Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), has restated his commitment to quality people-centric service.
This reassurance was expressed on Sunday in Ilorin during a meeting with a team of media personalities.
A seasoned academic and politician, Prof. Sulaiman boasts an impressive track record.
As a teacher, he recounted how he taught for seven years at the University of Abuja without receiving a salary, demonstrating his commitment and passion to education and community development, even when he had better opportunity to work elsewhere.
“What this tells us is lessons of patience and perseverance. This is a tertiary institution, where people were brought in and placed over me.
“This is an institution where I served as an examination officer of a department, yet I did not compromise despite the alienation,” he said.
As a result of the patience, he said the appointment was later formalised and became the first Ilorin man to be a lecturer at the University of Abuja.
He explained how he made several sacrifices in his public life to ensure he impacted his people positively, saying he had worked for people than he did for himself.
Prof. Sulaiman also chronicled his achievements as Minister for National Planning under the Goodluck Jonathan government, during which he provided job opportunities for over 100 people from the state within a 10-month period.
The professor of political science also hinted at how he had silently purchased not less than 700 JAMB forms and shared it to students across the state to support their academic ambitions.
The NILDS DG who also hinted at the race to Ahmadu Bello government house in 2027 said his desire is to contribute meaningfully to the development of the state via a foremost office.
According to him, my ambition is always to serve my people by deploying my all-round knowledge to develop the state and secure a better and brighter future for younger ones by addressing joblessness and youth idleness. Investing in the youth is crucial for the state’s future development.
He boasted that he had the requisite credentials for the coveted governorship seat that whoever might be eyeing the seat.
With his wealth of experience, academic credentials, and commitment to public service, he said he was well-positioned to make a positive impact as governor of Kwara state.
He, however, lauded Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq for changing the narrative of the state in terms of infrastructure development, saying the state is long overdue for urban renewal and must be sustained beyond 2027.
