Buba Marwa: Salute to a proactive administrator at 72

By Belonwu Ezeanyaeche

Until he was appointed Military Administrator of Lagos State in 1996, not much was known about Gen. Muhammed Buba Marwa (Rtd) who is the present Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Contrary to the popular belief that appointment means enjoyment for the appointee and his associates, Marwa has always seen appointment as a call to duty and that best explains why he distinguished himself in any responsibility fate has bestowed on him.

Marwa born 9, September 1953, as a quintessential fine officer, knows that it requires diligence, thoroughness and commitment to impress with the privilege of service. Truth be told, in all the spheres of his active life, Marwa has demonstrated doggedness, audacity, focus, hard work, innovation and acuity, among other sterling qualities which have been the driving forces behind his resounding success in Public and private life.

As Military Administrator of Lagos State between 1996 to 1999, Marwa initiated the “Operation 250 Roads” which greatly improved road conditions, ease human and vehicular traffic in the city. Apart from State officials monitoring projects, Marwa with construction experts were always on hand to visit and appraise the quality of projects to ensure they meet specifications. He retooled health sector, and ensured free malaria treatment to all. Living up to the popular expression that “Health is Wealth”. Security was also given deserving attention with the unveiling of “Operation Sweep” that restored sanity in Lagos and its environs by giving criminals bloody nose and ran them out of town.

Again, with his background as a fine officer, resource manager and successful public servant as well as the commendable job he did as Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA), it endeared him to Former President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him NDLEA Chairman. Upon this, his choice was deserving and commended by most Nigerians.

On assumption of office as Chairman of NDLEA, Marwa as an astute administrator who has seen it all in public service and knows why leaders fail, was not prepared to walk the same path taken by his predecessors, but chose to do things differently. He does not want to be yoked with perception of anyhowness. Rather than wait for operatives or rely on the judgement of some individuals in the service to set the agenda for him, he decided to do things his peculiar way which is presently making the difference in the agency. He does not only rely on the recommendations of his aides to act; he is always on ground to assess the activities of personnels and had paid unscheduled visits to facilities a number of times to get firsthand information which informs his direction. Based on this new reality, every operative is now on his or her toes with the new sheriff in town.

Marwa who was the chairman of PACEDA which has the mandate to tackle the issue of drug abuse bedeviling the nation went to work immediately he was appointed chairman based on experience. He started by implementing the reports of PACEDA focusing mostly on how best to position the agency to fight the worrisome scourge of drug abuse hurting the nation especially the youth.

He boosted the morale of the workers with encouraging incentives and good working condition. Training and retraining of officers and men of the agency were also intensified to up their ante and expose them in relevant, diverse and better tactic to enable them meet up with new challenges.

Marwa is the true definition of success, paying attention to details, making funds spent on areas of priorities, instill discipline on operatives, punish the guilty, and rewards good conduct.

The agency’s successful arrest of thousands of drug offenders and barons, prosecution and conviction of some of them and seizure of tonnes of illicit substance within a short period of time shows its determination to stamp out organised criminal activities, particularly in the realm of illicit drug trafficking.

Strategic reforms undergone by NDLEA under Marwa has attracted partners like the United Kingdom which built and donated an operational facility to NDLEA to further boost the capability of the anti-narcotics agency in tackling the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

He has no doubt brought anti-drug abuse fight to the consciousness of Nigerians through his strategic public engagement which explained why citizens in their number went against and resisted the proposed legalization of cultivation, usage and consumption of Cannabis sativa championed by some people.

He has increased the number of Counselling and Rehabilitation Centres across the country with a view to helping the over 10 million Nigerians who are reportedly victims of drugs and substance abuse.

There is no gainsaying that Marwa and his team are incurable addicted to further boost the capability of the anti-narcotics agency in tackling the menace of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria. He has made significant milestone in the ongoing fight against the scourge of illicit drug trafficking with many stakeholders expressing support, unwavering commitment and invaluable contributions to his transformation in the agency.

Having done thorough dissection of this great Nigerian of our time who has done much for his fatherland, aspiring leaders can now comfortably see how to succeed as an administrator from Marwa’s trajectory and method. His style may seem hard and brain tasking, but an assured path to success, which we should deliberately begin to inculcate in our youths and future leaders, if truly we want to achieve progress as a people.

We must begin to purposely identify, organize and inculcate Marwa’s style of leadership into the society, community spaces, homestead, family unit and social media for us to get to it right as a nation.

As I wish this great achiever happy birthday and many happy returns, I urge all to sink all our differences and support visible and proactive reforms going on in NDLEA which is geared towards stamping out illicit drug activities with Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) as our torchbearer.

Belonwu Ezeanyaeche, Founder and National Coordinator of Anti – kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse and Drugs Abuse Initiative (AKH – TRACADA) writes in from Abuja.