Distinguished Senator Garba Musa – The Prize for Selflessness is a Call to Serve

Distinguished Senator Garba Musa Maidoki

Inaugurated into the 10th Senate on the 13th June 2023

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” William Shakespeare.

Without any iota of doubt, with a humble beginning, Maidoki achieved greatness in his career and through his selfless service to his community, equally achieved greatness in the eyes of his people and the Kebbi South electorates thrust greatness upon him by voting him to represent them in the 10th Assembly.

In this piece, I invite you to MEET Distinguished Senator Garba Musa, whose prize for selflessness to his people was a call to serve them.

Having declared Garba Musa a winner at the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections collation centre by the Returning Officer, having issued him the Certificate of Return by the election regulatory body, INEC and having attended the induction programme organised by the Federal Government for elected National Assembly Members, and finally having taken oath of office on the 13th of June 2023, today, Garba Musa joined both the returning and new elected politicians to be officially Distinguished Senators of 10th Assembly. Congratulations Distinguished Senator!

The words of William Shakespeare rushed into my mind, unbolting the flimsy membrane of my oesophagus, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them,” William Shakespeare said centuries ago.

Without any iota of doubt, with a humble beginning, Garba Musa achieved greatness in his career and through his selfless service to his community, equally achieved greatness in the eyes of his people and the Kebbi South electorates thrust greatness upon him by voting him to represent them in the 10th Assembly.   

As I promised to tell you the story of Garba Musa beyond his curriculum vitae, with the “exercise in genealogy” dug so far, it is now time to redeem my pledge to place the Distinguished Kebbi South Senator, Garba Musa and his curriculum vitae on my slaughter slab to dissect them with my surgical pen under my analytical magnificent microscope, to tell his story, indeed beyond his curriculum vitae.

I have no intention of repeating what I said about Garba Musa as captured in my article, “The Dilemma of finding the Right Adjectives and Qualifiers to Describe Garba Musa (MaiDoki),” (read here....). 

Nevertheless, in that piece, I stated that:

I imposed the responsibility of unearthing Garba Musa, to make this enigma a persona grata to the public, to God be the Glory, we have covered a lot of ground.

He had a glorious career outside the Zone in a specialised multinational organisation outside the mainstream Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and he is naturally a reserved personality.

Thus, unknown in his personal capacity, career growth, trainings, experiences and achievements, except for his appellation of “Maidoki” and his “Give-Back-Programmes” to promote and defend his people.

Many have never met him in person or seen him for years, even though, directly or indirectly have benefited from his projects, kindness or generosity.

Thus, the need to have an insight into this personality that turnout to be an enigma to present the man the people voted to represent them at the 10th National Assembly as a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, representing Kebbi South Senatorial Zone.

Garba Musa’s elitist career and his recent rise to national limelight and stardom has not yet polluted and adulterated his humility, honesty of purpose, his sincere self-assessment; his courage in accepting personal risks to benefit others; his respect in treating others with dignity and civility, even when he disagree with them and surprisingly, unlike many people who were born great, or achieved some level of greatness, and/or greatness thrust upon them, Garba Musa is still TEACHABLE, the ability of allowing others to teach, correct, and challenge him.

To me that was awesome. I should know. I met many unteachable greats. I pity them as they wallop in nothing but self-indulgent arrogance. In the space of 10 minutes, I found Garba Musa not afflicted with this scourge. In fact, he seem to be immune to it. I silently prayed for him for the Almighty to grant him the grace and favour to remain safe from an endemic exclusively to great people, especially Nigerian politicians.

I studied his CV and a surge of pity and sympathy for this great man seeped into my veins permeating my whole system and dwelled into my soul. This man needs contributions, not congratulations!

 I had to rewrite the CV three times to really get to the core of this enigma. I found many missing links – gaps that no longer matter if you have already scaled over some grade levels. Until I meet him again, the stopgaps may not be properly covered.

However, as expected, it was an illustrious career, amazing, pragmatic, even the challenges were sometimes enticing. Here is Garba’s CV.

Garba Musa had a succulent career spanning thirty one (31) years in the oil and gas industry. By the time he clocked 27 years in service, he had risen to the position of Manager with two portfolios, Manager Contracts and Manager Joint Qualification System (JQS), almost simultaneously at the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, (NPDC) and National Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

Two years after, Garba was elevated to the position of General Manager Supply Chain Division at the NPDC.

Garba Musa Maidoki was blessed in his career. He could see some of his mates and senior contemporaries in other sectors and professions. His career progression with theirs, in rank equivalent was going in pari passu. Some of his mates in the academics became Professors, those in the Armed Forces had become Major Generals and other equivalent ranks in other sectors.

However, Garba had additional advantage; he created time and actively invested heavily to remain relevant to his people, something very rare to those “successful” in their comfort zones.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “relevance” as “the state of being closely connected or appropriate,” to the people of the constituencies. Being relevant is not a feeling you get, it is a result of your consistent actions. At the work constituency, his promotions were a proof of his relevance, at the home constituency, his brand of services to the people was the measure of his relevance.

He made himself relevant to the point of retirement to his people. At a time of uneasy change, where economic, social and political turmoil has become the rule, rather than the exception, Garba became hero.

Where everyone seems lost and unmoored by the burden of hardship, in a world where political promises were not kept and the dividends of democracy not forthcoming; and the life of hardship led to the fulfilment of dreams impossible, Garba stepped-in with scholarships and philanthropic programmes and projects.

Where bandits besiege communities and went in rampage, Garba became a motivator and defender of the people, a General without Commission.

As the people found themselves in this miasma of helplessness, Garba played his part.

Garba, while growing up, must have discovered that his core strength within him was serving the people. Hence, he held tightly to the grass root and identify with his immediate community. Utilising his career progressions and opportunities availed to him; he kept taps with his immediate community, positively affecting the lives of people as much as he could.

Maidoki became a legendary household name because of the Maidoki Farms. His commitment and general concern for the future of his people gradually transformed and endeared Garba to the people.

A crucial turning point in Garba’s life career was set to achieve putting a smile on the faces of the people. However, at the end of the day, Garba could not have fathomed fully what he was doing was constructing a community of admirers and hero-worshipers. He was accorded a well deserving recognitions and appreciations.

Senator Garba Musa Maidoki of Kebbi South with Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, the Senate President of the 10th Assembly

He must have engraved the words of Winston Churchill, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” This turned out to be Garba’s turning point.

At the retirement age of 60 in 2020, with thirty one years of service, Garba had meticulously climbed the steps of his organisational ladder, except one – the Group General Manager. Like a homing pigeon, Garba Musa returned home with fanfare and homage prepare only for worthy illustrious sons of the soil, far above the welcome of a prodigal son.

Garba did not achieve these on a platter of gold, nah! Henry Wadsworth Longfellow succinctly states, “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

This properly prepared him for this auspicious “Call to Serve” as destiny beckoned this humble but colossal team player to the arena of the 10th Assembly as a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Distinguished Senator was born on the 10th of October 1960, nine days after the foundation stone of Nigeria’s independence was laid some sixty three years ago. This piece of information clouded and misted my eyes and unbolted some of my emotions. I reckon that destiny must have placed Garba at the heart of reshaping and restructuring Nigeria, because of his umbilical connection to the heart of Nigeria as Siamese twins; thus, by extension, Garba must have shaken hands  with the leading founding fathers of Nigeria who laid the ideals of this great country.

Garba was enrolled into primary school in the 1967/68 session and registered as GARBA MUSA. Adopting his father’s Islamic name as his surname without the MAIDOKI. He obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1974. From his early school days, Garba was known to be an introvert, reserved, yet, was always at home in the circle of friends. As of the time of writing this piece, four of Garba’s primary school mates were with him and still very close friends.

In the same year he completed his primary school; he proceeded to Government Secondary School Rijau, presently in Niger State and maintained his names as GARBA MUSA, again without the MAIDOKI. He completed his secondary school in 1979.

It was at this stage of his life that Garba discovered the best way he could channel his unspent energy was through sports. Garba became an active sportsman in college. He played hockey and football. He represented the school in both sports.

– To be continued –