With the multitudinous sea of human heads I saw at the Bauchi state on the day ex-Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar elected as the governorship candidate for the state, indeed, I was thrilled. SB Abubakar, an administrator par excellence and public security management icon, declared his epochal candidacy for the office of the Governor of Bauchi State, on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), something just intimated me to the fact that certainly this is the man that would most likely take over from one the exceptional leaders in the current dispensation in Nigeria, Governor Bala Mohammed.

Former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar was declared the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Bauchi State, having scored 370 votes out of 1021 votes cast to defeat six other aspirants who entered the race with him. At least 1028 delegates were accredited for the primary and seven votes were invalid.

The runner-up, a senator representing Bauchi Central, Haliru Jika got 278 votes while the first runner-up, an ex-state Commissioner for Finance, polled 269 votes. Other aspirants are, a former Chairman of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Musa Babayo, who polled 70 votes; a former member of the House of Representatives representing Azase Federal Constituency, Farouq Mustapha, got 26 votes and ex-Secretary to the Bauchi State Government, Mahmud Maijama’a, raked in eight votes while the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population, World Bank Group, Ali Pate got 0 votes.

Air Marshal SB Abubakar was born on 8 April 1960 at Azare in Bauchi State. He had his primary education at St Paul’s Primary School Bauchi from 1967 to 1973 and his secondary education at GSS Bauchi. He joined the Nigerian Air Force as a member of Cadet Military Training Course (CMTC 5) in November 1979.

He attended the St. Paul’s Primary School, Bauchi from 1967 when the Nigerian Civil War started to 1973. For his secondary education, he was at the Government Secondary School, Bauchi State, and has a Diploma in Public Administration and a Bachelors of Science degree (second class upper division) in political science. He has also a masters of science degree in strategic studies from the University of Ibadan.

The Bauchi state governorship candidate ex-Air marshal Sadique Abubakar joined the Nigerian Air Force as a member of the cadet Military Training Course (CMTC 5), In November 1979, and for his primary flying training, he was at the Primary Flying Training Wing (PFTW) from 1980 to December 1981 when he graduated as the Best All Round Student and the Best in Flying Cadet Course. Thereafter, he was off to the Oxford Air Training School, England, where he did his Basic Flying Training.

He was a tactical-type rating on the Mi-35P helicopter gunship, he is also a Training Captain on the aircraft. He is also type-rated on the Mi-17, a Member, Junior Division (JD), Course 33, Member, Command and Staff College, Course 21, and participant, National War College, September 2006-August 2007.

Air Marshal SB Abubakar possesses a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) helicopters with Instrument Rating and flown a total of 7 aircraft types: Piper Warrior, Bulldog, Bell 206, Enstrom, BO-105, Mi-17 and Mi-35P.

Sadique Abubakar rose through the ranks and held the following appointments: Commander, NAF Station, Maiduguri, Commanding Officer (CO), 207 Wing, Acting Commander Officer, National Emergency Management (NEMA) Air Wing, also a directing Staff (DS) in the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

In fact, Bauchi State indigene has done well in chosen ex-Air marshal Sadique Abubakar as their governorship candidate to steer their boat for another term in the saddle of number citizen of that state, he has the experience, the capacity, the wisdom and the ability to rule the state successful, with some many of his achievement and antecedent as former Air Vice Marshal of the country.

While addressing journalists shortly after he won the primary elections, Abubakar dedicated his victory to the people of Bauchi State as well as his party, promised them to work harder towards the unity of the party in order to emerge victorious in the 2023 general elections, which he will In Shall Allãh through his antecedent as the former Air Marshal of the country.

According to him “It is not a victory for me but a victory for all of us. I want to assure you that we will work together in order to change the narrative about Bauchi State out there. So the victory is for everybody. The victory means that we have to work together, mobilise people, transform the state and prepare for the elections in 2023.”

You should be reminded that Abubakar, who was appointed as Chief of Air Staff in 2015 was replaced alongside other service chiefs in January 2021 when President Muhammadu Buhari picked other top military commanders. Although President Buhari later appointed him as Nigeria’s ambassador to Chad, which he resigned from that appointment to join the Bauchi governorship race.

Balogun Ibrahim, a public affairs analyst and commentator.