The Federal character is a system that ensures equal distributions of roles and responsibilities in Nigeria’s public sectors. The diverse nature of Nigeria should serve as a catalyst for its greatness and not for its weakening and that is why the Federal Character Commission (FCC) was set up and incorporated into the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the first place.
The chairman of the commission is somebody whom everybody knows and the seriousness which she brought to bear on her job as the helmsman of the commission is there for all to see because her overriding priorities is to get the job of fulfilling the mandate given to her by the president fulfilled.
Federal character sums up the strength of our country because the strength of our country lies in its diversity is not a weakness but strength and we can say the sum total of our strength as a country called Nigeria lies in our diversity because out of this plurality of our people we are working towards one Nation and therefore the maintenance of our strength and the use of it for directives, policy, programmes and projects of this administration is in the hands of the Federal Character Commission which Dr Muheeba Farida Dankaka leads today in terms of oversight and enforcements.
Her leadership of the FCC has been very open for those who in term of interactions may have issues to discuss with her or raise, she has always been readily available to respond to the myriad of complaints and also redressing issues that needs been redressed.
She has operated within the limits of the budget of the FCC and has tried to manage resources very judiciously because that is one of the qualities the president saw in her and insisted on, which is the judicious use of scarce resources before considering her for this appointments.
She has totally keyed in into the President’s vision from day one of her appointment because she always remember that she serves only one constituency which is the people of Nigeria. It takes a captain with the right mix of education, exposure and experience to calm the ship amidst a raging storm, as the appointment of Muheeba Dankaka has shown.
She has, since her appointment, ensured a clear direction and less drama occurs at the commission but instead reforms which has led to the positives changing narrative been witnessed today except by some disgruntled group who refused to accept the change mantra of the president being implemented by the chairman, Muheeba Dankaka.
Today at the commission, there is a breathe of fresh air because it is business unusual. She does her job diligently and noiselessly allowing her actions to speak for her and it is in reaction to her bitter pills to swallow reforms to change the narratives at the commission that the voice of the defeated advocates of business as usual crying wolf where there is none.
This her noisely but action parked disposition towards her duties which she carries out with systematic efficiency has made her the darling of all. Instead of leading like the big teacher, her mission was clear: Full of loyalty, competence, and support to the President in achieving his administration’s mandates as it concerns the adherence to the federal character principles and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Her guiding principles as chairman of FCC is to serve the people of Nigeria to the best of her ability. Without any doubt, she has brought some finesse to the administrative machinery of the FCC, opting, and wisely too, to operate an open door policy.
It is a paradigm shift that encourages people to walk in and discuss freely with the management. She operates more like the old village teacher, the brilliant and the dollard among students must get attention to ensure a holistic advancement and success.
Perhaps the most profound effects of the new narratives at the FCC, is the meteoric rise in Nigeria’s adherence to the Federal character principles and a strung of successes. She attributed the successes achieved so far to the President’s personality and character. She is a leader who would rather stay behind the curtain and propels her principles to excellence. Just about 2 years in the saddle of leadership at the commission, analyst agree that Muheeba Dankaka has not disappointed those who invested enthusiasm in her choice. Her appointment till today has severally been described by many as a befitting development that is rooted in dedication, loyalty, and history.
The appointment is clearly fit for purpose as she is serving her purpose and it is till today, well deserved because her record of service both in the private sector, politics and the Kaduna chamber of commerce, mines, industry and agriculture, KADCCIMA, speaks for itself and it is unblemished. None of the pessimists and advocates of the old ways of doing things at the commission who has never accepted that it is an era of business unusual at the commission, has questioned her dedication and commitments to duty, administrative experience, scholarship and excellence in the discharge of her duties at the FCC. which has had a positive impacts on the administrative reforms and smooth operations of the FCC.
Our President is a man of integrity and he has a way of monitoring his appointees that we cannot see or questions, he is by his body language very pleased with Muheeba Dankaka because of her immediate impacts and contributions towards ensuring good governance, democratic dividends through the application of the Federal character principles. The president has allowed her to stay because there is no substantiated fact of any malfeasance to allow her go. The President has allow her stay because he is confident that she has the magic wand and ability to make a difference. She is a decent woman, a cerebral leader, and a disciplined administrator. She is confident of her ability because she came like a rocket to the commission and she is ready through to leave a blaze of light of performances unequalled in the annals of the FCC.
It is advisable that all pessimists working against her at the commission see good reasons to shield their sword and cooperate with her to take the commission upper. She should now be allowed to build an institution like the FCC, which symbolises the unity and future of this country to where it is suppose to be.
Today if there is any agency of government that represents our common sense of purpose, a sense of shared prosperity and destiny, a collective imagination of what we shared as Nigerians, it is the FCC. She is building the tangible and the intangible threads that holds us together and give us all a sense of belongings and purposes. To her, having and implementing a viable federal character principles that is working and acceptable to all remains synonymous with achieving progress and modernity in Nigeria. It is now about building the FCC of our dream and the values which will sustain our nationhood in these modern times.
Just like Nigeria, the trouble with the FCC, prior to her appointment, is that of leadership. Leadership remains a critical factor in the implementations of our federal character principles and it should be understood in two important but related ways. There are the personal qualities of integrity, honesty, commitments and competence of the individual leaders of the commission. Then there is the collective qualities of common vision, focus, and desire for progress and developments as a whole. This are the qualities inherent in Dr Muheeba Dankaka that makes the president as the recruiter-in-chief to hire her for the job.
The president was careful in her appointment because the standards for recruitments and the performances of the former leaders of the FCC have left more to be desired. The president needed someone that would make a difference because he/she is not a champion of only some regions of the country. She vividly understands the political and economic problems of Nigeria and she is not interested in silencing her traducers but in getting and pursuing justice for all. She has never placed her office above the constitution and the laws of the country because she knows her office is the creation of the law and the Nigerian constitution. She would continue to display a sense of fairness, fairplay and tolerance in the discharge of her duties.
The narratives at the FCC is changing and let’s join hands with the chairman, Dr Muheeba Farida Dankaka to take it higher.
– Musa Wada writes from Abuja.
