There’s nothing as good as having round pegs in round holes. Nigeria has an abundance of such. Just identify, and use them appropriately, as President Buhari identified Brig.
Gen. Buba Marwa, who fits perfectly into the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency [NDLEA]. He has proudly given his best to the land and this is yielding positive results. Mohammad Buba Marwa, came on board as the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency [NDLEA], at a time the Agency needed a boss who was ready to work and change the narratives. After he resumed duty in January 2021, he swung into action.Buba Marwa was very passionate about the rising number of drug users and peddlers, who as at 2018, an estimated number of 14.3 million Nigerians were said to be involved in drug abuse. This debacle in the nation served as a propelling force for the retired Brigadier General.
Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd) is a former Lagos State Military Governor whose excellent performance till date remains a reckoning force for past and present administrators in the State. Marwa governed Lagos from 1996 to 1999. During his administration, he implemented programs such as “Operation 250 Roads” which greatly improved motoring conditions. Roads, which had hitherto become craters, were suddenly fixed He revamped public health institutions and ensured that free malaria treatment was available to all.Reports say in those days, Marwa swept Lagos almost clean of criminals. With Operation Sweep, criminals were given bloody noses, and sent scampering for cover. Bitumen, which we had been told didn’t exist, miraculously materialized. Different aspects of life and livelihood were touched, and it became one big pleasure to live in the country’s commercial capital once again.These throwbacks have been brought back to many people’s memories, because Marwa has returned with his intentional leadership style, this time, at NDLEA. He also served as military governor under Ibrahim Babangida in Borno State; military administrator in Lagos under Sani Abacha; High Commissioner in South Africa under Umaru Yar’Adua/Goodluck Jonathan.He immediately embarked on another Operation Sweep at the NDLEA, after President Muhammadu Buhari unleashed him on the bad boys. In less than six weeks, as at March 2021, Marwa had a bountiful harvest of hard drugs; its peddlers and its users.Marwa’s performance exudes his ever faithful and efficient character. Marwa just reminds one of what Professor Ishaq Oloyede is doing at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) now, Hamid Ali at the Nigeria Customs Service, Hadiza Bala at the Nigerian Ports Authority, among others.According to Marwa, most of the drug peddlers are between ages 15 and 64 years old. He has vowed to ensure reforms in the Agency he supervises and expand the activities of NDLEA.NDLEA under his watch is working assiduously to reduce the number of drug addicts and promise to improve the lives of the agency’s staff. He is not just chasing after the bad boys, he is equally retooling the agency within and outside. A committee has been set up to clear the backlog of promotions.
This would encourage the officers and men. A bi-monthly assessment is being done, and cash awards instituted for best NDLEA Commands, advocacy visits to other agencies of government, the media, and civil society groups, are taking place, and so on. Marwa is surely firing on all cylinders.After retiring from the Nigerian army at the end of his term as Lagos State Governor, Brigadier General Marwa established Albarka Airlines and the Buba Marwa Endowment. But in September 2003, Buba Marwa gave up his position as Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Albarka Airlines.In May 2007, the federal government controversially withdrew the operating licenses of Albarka Airlines, some say for political reasons. In December 2006, Marwa made attempts to run for People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to become the party’s Presidential candidate. In 2007 he was appointed as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa.In 2011 he was the Governorship Candidate of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC in Adamawa, his home state.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
