Google has made things easy for those interested in knowledge. I have done a little ‘goggling’ about the governor of Gombe State. I was leaving the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, when the young brown skinned boy was admitted to the department. When stories are told about someone that circulated within what used to be your space, you are forced to place the face.
Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo was born in Herwagana ward of Gombe metropolis. That was precisely on April 4, 1962 to be precise. The chubby little boy, whose curiosity to know much about virtually everything was enrolled at the Central Primary School Gombe.
Having found schooling very interesting, he continued his education at Government Secondary School Billiri, Gombe State. Scaling through the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination for the university, he was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where he later graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting second class (honours) upper Division.
That academic feat was indeed the second best result obtained by any individual in the then Bauchi State. Bouyed that sterling performance, he sought further education and enrolled for a Master’s of Science Degree, in Economics from University of Lagos (UniLag).
Inebriated with the taste of education, the young Dankwambo engaged in further academic pursuit by doing a Post-graduate Diploma study in Computer Science at the Delta State University Abraka, Delta State. He was later to top that up with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) from Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.
It was perhaps in recognition of this unquenchable thirst for knowledge that Imo State University (IMSU) conferred on Dr. Ibrahim Hassan
Dankwambo with a PhD, honoris causa. It is noteworthy that the life story of Governor Dankwambo reflects constant intellectual quests.
His sharp intellect helped him to pass through the qualifying examinations of seven professional bodies, for which he was promptly awarded membership. For instance, it is on record that Dankwambo passed the prescribed examinations of the prestigious Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in remarkable record time, a year after his graduation from the University, a feat most professional Chartered Accountants will agree is rare to achieve. He became an associate of the Institute and today he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management, a Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Marketers and a Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society.
All that is in addition to the myriad of certificate courses he attended, thus acquiring not only international exposure, but expertise in various fields of human endeavour. At least the fact that he is a renowned and seasoned accountant is evidence of his determination to reach the peak through learning.
His Excellency was at the Harvard University, Cambridge, Boston Massachusetts where he undertook courses in Global Financial System, Crises, Prospects and Solutions. In Duke University, DCID, Durham, he took another course in Budgeting and Financial Management in the Public Sector.
He was also at Stanford University’s Business School, where he took a specialist course in Financial Management, while at Crown Agents Management Development Centre in UK he studied Financial Management and Development Projects.
This rich academic background should help to explain why on assumption of office as the third executive governor of Gombe State, His Excellency, Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo decided to place education as the first, second and third priority prgramme of his administration.
It is not as if it has been all learning and earning. Dr. Dankwambo is married to Hajia Adama Ibrahim Dankwambo, which union is blessed with five very intelligent and well-behaved children. Like their father and mother, these children are doing in various institutions of learning and vocational pursuits.
This disciplined family life also explains the zeal with which the modest first family pursued the programmes of Girl child Education, Healthcare, especially maternal wellbeing.
The governor acknowledged that because of tradition and religion, people tend to shy away from a lot of western education to some limit in the north. Therefore, with the first lady, Her Excellency, Hajia Dankwambo, he took the campaign towards propagation of access to education.
He believes in the importance of woman in any household and community, as mother, home keeper and care-giver. The educated woman is a resource for education, the hygiene of the baby, the care of the household, the care of the other children and prosperity of the society.
As a reward to the contributions and initiatives of the first family, school enrolment in Gombe State increased to about 62% from the 23% where the governor met it in 2011, while examination pass rate increased from zero to 72% girls.
Ahmed Fagge, wrote from Kano State.
https://www.africaprimenews.com/2018/01/16/politics/nigeria-gombe-provides-infrastructure-to-facilitate-good-governance-says-gov-dankwambo/
