For him to serve as deputy to two
successive governors when elsewhere governors routinely engineer the
removal of their deputies, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa must have been a
savvy politician.
Yakowa died yesterday in a helicopter crash in Bayelsa State on his way
back from a burial event, two and a half years after he became governor
of Kaduna State.
He was a seasoned civil servant, having
risen to the topmost level as Federal permanent secretary. He also
served as minister during the military regime of General Abdulsalami
Abubakar.
Yakowa first joined the inner political
circles of Kaduna State when he was appointed secretary to the state
government in July 2003.
Since then, death catapulted him to
higher office twice. In July 2005, he was named deputy governor to
replace the late Stephen Shekari. About five years later, the death of
then-President Umaru Yar’adua led to the appointment of Yakowa’s boss as
vice president and consequently he took over as governor of Kaduna
State.
Yakowa served as deputy governor first
to then-Governor Ahmed Makarfi, and in 2007 he became the running mate
to Arch Namadi Sambo who went on to win the governorship election. Thus,
Yakowa remained as deputy governor till May 5, 2010 when he stepped in
as governor with the appointment of Sambo as vice president.
Calm, peace loving and vastly
experienced, Yakowa was born on December 1, 1948 in Fadan Kagoma, Jema’a
Local Government Area of Kaduna State. He started his education career
at the St. Paul’s Primary school, Fadan Kagoma between 1956 and1968
before moving to the senior section of the school in Magamiya. In 1961,
he completed his primary school education and a year later he enrolled
at St. Mary’s Secondary School, Fadan Kaje.
Thereafter, he transferred to the famous
St. John’s College, now known as Rimi College, Kaduna where he
completed his senior secondary school education in 1968. He obtained the
higher school certificate from the college.
Yakowa was admitted into the Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria in 1969 and bagged a degree in Social Science in
1972. In pursuit of higher education, he went to the Institute of
Administration, University of Ife, Ile-Ife for Post Graduate Diploma in
Public Administration in December 1974. In September 1977, Yakowa went
to the Institute of Administration of the Ahmadu Bello University for a
Master’s in Public Administration. He completed the programme in 1978.
Yakowa started his working career as an
administrative officer in the then North Central State Civil Service on
June 16, 1972. In less than two weeks, he became the Assistant Secretary
II in the State Sports Council, a position he held until October 1973.
In recognition of his performance, he was moved to ministry of finance
and establishment of the North central state.
In the same month, he was elevated to
Senior Assistant Secretary and transferred to the Ministry of
Establishment and Training. While in this position, he was a regular
member of the state delegation to the meetings of the National Council
on Establishment. Yakowa was also a member of the national committee
that drafted the scheme of service for all cadres of staff in the
federal and state civil service. He had his first posting to the
governor’s office during the Obasanjo-led military era in 1979, when he
was made under-secretary in the Kaduna military governor’s office.
In March 1984, he was made the
Administrative Officer of the State Agricultural Development Project.
After spending months in that position, he was appointed the sole
administrator of Saminaka local government area, before becoming the
caretaker committee chairman. Yakowa reached the peak of his civil
service career in 1987, when he was appointed the permanent secretary,
Kaduna State ministry of health and social development. Not too long
after, he was deployed to the ministry of Works and Transport.
He transferred his service from Kaduna
State to the Federal Government in August 1990. He was made Director,
Ecological Funds in the Presidency and later he was transferred to
Ministry of Water Resources as the Director of Finance and supply. One
interesting thing about the career of Mr Yakowa in the Federal Civil
Service was that he was a Minister before he became a Federal permanent
secretary. He served as minister of Solid Minerals Development in
1998-1999. He became federal permanent secretary after leaving the
ministerial office in May 1999.
Between 1999 and 2003, Yakowa was a
member of the National Economic Intelligence Committee in the
Presidency. He returned to Kaduna State in July 2003 as the Secretary
to the State Government during the second term of the Ahmed Makarfi
administration. Following the demise of the then deputy governor Stephen
Shekari, he was elevated to the deputy governor’s position.
A member of many associations, local,
national and international, Yakowa has contributed immensely in the
development of his people of Fadan Kagoma. He facilitated the drilling
of the first borehole in the area, and the electrification and tarring
of major roads in the area. He was the first Southern Kaduna man to
govern the state.
Throughout his tenure as governor of
Kaduna state, Yakowa worked hard for the maintenance of law and order.
He will be remembered for his simplicity, hard work and commitment to
the development of Kaduna State. His last major assignment in the state
was the presentation of the 2013 budget to the State House of Assembly
on Thursday.
His death yesterday paved the way for his deputy, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, to be sworn-in as governor of Kaduna State.
WEEKLY TRUST
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