It’s quite challenging to start a new life after retirement, but… – Mohammed Yahuza

You retired from the Federal Civil Service recently, could you share your experiences? How do you feel as a retiree? I must say that the civil service has taken more than half of my life, having served for more than 35 years without blemish. It was a rewarding experience. I started in Yobe where I […]

You retired from the Federal Civil Service recently, could you share your experiences? How do you feel as a retiree?

I must say that the civil service has taken more than half of my life, having served for more than 35 years without blemish. It was a rewarding experience. I started in Yobe where I served as a commissioner before transferring my services to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, where I was posted to a World Bank project in Kaduna. I was there for 15 years before I again transferred my services to administration. In administration, I served in the ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Health, Interior and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
All in all, I can say that I really enjoyed myself and gained a lot of experiences. I also met a lot of people. As I will always say, the civil service and the military are the two institutions that are really national; you get to make friends from across the country. I can say categorically that there’s no part of the country I’ll go to and not find friends. I must say that I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to serve.

How has life been since retirement?
Life has been good. There’s always this initial stage of trying to get used to life outside the office after being used to taking your bath early in the morning to go to the office for 35 years. And suddenly, you wake up and there’s no clue as to where to go in the mornings. It used to be a little bit disturbing, but I’ve gotten used to it now, so to say. I’ve strengthened my path, I am focused and I want to start something outside the service.

Do you have any regrets?
Not at all. I believe it’s a privilege for one to get the opportunity to serve one’s country for 35 years.

But you didn’t make it to the position of Head of Service. Isn’t that a wish not met?
Yes! That is the desire and aspiration of any civil servant. I retired as a director. I would have loved to retire as a permanent secretary, but there’s no problem at all. I think I worked very well. Those that I worked with will testify that I was an above-average civil servant; so I am very happy for that.

Not many people from Yobe State have attained your level in the civil service, especially at the federal level, what is your advice to those coming after you?
I think there is this misinformation that Yobe State is not adequately represented at the Federal Civil Service, but it’s not so. I remember that when we were going for exams for the position of permanent secretary, there were either 19 or 21 directors from Yobe State. And six of us were called for the interview. I think we are fairly represented at the federal level. I don’t know how it happened, but you would also find that at the top, there are a lot of citizens from the state. However, I agree that there are challenges and there is the need for improvement. I think there are areas where the government needs to focus on and do better, such as schools, health and infrastructural development. I think the government should invest hugely on primary and secondary education. Those are the areas we are far behind when you compare us with most of the schools from other states. I believe that is something this government should do something about. However, I’ve seen that despite the security challenges we are facing, Governor Ibrahim Geidam is bent on bringing the desired change.  Under health too, I was in Damaturu recently and I was very impressed with the hospital that is being built and expanded. But obviously, there are challenges of staffing. I retired as a Director of Administration in the Federal Ministry of Health, so I know the challenges of hospital staffing, especially those in the rural areas.

It’s not usually easy for civil servants to attain the level you attained without being tempted to join politics. How were you able to resist that?
I was a very committed civil servant. Those I worked with will testify to this. I’ve never known life outside the civil service. And I must say that I was one of the civil servants who never had life outside the civil service. I was really doing what I really enjoyed, so nothing distracted me from my job.

Were there no instances where you were beckoned upon to join politics?
There were instances, but one had to resist the temptation. I remained a civil servant until I retired.  

Now that you are retired, would you serve if called upon to do so?
Yes! I think that after serving the federal government for 35 years, it is time to go back home and serve my people directly. I don’t have any political ambition, but if my people request that I go in and serve in any capacity politically, I am willing to do it. I believe that I owe them this duty to pay them for what they have done for me. The state has been very good to me since the time of bringing scholarship to old Borno State, which comprised of the present day Yobe. So it is only fair when one gives back to the society from what they’ve given him or her.

What do you make of Governor Geidam’s administration, in the face of insurgency?
The insurgency thing is very sad and unfortunate. There’s no way you can have that kind of security challenge and express your potential. The potential for the state to develop is there in all aspects of human endeavour. But then, you must have a very conducive environment to have a good plan and implement it so that you can better the lives of your people. So I honestly understand what the governments of Yobe, Borno and now Adamawa, and from all indications, Gombe, are going through. But from my last two visits I saw that the government of Yobe State has done very well, especially in the area of road infrastructure. However, I believe there are still pockets of things that still need to be done.
There is the need to improve the agricultural activities of the people beyond the three months of rainy season the state experiences. This is important because agriculture employs 80 per cent of the state population. But the people engage in agriculture for only three months in a year. So anything that can be done to increase agricultural activities beyond those three months will impact positively on the lives of those people. Also, infrastructural development in irrigation should be accelerated so that people can have something to do beyond the three months of the rainy period.
In the area of health, I think I saw a hospital in Damaturu, and a new one is being built, but there needs to be improvement in the primary health care system. This is because that is the one very close to the people. There is also the issue of staffing as I said earlier. Getting people locally to man those facilities has been a serious challenge to the state government. From what I’ve seen, the governor needs support.

It is obvious that insurgency has drastically affected the economy of the affected states; how do you think it could be tamed?
People have expressed all kinds of opinions on this matter, to the extent that there’s so much politics in it. But one thing is certain: if you go to these states you would find out that 70 per cent of the population is made up of people under the age of 25. Unfortunately, since majority of them are unemployed, they must find something to do. We hear all sorts of rumours about Boko Haram and the peanuts being given to youths to join their struggle. Such a thing can only happen where the people are not gainfully employed.
On the short term, the federal government has to sit up and confront this matter militarily; but in the long term, the state governments where this insurgency predominates would have to find innovative ways of engaging these people to be self reliant. Nobody can be self sufficient, but you can be self reliant, and one way to lay a foundation for that is through education. You have to give people education. Primary schools have to be built in such a way that the children can be fed at least twice a day.
Believe me, poverty is one of the reasons some people do not allow their children to go to school. So if the state can invest in education, especially primary and secondary schools, the rest is just a matter of time. And I believe that some of us who have had experiences over time should assist the state government to plan programmes that will address these issues, and in the long run, I am optimistic that this will provide the solution to insurgency.

What would you say is very passionate to you at the moment?
My training is in Veterinary Medicine; and with my experience in different World Bank projects on livestock and all, I am now looking at farming. In fact, I am doing a paper on that. You may not know, but we have over 14 million herds of cattle in Nigeria. And these cattle are valued at over N3trillion. They produce over half a million tons of meat every year. The contribution of this livestock to national economy every year is so huge that you cannot just look away. That is one area that the government at all levels should look at and invest in. I don’t believe in this transformation thing. You know, when you change something in form and character you’ve transformed it. But when you move one ton of fertilizer from one point to another and you say you’ve transformed it, you’ve not done anything. Agriculture contributes 40 per cent of the country’s GDP and livestock contributes 17 per cent of that. That is why I am focusing in that area. In fact, when I finish the paper I am writing, I’ll publish it so that people can know what I am talking about.

Talking about livestock, Yobe is very rich in it, but like every other state, it has not maximised its utility, what is your advice on how to harness this potential?
From the last livestock census conducted, Yobe is one of the states that farm the livestock being marketed in Nigeria. I believe that the whole plan of livestock development has to change. You know that most of the people who control the livestock are semi nomadic, moving from region to region, depending on which area is favourable at the time. In the process of these movements, that’s where these conflicts that we hear about come from, particularly the one in the rainy season. This is because, in the dry season they can do it quietly except with those farmers who have left their harvest on their farms. But in the rainy season, it’s inevitable that livestock will stray into farms, and of course there will be conflict. But I believe that the state will now have to focus on grazing reserve development and connecting stock and partner in movement where you can have an arrangement and provide water in the dry season. When you do that and there’s market, particularly for milk, then you are on course.
Under the World Bank project we have tried milk collection in Kaduna State to promote milk products. That kind of scheme can help. We have seen and confirmed that the milk from a pastoral herd or a family is the one that sustains the family. It’s from the proceeds of the milk that the woman who sells it will buy grains and ingredients with which she would cook for the family. So the more the income from milk, the higher the quality of the food they eat. So these are areas that states like Yobe, Kebbi and Borno should really focus on because it affects the lives of the people and has multiple effects on the economy. Imagine having a central milk collecting centre and plant in Damaturu, where milk is collected from different sources and people are employed to produce yogurt and other milk produce as it is being done in Kaduna in their diary plant donated by the state government.

Is it proper to say that you now have more time and fun with your family?
O yes! We now travel a lot, and I spend plenty time at home. I now have the time to do complete oversight on the family and get more details on every issue. I am relishing the time I am having with them now.