For the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin it was an honor well deserved, considering his stint to the development of humanity, Health and Education at large not only to Kano state, but Nigeria at large.
Considering his selfless contributions to the development of Education in Nigeria as Chairman Senate Committee on TETFUND in the 8th Senate which oversees the activities of Universities and Polytechnics across the country, away from his personal contributions to the development of social services in Nigeria.
Senator who thrived as public figure in his private life had continued to touch the lives of ordinary Nigerians not minding tribe, creed or religion in all spheres.
The Deputy Senate President demonstrated similar feat when he was elected in June by his appointment of three major language extraction of Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa as major members of his cabinet among many others.
With diverse orientation and exposure, the Deputy Senate President had a record of using mats to attend to his visitors at the 9th Senate during his visiting days and hours considering his popularity and acceptability by his constituents.
A personal experience was when in the 9th Senate ,as Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, he had interacted with people freely without restraints.
A consumate and pan Nigeria politician of high repute, Barau scaled through a tough and turf political environment in Kano state not minding the Kwankwasiya tsunami that swept Kano political landscape in 2023 general elections to return to the Senate for consecutive three times , a distinct acceptability rare in recent times.
Highly accessible and assessible, Senator Barau official recognition and honor by the Bayero University Kano BUK with a doctorate degree (Honoris Causa) , was evidenced and manifest of his recognition for selfless and stateman’s disposition in his public life.
This was evidenced when the city of Kano was almost challenged for two day Friday and Saturday between 1st of March and 2nd of March, 2024 in honor of Senator Barau’s investiture with a doctorate degree with dignataries from all walks of life
The overwhelming presence of who is who in Nigeria to the city of Kano almost changed the narration and local parlance of Kano is bigger than anyone or anything you came with, meaning in Hausa Language ” Kano , Tunbin Giwa, Ko dame Kazo, ampika”.
The Deputy Senate President who represents Kano North in the Senate started as a federal lawmaker in the House of Representatives before moving to the red chamber in 2015.
Aside personal interventions, he recently assisted over 600 undergraduates in the payment of tuition fees to Bayero and other universities across the country.
He has indulged outside public glare and media coverage in the sponsorship of school pupils from primary, secondary, Colleges of Education and Polytechnics across the state and the country at large.
For Senator Barau , it is a usual routine to assist the less privilege through empowerment, poverty reduction and charitable donations both at home and outside the state.
Recently he donated many buses to the two road unions in Kano to reduce to the barest minimum the effects of fuel subsidy removal among many others, and also donated large sums of items to the people of Kano state to cushion the hardships.
These among many others and constituency projects in Kano North as well as attraction of projects to institutions including payment of health bills to indigent patients of Kano state, that had been a recurring decimal.
No doubt, the city of Kano witnessed an upsurge of both vehicles and human movements as well as who is who in Nigeria to honor Senator Jibrin Barau, Deputy Senate President DSP of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Aside people’s movement into Kano to witness the epoch making occasion, the national dailies were awash with congratulatory messages , including the Radios and Television stations across the country.
For Senator Barau, it is yet another opportunity to continue to serve the country with passion to better the lots of ordinary Nigerians.
*ABUBAKAR YUSUF, A Public Affairs Analyst , writes from Abuja, can be reached on [email protected].
