_By Mustapha Bello Mohammed, Birni Kebbi_
The elders say you know the weight of a man by how he carried himself when he had nothing. I have known Dr Ibrahim Bakauye Gusau since our school days, and I can tell you: the seed we saw then has become the tree Zamfara needs for shade today.
In class, while others chased noise, Ibrahim chased knowledge. He was the boy who shared his last piece of chalk, explained the hard sums after school, and settled quarrels before the teacher arrived. A leader is not made on the day of election. He is revealed in small rooms when no one is watching. We watched Ibrahim, and we saw a man who listens first and speaks last.
A forest is not saved by the loudest axe, but by the wisest hand. Zamfara today is a land of promise wrapped in pain. Banditry has stolen sleep from mothers. Our farms fear the sun. Our youth graduate into silence. This is not the time for men who come to learn on the job. This is the time for a doctor who knows the sickness and has lived with the patients.
*Gusau once served at the House of Representatives.* Though his time there was brief, his touch was long. He did not sit in Abuja and forget the road that brought him. Bills he supported, motions he moved, and interventions he pushed were not locked inside Zamfara alone. His hand reached across the nation. From Sokoto to Bayelsa, people felt the weight of a man who came to serve, not to shine. That is legacy. And legacy, like a good name, does not rust.
The goat that eats in the neighbor’s farm will not guard yours. Zamfara has seen men who arrive only when the yam is ready. But we need a man who was there when the seed was planted. Dr Gusau has not waited for the drum to be loud. He has been mending it in silence. While others built houses in far cities, he built bridges back home. While others posted from comfort, he sat with elders, with victims, with young men who had lost hope.
*He has not spoiled his yesterday to buy today.* Many men burn their past to light their ambition. Not Ibrahim. The same honesty we knew in school is the same honesty that entered the green chamber. He is a man that lives by his word. If he says it in the morning, you will find it done before sunset. In politics where promises melt like ice in the sun, that kind of man is rare.
A calabash held by too many hands does not spill if one hand is steady. Zamfara needs a steady hand now. Dr Gusau brings more than certificates. He brings character. He brings the patience of a teacher, the precision of a doctor, and the humility of a son of the soil. He does not shout to be heard. He works so that results can speak.
The tortoise said, “I may be slow, but I reach the destination with everyone.” We do not need a sprinter who runs alone. We need a leader who walks with the last man. In school, Ibrahim waited for the slowest boy to catch up. In government, he will wait for the poorest village to feel the touch of power.
I am Mustapha Bello Mohammed. I sat in the same class. I ate from the same plate. I know the man, not the poster. And I say to Zamfara: here is a son you can trust with the keys. Because the man who guarded our pens in school can guard our future in Government House.
Let us not buy thunder when we need rain. Let us choose the man who was with us in the dry season. Dr Ibrahim Bakauye Gusau is not coming to campaign. He is coming to continue the work he started long ago, as a boy who believed service is superior to title.
The night is dark in Zamfara. But we know a star that has never stopped shining. It is time to follow it home.
Tags
Opinion