Dikwa: Public servant par excellence

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By

Abba Dukawa

A public office holder requires certain attributes to attain an unrivalled position such as honesty, courage, dedication, intelligence, foresight, maturity and compassion among others. A well-positioned and revered seasoned civil servant normally possesses such attributes and the ability to carry not only their subordinates but the entire system.

From the service doctrine and the Holy Scriptures, both emphasized that those who led the people from one situation or the other should be fully committed, dedicated, steadfast and incorruptible. It is a fact that the nation’s public service sector had suffered a lot because of bureaucratic ineffectiveness and naive civil servants who have no zeal to work.

Nevertheless, there are a few people here and there who are gradually changing the tides through diligence, professionalism, accountability, due process and patriotism.

It is pertinent to state that Nigeria’s new Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance (Special Duties), Dr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa is always focused and determined on delivery of needed results in all responsibilities assigned to him. Many people in the country do not know that Dr. Dikwa is very instrumental in the successful implementation of the Treasury Single Account which has been yielding very positive results.

As Director Special Projects and Secretary Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) he was able to delete over 50,000 ‘ghost’ workers who have since been removed from the payroll of the Federal Government, while 400 others, who were also discovered to be collecting double salaries, have been stopped. Also, 800 ex-employees of the Federal Government have been stopped from receiving salaries. As a result of this, the Government of the Federation was able to save billions of Naira monthly.

Dr. Dikwa’s ability to think and act strategically in difficult situations requires swift response, his prowess to building new patterns of working, and lastly his ability to develop and communicate a personal vision of change made him to stand out as a rare breed in the Federal Ministry of Finance and indeed among the managers of the nation’s economy.

When people say they want more transparent in the public sector, what they are really looking for is a transparent person who will promote institutional adaptations in the public interest.

Dikwa was born on January 3, 1960 in Dikwa town of Borno State. He had his primary education at Dikwa Central Primary School from 1970 to 1977. He attended Science Secondary School Gashua and Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri where he obtained a WAEC and a Diploma (Accounting) from 1982 and 1985 respectively.

He obtained a BSc in Accountancy and Masters Degree in Finance. Dikwa has Doctorate Degree in Accounting and Finance. He had attended the Senior Executive Course 34 in 2012 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru.

He is a professional accountant and member of many professional bodies, including a Fellow Certified National Accountant, an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, a fellow of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants, a life member of the Nigeria Economic Society, a member of the Institute of Administration of Nigeria, a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, United Kingdom, and a council member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, among others.

His working career started with the Borno State Civil Service in August, 1985 and served in various ministries, departments and agencies. He was appointed as State Accountant-General in May, 1999 and Permanent Secretary in February, 2002.

In September 2004, he joined the Federal Civil Service as Director under the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation. He served on the boards of many Federal Government companies and agencies, few to mention include, Transcorp Hilton, the Bank of Industry, the Defence Industry Corporation, Mtel, Nitel, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, and the Bank of Agriculture among others.

He was the director in-charge of revenue and investment, and the director of funds under the office of the Accountant General of the Federation before his elevation to the position of Permanent Secretary. Dr. Dikwa acted on various occasions as the Accountant-General of the Federation including the last Acting – appointment by the President Muhammadu Buhari on June 12, 2015.

Before his elevation to the rank of Permanent Secretary, Dr. Dikwa was Director Special Projects and Secretary Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) under the Office of the Honourable Minister of Finance. He is indeed a role model for public officials to emulate and he is good in creating excellent public service, good ethic among civil servants is seen as the fundamental pre-requisite.

These are requirements which Dr. Dikwa had met and this fact had been acknowledged by many within and outside the shore of the nation. He has a gifted ability to solve complex public service problems at the click of a finger. His selfless qualities, which radiate confidence and experience, saw him into several public offices. He is a meticulous person, articulate with vision, a goal getter with exceptional organizational and managerial ability of human resources.

It is for these reasons that Dr. Dikwa was considered worthy to receive the Nelson Mandela Award for Public Service which is an award of recognition given to public figures who exhibited empathy, selflessness, professionalism, excellence and patriotism in the discharge of their duties to their country.

The award places emphasis on public officials who are able to sacrifice for their communities just as Dr. Dikwa was able to sacrifice his home and resources in Borno for IDPs who had lost their livelihoods. He is also securing jobs for youths in paramilitaries, Federal Governments’ ministries, departments and agencies respectively.

Abba Dukawa

A Kano based media practitioner and public commentator for 13 years with many articles published by a number of online mediums and print media. Dukawa can be reached at [email protected]