The immediate past chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) Hon. Bashir Sheriff Machina has thrown his hat into the ring to pick the All Progressives Congress,APC, nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the top seat in Yobe North, a position which will go vacant as a result of Senate President Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan’s interest to vie for the top job in Aso Villa.
Hon. Sheriff, a household name in the political sphere of Yobe and Nigeria, is a seasoned grassroots politician who rose to the limelight in 1990s as he set the pace at a time when youth are not given the chance but rather not intimidated and set history as the first and only youth at his 20s to be voted into the House of Representatives, representing Karasuwa, Nguru, Machina, Yusufari federal constituency on the platform of the Social Democrati Party, SDP. At the age of 26, Bashir, a young legislator, is appointed to served as sub-committee chairman of the House Committee on Fertilizer Procurement and Distribution, a position he served meritoriously and trailblazing key development to Nigeria’s agricultural sector in terms of making fertilizer and other agricultural materials available to the country’s teeming farmers.
The young Bashir has been in active national politics ever since 1990s being mentored in the political game under the tutelage of Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, a Nigerian diplomat, politician and civil servant who has held several high ranking government offices including vice presidential running mate to Chief MKO Abiola in the annulled 1993 presidential election. On the dawn of the 21st Century, Bashir joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and served as its deputy national auditor from 2002 to 2006.
With the formation of Action Congress (AC) in 2006, a larger political opposition to the federally dominant PDP and the Northern-based defunct All Nigerian People Party, ANPP, Bashir was elected the first national auditor of AC between 2006 and 2009 where he played a vital role alongside other progressive and patriotic Nigerians from several political groups and alliances that tamed and scuttled the then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third term bid.
With the formation of APC in 2014, Bashir served the party in various capacities such as chairman APC congress committee in Ogun state, a successful assignment which saw the finest congress elections from ward, local government and state level in the country. Under the guidance and recommendation of Governor Mai Mala Buni the then national secretary of the APC now Governor of Yobe state and immediate past Chairman of the APC Extraordinary Convention Committee, Bashir was saddled with another responsibility as chairman APC National Assembly Elections Screening Committee in Ogun state and in the same 2014 due to his pedigree in carrying task within the confine of the party, he was transpose to Borno state to serve as the APC chairman National Assembly elections committee, an outing which is impeccable in the history of the APC. Moreover, since 2014, Bashir has served the APC in many different committees as member, an assignment which makes his resumé the most impressive in APC national headquarters.
In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari on seeing Bashir’s proven track records, appointed him chairman Governing Board of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), a position he held until March 2022. His record of performance cannot be expressed in a word but his major part in securing presidential approval for the establishment of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) is testimony of his stay at the NSC.
People in Yobe North are now more than ever before yearning for a leader who will bring the strands of the zone back together and propose an innovative scheme which is the aspiration of the vast majority of youth of the zone and Bashir has been prepared with credentials and providence for a time like this. His pedigree and personality with a strong history of standing up for the masses is impeccable and he has built a reputation in a plural society which Yobe North needs a senator of his likes. His art of reasoning and lobbying is second to none as he uses every opportunity at his disposal to influence the construction of the Potiskum Trailer Park by the NSC in collaboration with the Yobe state government.
Bashir’s experience at the NSC is more than ever needed at the 10th Assembly especially at a time there is the need to push for the assenting of the National Transport Commission (NTC) Bill; his knowledge will be crucial as the NTC Bill will reshape the transport sector in Nigeria.
The time is now for the new sheriff in town, Governo Buni’s confidant and trusted loyalist to heed the call of Yobe North electorate to represent their interest in the red chamber. It is time for the young star boy from the ancient Machina whose mission in politics is to serve humanity and improve the standard of living of his people to be in the 10th National Assembly and if given the ticket and voted for the top job, the teeming populace of Yobe North will witness an unprecedented development during his reign.
Zanna Samaila,
Damaturu, Yobe state
[email protected]
