired, I thanked God because I had gone beyond my retirement age by one year. I thank God for giving me all that matter: life, health, wisdom.
How would you describe your typical day?
My farm manager just left this house after we discussed the development and problems concerning the farm. I also buy Daily Trust on Saturday every week to update myself. I read the Qur’an for at least an hour or so every morning. After breakfast I remain in my sitting room to receive visitors. I am a director in some companies though we meet only one or two times in a year. I have retired from the chairmanship of a company I have chaired for more than 20 years. So my schedules are light now. But I make sure I exercise every day. I trek for a distance, from my house to the mosque, not necessarily during prayer time. I trek to the Friday mosque every week.
Are you on any a special diet?
No. I eat normal diet. I eat three times in a day and I eat virtually whatever I feel like eating. But I take a little salt and I don’t take pepper and fat at all. So my diet is not really a special dish.
Can you share your family life with us?
I have only one wife and we have been together for 54 years. We have five children: three males and two females. I have about 20 grandchildren now; the oldest is about 28 years old now.