Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdullahi Muhammadu, exudes confidence and courage. He is a visionary any nation should be proud to have as head of any of its security formations. Pembi David-Stephen writes.
Abdullahi Muhammadu is every child’s dream for a father and an exemplary husband as well as a distinguished security operative. Though he is a pillar today, he traces it to his humble beginning. He is a native of Muye -a town in Lapai local government area of Niger State that exemplifies perseverance, courage and hope while maintaining its own unique style and rhythm. Muhammadu displays all those qualities. During this time of security challenge and opportunity, he is what Nigeria needs.
His work ethic, attention to details and commitment to civil defence, justice and fairness, have made some consider him ‘rigid’. His regard for integrity is legendary. It is no surprise that while he was assistant commandant-general of the NSCDC, and even now as its commandant, Muhammadu set about trying to turn the NSCDC into one agency where corner -cutters are not allowed. He brings to the Corps an honest grin, a disarming condour and lots of experience.
Muhammadu has never hid his wish to make the NSCDC corruption-free, vibrant and free of illegal practices. He is against any idea or decision that will spoil or corrupt the NSCDC. If everyone can understand the need for a straightforward NSCDC, he thinks, and then its glory can be restored, made stronger and sustained.
Positioned for excellence with a B.Sc in Sociology from the University of Sokoto, and a Masters in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Muhammadu, a distinguished Corps Commandant by every word of it, an epitome of what the nation’s security boss should look like, is a man whose public service sojourn traverses the globe.
He is, by latter and spirit of the word, one of the few most formidable leaders subordinates are proud to work with. There is so much to admire in his work ethic: the dedication with which he approaches his duties, the manner and ease with which he institutes new developments, and, of course, the honesty he exemplifies.
Muhammadu is tireless in the performance of his many duties that will make the NSCDC work. He believes that a good security operative is a civil defence officer anytime, anywhere, a civil defence officer, in crisis situation or in peace; collectively, individually, a civil defence officer; round the clock, a defence officer; watching over the state as a noble civil defence officer.
As an assistant commandant, Muhammadu has paid his dues. He has helped in sanitising the NSCDC and projected the cause of workers. This has, no doubt, earned him the reputation of heading the reputable NSCDC. Bonded by laws and necessity, restricted by space and vows, Muhammadu, like any great security operative, is guided by orders and customs. With endurance and perseverance, he has the traditional life of good security personnel.
Muhammadu believes that an ideal civil defence officer is a universalist, a warrior and a humanist. A patriot and a traditionalist, a conformist with abiding fidelity, a sweet melody that is hardly sung. These, to him, are the mystifying nature of a good civil defence officer.
A man of unwavering disposition, Muhammadu is popular among the down-trodden because wherever he goes, he promotes people-oriented programmes and the NSCDC is the better for it. As a deliberate civil defence officer, he is totally exemplary and dependable. In all his years of distinguished service, he has no evidence of negligence or misconduct. To say Muhammadu is Nigeria’s standard of a moral security personnel, is to say the least. He is Nigeria’s master security personnel in his own right. Muhammadu is determinedly sincere and deeply religious; he has made honest conscious effort to reposition the NSCDC. He is committed to nation building to a fault.
As a young boy, growing in the now celebrated town of Muye, he had this in his mind while growing-that the Almighty will make full and complete, his decision to the service of the people. His concern is for all the people regardless of state, zone or religion.
Muhammadu believes that to keep Nigeria moving forward, always forward-for a better Nigeria, for an endless enduring dream and a thousand points of life, the nation’s civil defence most be repositioned. His unwritten philosophy is;” never decide to do nothing, just because you can do a little.” A man of due process, those who know him closely are rightly proud of him. Muhammadu is one of the institutions of whom the nation is proud to be associated with.
In the whole, his character is, in its mass, excellent, and it may truly be said that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man, a peaceful life.
Muhammadu embodies the very elevation of forthrightness as an end in and of itself, requiring no further pursuit or interpretation to validate it. His idea of the NSCDC is second to none. Muhammadu is a detribalised Nigerian, his acumen and resourcefulness have not only nurtured his personal vision and success but contributes significantly towards building a better world for the nation’s security.
