Alhaji Ibrahim Malam Abba started his career in the Northeastern State, which later became Borno State, as an Administrative Officer in 1975. He rose to become the Secretary (Monitoring) in the Governor’s Office. He veered into the private sector in 1986 for two years before he was finally embraced by the big arm of the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where he spent the rest of his career, until he retired as Group Executive Director in 2003. He has continued to be associated with the NNPC and was the president of the retirees association until recently. I believe you are a full Kanuri man from Borno; how did you start life? I was born in Bama. At that time it was part of Dikwa Emirate in Borno. I did my first four years at Junior Primary School in Bama Central Primary School and went to Government Craft School in Maiduguri, where I finished the remaining three years of the then seven-year primary education. The craft school was an institution where you combined both academic and professional(courses), such as bricklaying, carpentry, woodwork, mortar fitting, general duties. Unfortunately, such schools have disappeared. Yes, we have polytechnics and stuff like that, but that was supposed to be the foundation for such institutions. 70 years of Nigeria’s oil economy: Lingering concerns, conversations Inside story of Plateau’s female vigilantes You said that in your own case you went to teachers’ college; would you say you were destined to be a teacher? No. At that time we had options. Military officers from Borno were all coming in and out of our schools during school functions and talking to us. Imagine that you were in primary school and involved in woodwork, carpentry or mortar fitting. Our ‘practical’ was to build the school we were in. During the colonial period, schools were built with mud blocks. We had to convert them to new modern concrete buildings. We would go to the riverside to collect sand to mould our blocks. We would bring down one side of the wall, bring it up; do the second, third and fourth. We would go on with carpentry and do the roof, the ceiling, windows and doors. And you would have a full classroom. So the pupils rebuilt the schools? We built our school; that is at primary school level. So, by the time you came out, you were actually prepared for self employment. What happened when you went to teachers’ college? At the teachers’ college we had the normal Grade Two, a five-year programme, after which you would go back to the Native Authority to take up a teaching job. How long did you do that? I was there for one year. During the long vacation I was in Maiduguri and found myself sitting for the Advanced Teachers’ College aptitude test. I passed. From there, I abandoned teaching and went to Advanced Teacher’s College (ATC), Zaria. Around November/December of 1969, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) came up with a programme in January 1970, where they would commence the School of Basic Studies (SBS). So, some of us in the ATC, Zaria went and sat for examination. We passed and abandoned the ATC and moved to the SBS. You were already a trained teacher; didn’t you feel you were losing something? No. In fact, we were thinking that we were gaining because we were reducing the time it took to get a degree by being in the SBS. Tell us about the ABU days – the good old days we hear. The ABU was an international institution. Our lecturers were from Malawi, Uganda, some from Scotland, all over. Within the country too – Yoruba, Igbo – everybody was there. The student population was mixed. It was a reflection of the entire country. I don’t think there was any university in this country at that time that could even be half of ABU in terms of the number of different Nigerians there. Nobody cared about your religion or tribe. We had various associations, apart from state-based associations, professional associations and social associations. We had what was called the Geographical Society. We even organised the “Know Your Country Tour” immediately after the war from 1971 to 1972, December and January. We took two buses through Jos, Makurdi, Nsukka and Enugu. There weren’t many universities. There were only five universities. So it was easy for us to network with one another. It was very nice. You were a good mixture yourself. I understand you tried to be the president of the Student Union? I tried; but you know, that’s when you would also start having the experience of politics; and the beginning of that experience, plus what I experienced during when I was Secretary of Local Government in Borno State during the Second Republic, moulded me into the position that I would never be a politician; I would never participate in politics. What happened when you attempted to be president? Somebody told me that your campaign was very colourful. Very colourful; everything was there. There
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