Today, many roads in Abuja will converge at the NAF Conference Centre, where a book on the life and times of Brigadier Musa Usman will be presented to the public He was the Air Force officer who served as the Military Governor of Northeastern State, which today comprises Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe States. I intend to be there as a mark of respect for the state governor I knew throughout my secondary school days and up till my final year at university.
In 1967, I was a form one student at Government College Keffi, and even though I was still in my early teens, I was well abreast of happenings in the country It was one of the most turbulent times for the country. A section of the Nigerian Army had struck a coup the previous year, in January, killing high-ranking political and military leaders, mostly of northern Nigerian origin. A military government came to power under General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. A revenge coup followed in July, with the killing of the military leader and the emergence of Lt Col Yakubu Gowon as Head of State.
Communal upheavals and killings of South Easterners led to their mass exodus to their region from other parts of the country The Eastern Region Military Governor, Lt Col Odumegwu Ojukwu, became belligerent and threatened to declare his enclave independent. It was under those circumstances that Yakubu Gowon broke the country into 12 states. I had the opportunity to listen to Gowon’s broadcast announcing the creation of the 12 states. It was on May 27, and being a Saturday, I was on an outing to my guardian’s house in Keffi town.
In those days, radios were scarce People gathered around a radio whenever important broadcasts were made. That was what I met at my guardian’s house: a crowd around a radio listening to Gowon’s broadcast announcing the creation of 12 states out of the four regions. Major Musa Usman was named military governor of the North Eastern State, which now comprises Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, and Bauchi. Having been born and raised in Maiduguri, the new capital of the state where Musa Usman presided as governor, I was a witness to his governance.
I look forward to reading the book Written by Mahmud Jega and Theophilus Abbah, two of our finest writers and journalists of pedigree, I expect the book will evoke memories of those pioneering days when state creation in the north meant spreading development beyond Kaduna. The book will be an important addition to the memoirs of officials who have worked closely with him when he was governor. Many of those officials paid glowing tribute to Musa Usman’s leadership qualities as governor. He is variously described with such superlatives: sagacious, intelligent, far-sighted and the like.
Liman Ciroma, who was permanent secretary in the Northeast Ministry of Education, wrote in his biography, Testing the Grits of Public Service: ‘’North-Eastern State was lucky in having Musa Usman as its governor He was not only intelligent but was broad-minded and did not mind exchanging views and ideas with his officials as equals rather than as a boss instructing subordinates. He was ready to listen to advice.” Liman Ciroma would later proceed to the Federal Civil Service as permanent secretary and ultimately served as secretary to the military government and head of service (SMG).
I never met Musa Usman when he was governor However, when I went on transfer to the Borno State Government in 1986, I had a curious encounter with him under unusual circumstances. It tested the humility of the man, and in my estimation, he came out of it with flying colours. Sometime in 1990, he came to Government House, Maiduguri, for a scheduled evening appointment with the Military Governor, Col. Muhammed Lawan Maina. The Governor had left the office and walked to the residence to await his guest.
At the appointed time, Musa Usman drove to the Government House but was stopped at the gate and turned back by the guards because his name was not on the guests’ list that day I guess an oversight occurred on the part of the scheduling staff, resulting in the embarrassing situation. When he returned to his lodging, he called the Governor and reported that the guards had turned him back at the Government House gate. I was the Permanent Secretary, Government House, and was in the office when I received a call from the Governor to come up to the residence to see him. I found him agitated and in a foul mood, but it was not a moment for fault-finding.
He directed me to drive to Brigadier Abba Kyari’s house, where Musa Usman had lodged, to apologise and fetch him Brigadier Abba Kyari, the Governor of the North Central State from 1967 to 1975, was a colleague and a close friend of Musa Usman. I drove the short distance to the house and found them laughing over the episode. I apologised, took Musa Usman into my car, and drove back with his car in tow. Surprisingly, Musa Usman was quite affable and philosophical during the short journey, pointing out to me how fickle history is. He had occupied Maiduguri Government House for nine years, and now the guards were turning him back.
We will continue the discussion after the event