Governor AA: A reference material in Nigeria’s journey towards statehood.
A distinguished oil magnate, an accomplished politician, a sports loving leader, a youth supporting governor, a successful businessman and philanthropist with special focus on the poorest of the poor and persons living with disabilities, a symbol of excellence and an epitome of strength, caring, charming and a witty man blessed with an open mind. His kind-heartedness is legendary with high administrative capacity and capability.
Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq believes in this wise quote and he exhibits it daily as the executive governor of Kwara State, “Life is not about competing, it is about complimenting each other”. He is a man dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. He is an impeccable man who set excellent standard, a wonderful and indomitable executive who never mind how long it takes him to execute his projects as far as they are impeccable. He is a servant leader, the kind of leadership that Kwara State needs and even our dear country Nigeria needs his kind plus he is a noble leader and pride of Africa as a continent.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is in a class of his own with distinct credible character traits. He is intellectually wealthy and uniquely confident in the affairs of steering wheel of fortune to the state. His commitment towards staging the state of harmony enviable amongst others is without a gainsaying an achievable dream as one would have envisioned his remarkable landmark achievements. Even at a point where the coast seemed unclear and tides and waves of unrest raised to high altitudinal crest and trough, he adopted the saying of Martin Luther King Jnr. “Constructive, non-violent tension is good for growth”.
AbdulRazaq is a renowned and well known philanthropist, public servant and a man of peace. In view of his versatility, ability, agility and organized ways, Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been announced as the chairperson of the National Project Steering and Deployment Committee (NPSDC) for innovative strengthening of smallholder farmers capabilities in Nigeria. The committee’s mandate includes strengthening smallholder farmers’ capabilities towards productive land restoration amid COVID-19 in Nigeria.
Mallam AbdulRazaq has overtime built resilient communities and ensuring food security which was unarguably a pointer to lead the strategic committee. The setting up of the committee came amid the growing stature of AbdulRazaq owing largely to his commitments to issues of sustainable development goals (SDGs) such as education, health, gender equality, climate action, and eradication of poverty, sustainable agriculture and food security, among others.
The developmental strides in the state cut across all sectors, institutions and units which are parts of his blueprint strategy to drive growth and accelerate implementation of innovative projects to improve livelihood of all Kwarans’ capabilities in accordance with the National Development Plan of Nigeria. This administration foregoing layouts would ensure the application of multi-sectoral approach for the deployment of innovative land restoration and energy access to accelerate food security, renewable energy access, land restoration, digital literacy, socio economic impacts, climate resilience, create jobs, and improve the standard of living and human wellbeing.
It is a truism to say that Mallam AbdulRazaq has been a very well known name in public discourse in view of his humility, efficiency, excellence and versatility. In other words, his prolific interventions and interjections constitute a body of discourse which can be used as a reference material in Nigeria’s journey towards statehood.
Moreso, there are certain personalities and authorities that are irresistible to historians, biographers or chroniclers of certain significant epochs either because of the circumstances of their birth, their life or because of their specific and strategic impact of their contributions to their society. His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is known for this. Unarguably, he is a man of impeccable credentials and many qualities rolled into one and highly focused, reasonable and intelligent, performing his duties with utmost diligence, transparency and accountability.
Great philosophers often say that attaining the position of leadership is without doubt a burden bearing in mind that not all leaders possess all that it takes to bear the leadership burden successfully. If a person emerges as a leader in an exceptional circumstance, such a person by whatever standard is without doubt not out of the way. One of such in Nigeria today is, the incumbent executive governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, he was born in Ilorin West Local Government. AbdulRazaq is the son of Alh. A. G. F. AbdulRazaq SAN., the first northern lawyer in Nigeria.
By Basheer Luqman Olarewaju
31st March, 2021