Date: 2016-08-30

In the days gone by, public and civil service used to be revered for its transparency and incorruptibility, and thus set pace for good governance. Some senior citizens who offered themselves for selfless service also inscribed their names with gold pen. In this report, AHMED 'LATEEF, chronicles the mood at the public presentation of an autobiography of a one-time Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Alhaji Shehu AbdulGafar, in Ilorin.

If there is possibility to turn back the hand of time or had a stint of the heyday, certainly Shehu Gafar admirably called, would want to have for himself a stopwatch and rewind to the old good days when diligence, loyalty, non-partisanship and due process were the order of the day.

For him, the 1990s in the public service were meritorious period that could not be discarded with a wave of the hand. It was the period that distinguished the duties expected of public and civil servants without dabbling into political arena.

The period, he would recall in nostalgia, that placed merit and quality above ethnicity, nepotism and tribal sentiments in the appointment and elevation of both the public and civil servants in their respective places of work.

Irrespective of the backgrounds and social status, every servant was allowed to rise to his or peak while the bar was also raised higher. Whether you had your root from the North or South mattered not, the primary consideration was merit.

Deep inside Shehu Gafar, the erstwhile scribe and Head of Service to the Kwara State Government, he would have loved that such good time was re-enacted for the service and society to return to the path of progress.

The much touted saying that the means justifies the end could be viewed in this regard. For Gafar, joining public service as a mere clerk, was never a factor to resign to fate and remain rooted on a spot.

As a man embedded with quality, the former SSG was of the firm belief that it is a must to strive to navigate the turbulence, as no one has it all sweet even those born with sliver spoon in their mouths.

While battling with the struggle of life, avoiding insatiable lust for worldly materials was the key that kept him going until the struggle reached the berth.

In his public service career, trust, transparency and accountability must not be lost for anyone trying to write his or her name on a platter of gold.

Little wonder despite long years of retirement from the service, Gafar remains tireless. He has continued to offer selfless services to Kwara State. His old age has not also discouraged him from contributing his quota to the overall development of the state.

At different times, he was appointed chairman, State Civil Service Commission and lately pioneer chairman of the state Fiscal Responsibility Commission. Such was a man who believed that hard work pays. No matter the longevity of the period, the good would locate one and bring out the potential in him.

And no matter what anyone does, of importance is the legacy bequeathed the successive generation. And such came to the public scene!

But today, to say the service, which was the pride of senior citizens was endemic and incorrigible, was stating the obvious.

The bastardization of the service opened series of cans of worms where bad eggs in the service colluded with top echelons in public offices to either misappropriate, divert, siphon or outright stealing of the nation's commonwealth.

In the life of Shehu Gafar, Saturday August 27, 2016 was a day to be remembered for a long time to come. It was the day eminent Nigerians from far and near gathered at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Ilorin for unveiling of an autobiography of the ex-government scribe. Indeed, the venue of the event was filled to the brim.

The book titled "My Public Service at the Heart Of National Development" featured prominently lecture and review by seasoned lawyer and academic.

Prior to the unveiling of the book, there was a deluge of eulogy by the roll call of speakers, showering encomia on the celebrant for building a solid structure in the public service.

Among those who poured eulogy on the celebrant were the senate president Bukola Saraki, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Senator Sha'aba Lafiagi, ex-Ambassador to the Royal Kingdom of Netherlands, Dr (Mrs) Nimota Nihinlola Akanbi; pioneer ICPC chairman, Retired Justice Mustapha Akanbi; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Dr Ali Ahmad, Ambassador Muhammad Bala Sanni from Kano and Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) President, Alhaji AbdulHamid Adi.

Saraki, who spoke through a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Saka Abimbola Isau (SAN), said Gafar was instrumental to various reforms carried out in the state civil service.

The senate president, who was a two-term governor of the state, said his government recognised the celebrant potential and contribution to the growth and development of the state, one of which he pointed out, earned him exalted positions after he exited the civil service.

In the same vein, Governor Ahmed described the author as an emblem of public service, saying the foundation he laid remained virile and strong.

Represented by the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Musa Ayinla Yeketi, the governor urged civil servants in the state to emulate him to be successful in their careers.

Senator Sha'aba Lafiagi, who spoke through the Vice-Chancellor, Kwara State University (KWASU), Professor AbdulRasheed Na'Allah, said the celebrant offered over three decades service to the state with due diligence.

The legislator, who is also a former governor of the state, noted that Gafar as Head of Service during his tenure as state helmsman, lived the civil service better than he met it.

He told the gathering that the author's contribution to the smooth take-off of KWASU was invaluable.

Lafiagi applauded the courage and generosity of the celebrant, saying posterity would judge his numerous achievements in public service.

Similarly, Ambassador Nimota Akanbi said the author was worthy of being celebrated, pointing out that he was ready to share his experience with anyone to learn.

She stated that the celebrant had touched many lives immensely and added that his good record was worthy of emulation all over Nigeria.

Justice Mustapha Akanbi identified Gafar as a man naturally embedded with quality, maintaining that he strives to excel in whatever assignment giving to him.

He said the honouree left his footprints in the sand of time not only in public service but communal as well.

Ambassador Sanni from Kano noted that the erstwhile Kwara SSG's service was in pursue of national development, and principally centred on improving the people's welfare.

He said he got struck with piety, gentility, humility and easy going nature of the celebrant.

Kwara Speaker, who was represented by his Deputy, Mathew Okedare, said the autobiography would the interest of youth in the emirate, just as he added that it would inculcate spirit of seriousness in them and those with zeal to make it in life.

In his contribution, IEDPU President, AbdulHamid Adi, said Shehu Gafar, contributed a lot to the conversion of many people willing to be in the mainstream of the civil service, urging those in the service to emulate him.

The Guest Lecturer at the event, Yusuf Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, described the celebrant as a consummate public servant, saying he feel honoured to have been asked to deliver the lecture.

In his remarks, the author of the book, Alhaji Shehu AbdulGaraf, said the autobiography was a narrative exploration into different periods of public services in Northern Nigeria and Kwara State in particular from old time to the contemporary.

"I started my career from the lowly status of a clerk but I rose, by the special grace of Allah, to the peak of the career as the secretary to the state government and Head of Service. This book, thus chronicles my journey in the service to its terminal point", the author said.

At the public presentation of the book were first class traditional rulers including Elerin of Erin-Ile, Oba Ibrahim AbdulGaniyu Olusokun; Emir of Ilesha Baruba, Professor Halidu Abubakar and the representative of the Emir of Ilorin and Magaji Are of Ilorin, Alhaji Aremu Zubair.

Others were Registrar of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, Professor Ish'aq Olanrewaju Oloyede; Senior Advocates of Nigeria including Prince Lateef Fagbemi, Chief Niyi Akintola, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe Roland Otaru and Dr Kayode Olatoke and representative of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor (Mrs) Nike Sidikat Ijaiya.