Bamangar Tukur: Beyond PDP Chairmanship
By Esther Adebola
It is not unlikely that the recent appointment of the immediate former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bamanga Muhammad Tukur, as the new Chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) might be interpreted differently by diverse schools of opinions.
While some may have given political interpretation to his new appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan as the railway board chair, for those in commerce and industry, Tukur’s new role at the state-owned railway outfit is a symbolic acclaim of his strides in the growth and development of the economic prosperity of Nigeria in particular, and Africa as a whole. Although a politician and businessman, Tukur’s appointment at NRC, where he is expected to bring his wealth of experience to bear on the turnaround of the corporation, is no mean assignment. Reason for this is not far to seek: he has played significant roles in bringing a number of public and private businesses he has either managed, initiated or being a part of, to optimal efficiency and profitability.
Fundamentally, it is his load of experience as a business strategist, master economist and the audacity of a rare business administrator, so much missed during his forays into active partisan politics that would be the gain of this comeback to commerce and industry.
I recall that back then in the 1980s as a university undergraduate of business administration, it was such a delight for me and most of my classmates to reference the remarkable decongestion of the Lagos ports, in the mid-1970s, as a classical case study in effective business leadership. For a refresher, Tukur became the general manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at a time the agency had problems with congestion as a result of a massive cement importation scheme by the Federal Government for the building of some public buildings and infrastructure. Not long after his assumption at the ports authority, he rid the ports of the congestion, a feat that brought him to national limelight and acclaim.
During his tenure, government also built a few more seaports to ease the transaction cost associated with shipping and to ensure adequate facilities for Nigeria’s import and export needs. He was also credited with the reform of ports administration among which was the elimination of touting and theft at the ports.
Also with his return, the chain of private enterprises as well as economic development initiatives in which he is involved both at private and governmental levels are also set to receive a tremendous boost. It must be acknowledged that the successes recorded by those enterprises while Tukur was away on partisan politics attest eloquently to the good entrepreneurial and business management models he had instituted when he was around for the businesses. Thus, his comeback will undoubtedly afford a number of young and upcoming entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn from this great pillar of Nigerian and African economic prosperity.
An ambassador extraordinary, there is certainly no quantum of acknowledgement that is sufficient to qualify Alhaji Tukur. As the Executive President of the African Business Roundtable and Chairman of the New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) Business Group, he eminently qualifies as an African global citizen. A member of the Federal Executive Council, he was the Minister of Industry in the administration of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, from 1993 to 1995. Tukur’s burden for food security in the continent also informed his investment in Nigeria’s agriculture sector. The same passion was the reason he made agriculture one of the cardinal points of his administration as an elected governor of the old Gongola State.
Tukur’s foray into commerce and industry as the founder and chairman of BHI Holding has also seen him help government in the creation of jobs, poverty alleviation and economic empowerment for hundreds of Nigerians and their dependants. No wonder he has been widely honoured and recognised at home and internationally with many laurels. They include Honorary Life President of the West and Central Africa Ports Management Association, and a member of various Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria. He is also member of the UNIDO International Business Advisory Council, the Ghana Investors Advisory Council and the OECD Africa Investment Advisory Board. He was elected Chairman of the NEPAD Business Group in March 2002. Dr. Tukur serves as Chairman of Advisory Board at Africa Investor Ltd. and also serves as Chairman of the Board at African Investment Advisory.
From the perspective of a development and business analyst, the nation’s economic and business landscape is already in anticipation to have Tukur sit fully at business meetings, economic round-tables and summits where the path for Nigeria, and indeed Africa towards maximising the global acknowledgement of the continent’s surging strength as emerging market can be collectively charted. Here is welcoming Dr. Bamanga Tukur, first on board at NRC, and to the larger commerce and industry sphere.
Adebola, a development analyst writes from Lagos.
