I am not unaware of the unquestionable fact that leadership remains a defining factor in turning the dark clouds over Nigeria’s prospects for growth and unity. Considering challenges of development that have become synonymous with the Nigerian State since independence, our nation has remained in the backwaters of growth due to failure of leadership that has consistently turned catastrophic in aggregating the fears and hopes of citizens towards building a nation where the masses are given shared sense of belonging for the benefits of the overall majority.

Over 25 years after the dawn of this unbroken democracy inaugurated in May 1999, the problems plaguing Nigeria have continued to rise in leaps and bounds, creating an environment of uncertainties for the future. More worrisome is the incapacity of the intelligentsia to interrogate how low our nation has plunged into the bottomless pit of a pleasure-seeking rendezvous that is in complete denial of its mandate in not only promoting growth but also standing up for the interest of the majority poor. As the country attempts at crawling out of its self-inflicted pit hole of lawlessness, the rot is deepened by the failure of intellectuals to be the guiding light of growth in a nation that is always potentially great, but now the Global Headquarters of Poverty.

An intellectual that has engaged intellectual inquisition in advancing development is no one but Prof Suleiman Elias Bogoro whose sterling leadership footprints at the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) have won him several laurels and awards, including being the first winner of the Nigeria Prize for Leadership (NPL) in 2021.While politicians may be concerned on how to win the next election, intellectuals who have taken leave of the serene academic world are often anxious on how to realise theoretical postulations in the classroom for the benefit of all.

Bogoro’s performance as a don at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi and TETFund portray him as a committed member of the literati devoted to national advancement through harnessing the educational potential of Nigerians. After involvement in various research works in the academic world, Bogoro, after dealing with challenges of infrastructural deficits that once plagued tertiary institutions in the country, shifted the focus of the Fund to Research and Development in promoting Knowledge Economy that is anchored on capitalising scientific discoveries and applied research. Unlike in the past where teachers in tertiary schools were only engaged in research for earning promotion to the next position, TETFund created a platform where industrialists, businessmen and critical stakeholders deploy outcomes of applied research for production. Under Bogoro’s leadership, the federal government increased funding for research grants, with teachers deploying their research prowess to earn funds for research purposes.

Apart from being one of the leading lights of the intelligentsia who have proved their worth outside the academic world, the former ATBU teacher is a study in inexplicable modesty. His unrivalled footprints in the management of TETFund remain an inspiring example of uninterrupted commitment. Born on 6th June, 1958 in Gwarangah, Bogoro local government area of Bauchi state, the young Suleiman attended the premier Boys Secondary School Gindiri in the then Benue Plateau state from 1972-1976. After his secondary school education, he was admitted to the University of Maiduguri where he bagged his first degree, BSc. Agriculture, in 1981. After his acquisition of his first degree; that did not end his quest for more academic laurels. He eventually earned an M.Sc. in Animal Science from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1988) and proceeded to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) where he completed his PhD programme in Animal Science in 1997, with composite research and bench-work equally shared between ATBU, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland and The Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

The then rising university don, after acquiring his PhD, started his teaching career at the ATBU, Bauchi, in 1984, as a pioneer Graduate Assistant would become Professor of Animal Science (specialising in Biochemistry and Ruminant Nutrition) in 2003. A prolific researcher with numerous publications in international and local journals, Bogoro’s cerebral capacity is nationally and globally acclaimed. He has supervised and mentored scores of post-graduate students at both M.Sc. and PhD levels, with more than 14 of them attaining professorial status. He has delivered high-profile public lectures in excess of 70 in diverse areas of development, with no fewer than 10 convocation lectures dwelling on research thrust and funding.

There’s no doubt that his track record of excellence is anchored on humanity and intellectualism. As someone who espouses Servant Leadership, he believes in the acquisition of globalised knowledge that places emphasis on technology and product development: “A deliberate investment in Research and Development (R&D), remains the most potent strategy in achieving the knowledge-intensive development agenda. A nation cannot take advantage of the global Knowledge Economy, unless we develop our research institutions to create knowledge, absorb knowledge and communicate knowledge”.

This excellent scholar of unblemished public service record stands as a towering giant for the public good. His footprints on the sands of times not only draw urgent attention to the need to have the right leadership imperatives in transforming Nigeria, Bogoro’s commitments to excellence has shown that with the right people in the right places, nothing can stand in the way of resolving leadership quagmire confronting the nation. Here is wishing this globally recognised academic and acclaimed orator a belated 66th birthday wish, praying to the Almighty God to grant him good health in the service of his country and humanity.