Barewa College
Jibrin Ibrahim
Barewa College Annual Dialogue and Honours Awards
Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy Column, Daily Trust, 15th November 2024
On Saturday, my Alma Mata celebrated this year’s Annual Dialogue and Honours Awards. This year’s theme was “Nigeria’s March to Renaissance: Lessons from the Life of General Yakubu Gowon”, was well chosen as the entire Nation has much to learn from his exemplary life and leadership. There is no surprise that he is a product of such an illustrious school that has produced so many great leaders for our country. The school has a long history starting in 1922 with the establishment of Katsina Training College. Since that time, the College has produced my generations of leaders for Nigeria. Our association, Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) is for all students that have attended iterations of the college - Katsina Training College, Katsina Higher College, Kaduna College, Zaria Secondary School and Government College, Zaria. The school was renamed Barewa College in 1972.
Barewa College has been able to maintain an impressive that clear school tradition and culture, maintained in the various phases of the school’s existence. No doubt, the fact that BOBA has been in existence and active since 1939 is part of the explanation of this capacity to maintain this culture of excellence over the years.
Barewa College prides itself in the number of men who are achievers in their respective fields, men who gave invaluable and selfless service to the nation, especially at its most desperate moments of need. Barewa College produced the first Premier of Northern Nigeria, (B87) Sir Ahmadu Bello, the first Prime Minister of Nigeria (145) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The only two indigenous Governors of Northern Nigeria (B73) Sir Kashim Ibrahim and (B669) General Hassan Usman Katsina. The College also produced five Heads of State and Presidents of Nigeria. (B783) General Yakubu Gowon, (B941) General Murtala Mohammed, (B394) Alhaji Shehu Shagari (B394) and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (B2465). It also produced a Sultan of Sokoto (B2612) Sultan Muhammad Saad 11 and many Emirs and Chiefs.
The Chairman of the occasion was Professor Iya Abubakar, former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University and brilliant mathematician who became a professor at the tender age of 28. He is today 92 years old and blessed with God’s grace, still had the ability to effectively steer the activities of the day. The dialogue was set in motion by another former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Ango Abdullahi, who spoke eloquently about the character, skills and commitment of General Gowon, as his senior in the College, and later as Head of State and elder Statesman.
Yours truly moderated the debate on “Nigeria’s March to Renaissance: Lessons from the Life of General Yakubu Gowon”, with an excellent panel composed of the theologian, Rev (Prof) Yusuf Obaje, the activist Dr Usman Bugaje and Lt Gen Abdulrahaman Dambazau, former Chief of Army Staff and Minister of Interior. They all drew attention to the competence, humility and sense of public service of the earlier generations of leaders and said that renaissance is possible only if we can return to that type of leadership. Current leaders are too corrupt and self-centred to move the country forward.
The centre of focus for the entire event was General Yakubu Gowon, who had celebrated his 90th birthday on Saturday, October 19, 2024. This milestone birthday was marked with tributes and celebrations from virtually all Nigerian leaders and citizens indicating the deep respect and admiration for him. Gowon has always been a model to study and learn from because of his great skill set in good and selfless governance. While at Barewa College, Gen. Gowon was a remarkable athlete who participated in different sporting activities including pole vault, long distance running and was the captain of the boxing team. He was also the goalkeeper of the School’s football team.
The General joined the Nigerian Army in 1954 and received his commission as a second lieutenant on his 21st Birthday - 19th of October 1955). He attended the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom (1955–56), Staff College, Camberley, United Kingdom (1962) as well as the Joint Staff College, Latimer, 1965. He was part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Congo in 1960–61 and in 1963.
Gen. Gowon became Nigeria's youngest military Chief of Staff at the age of 31 to the Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi led Military Administration. He was a few months later to become Nigeria’s youngest Head of State in circumstances he never envisaged. General Gowon left a monumental governance legacy that has laid the foundation for modern Nigeria.
The creation of 12 states by General Yakubu Gowon in 1967 marked a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s history, signalling the beginning of a unified nation. By dividing the four regions into smaller, more manageable units, Gowon set the stage for the promotion of national integration and reduction of ethno-regional tensions. This bold move helped bridge the gap between Nigeria’s diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of shared identity and citizenship. This restructuring laid the groundwork for a more inclusive and representative government.
I believe that Gowon’s state creation exercise had far-reaching consequences, transforming Nigeria’s political landscape and paving the way for future development. By empowering minority groups and reducing regional dominance by hegemons, Gowon’s reforms promoted national unity and stability. The new states enabled more effective governance, improved resource allocation, and enhanced representation for marginalized communities.
Additionally, this decentralization helped to dilute the tensions that had fuelled the civil war, allowing Nigeria to begin rebuilding and healing. As Nigeria continued to evolve, Gowon’s vision for a unified nation remained a guiding principle, shaping the country’s progress and informing subsequent state creation exercises that have brought the total number of states to 36 plus FCT today. Gowon’s legacy in this regard remains a cornerstone of Nigeria’s federalism.
The restructuring of Nigerian federalism by Gen Gowon had far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s political landscape. The creation of new states helped to distribute power more evenly, giving voice to previously marginalized communities. This, in turn, contributed to the country’s reconciliation efforts after the civil war.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by his Minister of Education, addressed the event declaring that he got elected on the basis of a clear policy framework, the Renewed Hope Agenda:
“In this framework, education has the status of our compass with which we shall continue to navigate and smoothen our hitherto tortuous development path to have a Nigeria where every citizen has unhindered opportunity to realise his or her life ambition and lead a meaningful life that is useful to himself, immediate community, the country and the global community. As the light of the nation, my administration is working very hard to sharpen Nigeria’s focus on ensuring an abundance of human and material resources for the education sector that would invariably lead to improved educational outcomes in Nigeria.”
He announced that the Ministry of Education has produced a Roadmap which sets out a clear pathway for revamping our educational system to ensure equitable access to quality education, improved learning outcomes and a strengthened system; concluding that: “We can no longer accept exceptional stories of excellence in various educational pursuits by Nigerians outside the country without seeing more of same within our shores.”
Cornelius Hamelberg
The N word.
From “ What good news can come out of Nazareth?” to Wonderful News from Professor Jibrin Ibrahim , about NIGERIA!
Congratulations!
From despair to JOY !
From Crucifixion to Resurrection and Life Everlasting otherwise known as SALVATION -
Salvation, as we urchins in our shorti khaki trousers and white shirt school uniforms used to stand up all together, to greet our Latin Teacher in the first form of secondary school: ”Salve Magister !”, so too I salute Professor Ibrahim in my buba and sokoto: Salve Magister because the news that he has just conveyed gives me the same feeling as, forever performing the ritual of pouring from the tea kettle to the teapot to the teacup and back to aerate the tea - to oxygenize it , the Hausa man up North, after imbibing his daily morning/ afternoon / evening portion of Halal Tea, alhamdulillah, feels joy !
In the words of Jack Kerouac, “ the first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy!”
And this is the history of the trajectory of that feeling : This afternoon, I was in a bad mood when what I first saw at the top of the listserve was the headline Barewa College, next line Jibrin Ibrahim to 'chidi opara reports' via USA Africa Dialogue Series…
And so my heart skipped a beat as I questioned, what is it now ? , half suspecting that this time, the ill report from Professor Ibrahim was that the up to no good Boko Haram had struck again and this time the unfortunate target was Barewa College, that Boko Haram had caught them napping there as well and that just like with the Chibok Girls, this time the Boko Haram operatives had carted away the Principal and the senior staff on their motor motorcycles all the way to the Sambisa Forest and soon enough they would be requesting that President Tinubu cough up the ransom money - or else ! All of this meaning of course that Dear Tinubu was in more plenty of trouble than anybody else and that Peter Obi & Alhaji Atiku et al were going to be having a field day lambasting the government for the deteriorating security situation in the country….
How pleasantly unfounded were all these premonitions! Gone was the image of The Wicked Messenger and Judas Iscariot lovingly replaced by the benign , avuncular, goodhearted Jibrin Ibrahim in turn celebrating a true hero of Nigeria Yakubu Gowon on whose shoulders such tremendous responsibilities had been placed at such a young age - but with the help of the Almighty he had discharged his duties to the nation, so handsomely.
It was a pleasure, educative, impressive and uplifting, reading about BEREWA COLLEGE.
Why is it Professor Ibrahim’s “alma mata” and not his alma mater?
Hopefully, the current government, the only one we have at the moment, will take the commitment to “equitable access to quality education” more seriously than previous governments have, to date, in terms of the desired “equity” in levelling the playing field and bridging the gap, the much lamented education chasm between the South and THE NORTH according to which, relatively speaking, on the national scale, the North is said to be still lagging far behind.
Ibrahim Abdullah
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Okey Iheduru
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Cornelius Hamelberg
It’s a curious fact of history that the so-called class society was / is not only replicated in what were the British colonies in Africa but that such structures existed long before colonisation, and intensified after independence, as the governing elites tried to consolidate their power.
Of relevance :
Abner Cohen : The Politics of Elite Culture
Achille Mbembe : On the Postcolony
Professor Ibrahim Abdullah and Professor Okey Iheduru’s terse reaction to Professor Jibrin Ibrahim’s celebratory report on the annual gathering at his old school is the equivalent of raining on his parade. Their reaction is reminiscent of an often critical, angry, bitter, and disdainful Professor Bernard Porter’s several takes on privileged aristocracy ‘s Eton College ( and Harrow) in his view, breeding grounds of the kind of elitism that has produced the vast majority of Tory leadership, prior to the era of the recent upstarts such as Rishi Sunak and Kemi Badenoch.
However, I’m sure that he wouldn’t go as far as to say the equivalent of “Are these not the very characters who plunged Nigeria into darkness? “
For a sampling of his ire, lodged at Porter’s Pensées , check out the following:
https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Eton
https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Public+School
https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Rees-Mogg
https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Boris+Johnson
Sometimes, especially for those of us who are interested spectators / observers, and well-wishers who are not necessarily so intimately familiar with the political history of Nigeria 1914 -2024, these hit-and-run arguments don’t throw more light on the given issue.
Like a proud, good old boy of Barewa College, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim has dutifully reported that at this year’s Annual Dialogue and Honours Awards, he moderated the discussion on the theme “Nigeria’s March to Renaissance: Lessons from the Life of General Yakubu Gowon” The contents of that discussion should prove to be very interesting. If only we could have a podcast or transcript of it it could be the subject matter of further discussion and Messrs Ibrahim Abdullah and Okey Iheduru could take their knives out, for the dissection
As to the general accusation about those responsible for allegedly having “plunged Nigeria into darkness” - obviously, by no stretch of the imagination can Yakubu Gowon the centrepiece of the celebration be identified as one of them, and inarguably nor can most of the Notable alumni of BAREWA COLLEGE
Cornelius Hamelberg
PS
For good measure, about those under the radar, in addition to Jacob Rees-Mogg among those earning the wrath of Professor Porter’s unfriendly intense scrutiny, I forgot to add
Michael Gove 👍 : https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Michael+Gove
Suella Braverman : https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Suella++Braverman
And to a lesser extent Priti Patel : https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Priti+Patel
Of course, all of the aforementioned, in contrast to e.g. the much maligned Jeremy Corbyn :
https://bernardjporter.com/?s=Jeremy+Corbyn+
That’s what happens when you enter the political arena - you occupy vital public space and if you’re unlucky you attract a lot of unwanted and undesirable human scrutiny which can sometimes morph into cruelty
As things are, on the whole Nigerian politicians don’t enter the political arena with that much ideological baggage or remarkable ideological identities either to the left or the right. So we have chaps like Peter Obi in my opinion, mostly paying lip service to his conceptions of “Labour” , “ Socialism”, jockeying for his most desired favourable position, the highest in the land and with that in mind, he hopes that his credentials will be enhanced by being the one of the first among the Nigerian big shots to be sending hearty congratulations to Trump.
Wisely, though, Obi ,who is not an old boy of Barewa College, did not attempt a January 6 type of Insurrection based on a similar conviction that it was he who really ”won” the last Nigerian Presidential Election, when in fact he only came in third…
With regard to the old boys alumni of Barewa College there are notable exceptions
totally nullifying and rejecting any preposterous notion of being one of the “characters who plunged Nigeria into darkness” we have other notable alumni of Barewa College, illustrious alumni such as
On a lighter note : Songs to Shakespeare ( Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Graham Johnson
Showering praise where praise is due:
Kenny Burrell - All Star Guitar Night 2015
KING SUNNY ADE - A GBE KINI OHUN DE
Ibrahim Abdullah
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Jibrin Ibrahim
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Cornelius Hamelberg
Murtala Muhammed was deposed in a failed coup d'ètat
Re - The Assassination of Murtala Muhammed
Rather disingenuously, Professor Ibrahim Abdullah has asked, “ Why did Yakubu Gowon order the execution of Murtala Muhammed ?”
When someone, the calibre of Professor Ibrahim Abdullah, an esteemed man of knowledge and fond of accusing others of “revisionism”, when in the same breath, he makes such a dangerous and provocative allegation it must be that he is privy to some sacred, secret or obscure piece of intelligence that is not readily available in the public domain.
I complained to Baba Kadiri about this wicked allegation, and since Professor Ibrahim Abdullah can speculate as much as he wants but cannot substantiate such a claim, hopefully Baba Kadiri will clear the air about this…