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As a student, I am not a politician, the compelling motivation to write this piece was predicated on an interview I granted some newsmen during the week, in which they asked me questions regarding my principal, Hon Shiru Lawal.
The press men, obviously amazed at what the administrator was able to achieve with so little resources, felt I was the right person to shed more light on what some of them correctly termed the Shiru phenomenon. In this article therefore, I am going to paraphrase some of the things I told them, believing it will be useful to all readers, and may serve as a kind of compass for upcoming generation of leaders in the local government.
For me, the main selling point of Hon shiru is his trademark humility and uncommon intelligence.
Whenever you are in his presence, he makes you feel at ease, such that you might forget you are in the presence of a serving administrator. In Shiru, we have an exceptional leader possessing the ability to accept alternative viewpoints. Many a leader will simply dish out directives and insist you must carry them out, but not Hon Shiru Lawal. The Lokoja local government Administrator is also very, very tolerant and hardworking.
Is there any linkage between his achievements and his social or educational background? I believe there is. Hon Shiru hails from a well to do family that has distinguished itself in pro-people entrepreneurship. His unassuming mien and his uncommon humility belie a persona that is deeply insightful and intelligence. Naturally his background play a key role.
This is a man who is well read, with a degree in accounting, He rose to become a banker before his appointment. An indicator of his desire to selflessly serve his people could be seen in that he took the risk of leaving his comfort zone by voluntarily resigning from his work, to launch into the murky waters of Lokoja politics.
For the 2 years period I have been with him as an administrator, he has never raised his voice or looked down on anybody, from the secretary to a cleaner on the streets. Nobody who is truthful and honest will ever tell you that the administrator had raised his voice against him. If anybody does anything that annoys him, he simply keeps quite.
Only those of us that are very close to him will discern that he was crossed but you will never hear him bark.
So, the allegation of Shiru not being approachable is misplaced. This is an administrator who takes governance right to the doorsteps of his people by paying them visits, inspecting projects aimed at making their lives better, and who many of them reach even by phone. But then the most significant thing is not all about individual having access to the administrator. It is about whether the administrator is working towards advancing the cause of the society; towards taking the local government to higher realms, and generally through the kind of sacrifice that seek to make for a better tomorrow for one and all. That, to me, underpins Shiru’s governance philosophy. And it informs why he is exceptional.
In Shiru, we are talking about an administrator who has shown deep commitment to workers, who operate the engine of government at the grassroot.
Is there one sector the administrator regards as closest to his heart ? That sector is education. Hon Shiru Lawal made education his first, second and third priority. He succeeded in walking the talk by massively transforming the educational system, improving the teacher-student ratio, and the atmosphere in most of the schools has been tremendously made conducive for teaching and learning. As everyone is aware with limited resources, Hon Shiru Renovated and rehabilitated schools and classes, organized extramoral lessons and provides learning materials for students across the local government.
This kind of foresight, this kind of commitments can only be found in a rare individual and in Lokoja local govt we are so lucky to be blessed with this very rare individual in the person of Hon Shiru Lawal. We thank God that the people of Lokoja are blessed. Let me tell you there is no society on earth that has ever grown beyond the quality of its education. So anybody that is really committed to developing his people must invest heavily in education and that is exactly what Hon Shiru did and it is only a committed leader who loves his people that can do this.
Clearly, these are the qualities that endear Hon Shiru to thousands of people, and they inform why the people have continued to crave for him. In the global village that the society has become, whatever you do in a small corner of the globe will get to be known elsewhere. These unprecedented achievements are the very reason Shiru has remained a darling of the people; the proverbial gold fish that has no hiding place.
– Abbas Yahaya
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