Hon. Aliyu Da’u
By Lawal Jet Kaugama
The management of the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives chamber, on May 24, 2023, acknowledged the courageous and selfless service Hon. Aliyu Da’u, member representing Birnin Kudu/Buji Federal Constituency of Jigawa state, had offered to Nigerians in the course of his legislative duties, bordering mostly on electricity supply in the country.
In a letter of commendation signed by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, Hon. Da’u was commended for his leadership qualities, mature vision for teamwork as well as his never failing attention to details in his legislative oversight.
This commendation did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians who are consumers of electricity and the epileptic nature of power supply.
While many Nigerian public officeholders who matter, would keep mum on pressing issues, Hon. Da’u speaks out.
In one of his courageous speech, he blamed reoccurring national grid collapse on Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN) obsolete equipment it had inherited.
He said this in answer to journalists’ questions after a reception in his honour on the completion of his PhD programme in Birnin Kudu..
Courageously, Da’u said Nigerians should note that the TCN inherited old infrastructure, so all at their disposal were outdated. He added that TCN didn’t even have a scanner to monitor their activities. He further argued TCN could not even access their network in Shiroro because of banditry.
However, he expressed opposition to calls for the privatisation of the TCN because the privatisation of DisCos did not help matter.
The popularity of Hon. Dau came to the front burner when more than 4,000 people graced his reception on his return home upon the successful completion of his PhD programme in Public Administration at the University of Scotland. During the reception, he expressed optimism that the APC would win the 2023 general election at all levels in the state and his prediction had come to pass. He arrived at this analysis because he saw the handwriting on the wall very clearly.
This is a singular public officeholder who was able to meet with people and connect with them to make then feel relevant and realise their social and political worthiness and potentials.
Hon. Da’u and his colleagues had done their best to ensure that APC won in Jigawa in the general election at all levels.
We, his supporters, predicted his reelection in 2023, and it has come to pass. Our prediction was realistic based on crowd he pulled to any event he attended.
The articulate Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Power, courageously told Nigerians that the over 40-year old Mambilla Hydro-Power project had existed only on papers because there was nothing on ground to show that the project had commenced before the coming APC-led government.
The humanity and altruistic nature of Hon Da’u have all combined to endear him to the people. His popularity that was spreading like wildfire, made his traducers resorting to threat on his life. Therefore, out of envy, anger and frustration, his enemies who could not stop his popularity attacked his convoy in February last year, in order to eliminate him and clear the way for them. But God, protected his servant from the the miscreants and hired assassins.
Hon. Da’u was right to say the attack was sponsored by his political detractors who were threatened by the record of his sterling performance in the green chambers of the National Assembly.
But all this did not deter Da’u who insists that he offers effective and quality representation for his compatriots in his years at the National Assembly.
The incorruptible lawmaker has personally sponsored and attracted people-oriented projects to the constituency with verifiable records.
Before the general election, Recently, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across 248 polling units of his constituency had passed a vote of confidence on him for his good representation and people-oriented leadership.
Why not? The lawmaker has executed over 18 road projects and hundreds of solar street lights. He has constructed numerous classroom blocks in schools, built maternity hospitals, and attracted to the constituency Federal Government College of Special Education project.
Because of his constant connection with the people, he identifies their problems and goes about to solve them. He has therefore, promised to bring more dividends of democracy to them, challenging anyone with allegation of his poor performance or neglect of any area in his constituency to come forward and prove it.
Going by the number of projects he has executed for the good of his people, we, his constituents, need no any other person from any political party to take his place now or in the near future.
We are happy that Da’u said he would not be distracted by the antics of his detractors who mean no good for the people of his constituency and Jigawa state.
We who are well informed about the political development in Jigawa state and the contribution of Da’u know that his antecedents in his official duties speak volumes of his humanity and leadership qualities. whatever he does, whether in office or out of office, his central concern is the people, their welfare and security. He treads where his feeble-minded colleagues fear to go. His courage, honesty and love of country manifest in both private and official duties. Therefore, a letter of commendation he received from the leadership of 9th House of Representatives was a deserved recognition of his invaluable contribution to national legislation.
Lawal Jet Kaugama, a commentator on national issues, writes from Dutse.
