CLOSE-UP: Abbas, former university don who is speaker of 10th house of reps

The presiding officers of the 10th national assembly have been elected and the inauguration concluded. This followed a whirlwind of political spectacle, relentless campaigning, and intense horsetrading.

Godswill Akpabio, the “uncommon” former governor of Akwa Ibom state, has ascended to the throne of the senate president, wielding the gavel, while Tajudeen Abbas, claimed the mantle of leadership in the house of representatives. 

Akpabio and Abbas were anointed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its preferred candidates for the positions. Taking lessons from past experiences, the ruling party took every necessary measure to ensure its nominated candidates are elected. 

During the election on Tuesday, Abbas secured 353 votes to defeat Sani Jaji, a Zamfara lawmaker who polled 3 votes, and Idris Wase, a Plateau lawmaker and former deputy speaker, who had 3 votes too.

But who is Abbas, the lawmaker representing the Zaria federal constituency of Kaduna, who will lead the green chamber for the next four years? 

BORN INTO ROYALTY 

Birthed into royalty, Abbas was born three years after Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1963, into a ruling family in the Zazzau Emirate nestled in the ancient city of Zaria, Zaria LGA of Kaduna state.

He holds the traditional title of Iyan Zazzau. His great-grandfather was an emir in the Zazzau Emirate. He comes from the Mallawa dynasty of the emirate. Meanwhile, his mother hails from Dutsen Kura in Malumfashi LGA of Katsina state.

By the dictates of the longstanding tradition, Abbas finds himself within the sacred order of succession. He is in line to ascend the illustrious throne as the Emir of Zazzau.

From tender years, little Abbas radiated an aura of exceptional greatness, embodying the rare qualities of a child predestined for the zenith.

Abbas was enrolled at the LEA Primary School, Lemu, Zaria, where he obtained his first school leaving certificate (FSLC). Continuing in his pursuit of knowledge, he went to the Government Secondary School in Makarfi, where he acquired the West African Examination Certificate (WAEC) in 1978.

With an insatiable hunger for academic excellence, he obtained a Grade I certificate at Kaduna Teacher’s College in 1981. Abbas then proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria where he studied accounting and bagged a diploma in 1984.

His academic odyssey continued unabated as he obtained a B.Sc in business administration from Ahmadu Bello University in 1988. He bagged an M.Sc in business administration from the same institution in 1993. Abbas went further to get a PhD from Usman Dan Fodio University in Sokoto.

He also obtained another B.Sc in Business Administration Management from Usman Dan Fodio University.

CAREER IN CIVIL SERVICE

Abbas’ journey is a captivating tale that saw him blossom from the position of a primary school teacher to an esteemed senior lecturer at the university.

Abbas was a primary school teacher from 1981 to 1988. In June 1998, Abbas decided to temporarily veer away from the familiar path of civil service. He delved into the private sector, joining the Nigerian Tobacco Company (NTC) Plc in Jos. For three years and three months, he held the esteemed position of a general manager, navigating through the complexities of the industry.

Abbas later joined the Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic in September 2001, where he lectured until June 2005. 

A month after, Abbas embarked on a new chapter at the Kaduna State University. With determination and dedication, he ascended the ranks, reaching the pinnacle of a senior lecturer, a testament to his profound knowledge and commitment.

Yet, just when his academic career seemed to have reached its zenith, the allure of politics beckoned. In 2010, Abbas made the audacious leap into the unpredictable murky waters of politics, bidding farewell to the halls of academia. 

PARLIAMENTARY VOYAGE 

Abbas was first elected to the federal house of representatives on the platform of the now-defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011.

In a stunning display of support, he triumphed once again in the 2015 elections, this time on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Abbas took on multiple roles as a member of various committees within the hallowed green chamber. 

He was the deputy chairman of the house committee on legislative compliance between 2011 and 2015. Following the inauguration of the house in 2019, he was appointed to chair the committee on land transport. 

Tajudeen was also saddled with other legislative ad hoc assignments in the lower legislative chamber. In 2019, he was appointed as the treasurer of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (African chapter).

He was a member of the governing council of the Nigerian Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) where he represented the north-west geo-political zone from 2019 to 2023. 

Abbas was the APC Kaduna caucus leader in the house of representatives, a position he held since 2019. In 2021, he was appointed the chairman of the house of representatives sub-committee on the constitutional review conference for the north-central. 

Despite the numerous roles he handled, Abbas did not take a back seat in delivering his core constitutional mandate of lawmaking. He sponsored several bills and motions. The lawmaker is described by his colleagues as a“silent achiever”.

During his four years stint in the 9th lower legislative chamber, he sponsored 74 bills; out of this extraordinary tally, over 18 received presidential assent.  

Until recently, many Nigerians were oblivious of his remarkable achievements as Abbas humbly shied away from the limelight. 

In recognition of his exceptional legislative achievement, OrderPaper Nigeria, a news media organisation dedicated to reporting parliamentary affairs, recently bestowed upon Abbas an award for being among the top performers in the 9th national assembly.

MAN OF MANY FIRSTS 

In the course of his career, Abbas has had the golden chance to blaze the trail, sculpting a formidable bedrock for those after him.

He is the only federal lawmaker from the north-west geo-political zone who has thus far sponsored an unprecedented 74 bills. He is also the first since the return to democracy in 1999 to have sponsored such a number of bills and remains the first to have over 20 signed into law. 

Abbas was the pioneer head of the Department of Accounting and Finance, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria. He also pioneered the Department of Business Administration at the same institution.

The legislator was the pioneer head of the Department of Accounting at Kaduna State University.

Aside from the fact that Abbas was the anointed candidate of the APC, he was also the preferred candidate of Femi Gbajabiamila, his predecessor. 

Amid swirling whispers that Gbajabiamila supported Abbas even before the ruling party’s nominations, Gbajabiamila denied any such allegiance to Abbas when confronted by other contenders in the race.

However, breaking his silence after the APC declared Abbas as its preferred choice for the speakership position, Gbajabiamila said he threw his weight behind Abbas, describing him as a man with extraordinary capabilities to guide the parliament.

“So, I decided to support a person that’s least close to me of everybody that is running because I saw in him a man with tremendous capacity,” Gbajabiamila said. 

“My point is, he quietly makes his impact, very quietly. When I found out that he had drafted and sponsored 74 bills, I said what kind of human being is this? I mean who does that? To draft and sponsor one bill can take a year, can take two years of thorough research. But to do 74, when you are not a bill factory. Not only did you sponsor 74 bills, you actually had 21 of them signed into law. 

“I nominated him for the membership of the African Parliamentary Union in 2019. But he got there and made a name for himself. Whenever I attend the conference of the union in Rwanda, Uganda or Cairo or wherever, rather than the legislators from other countries coming around me, I was abandoned. And they, at each time, each conference, gravitated towards Tajudeen Abbas. 

“I spoke to the speaker of Kenya one time and he asked me how long Tajudeen has been in parliament, I told him. He said that each time his members come home, they keep talking about him (Abbas). He ran on his own and became the treasurer of the African parliament. 

“So, Tajudeen is somebody I felt we could be proud of as members of the house of representatives. That’s not to say that others don’t have the capacity. But there’s capacity, and there’s capacity.” 

‘INDEPENDENCE OF LEGISLATURE WON’T BE COMPROMISED UNDER ME’

Speaking during an interview recently, Abbas said the 10th national assembly won’t be a rubber stamp if he’s elected the speaker.

The previous assembly was perceived by some Nigerians to be a “rubber stamp”. Abbas said while he will maintain legislative independence, the parliament will work with the executive for the benefit of Nigerians.

“There will be no way that the independence of our national assembly under our leadership will be compromised. This you can take to the market,” he said.

With Abbas ascending the throne of the number four seat in the country, all eyes are fixed on him, as he orchestrates the symphony of the green chamber over the course of the next four years.