By Sulaiman Bala Idris
If I were asked, is it the same Dauda Lawal I knew five years ago? I would definitely answer with a capital letter NO.
On his 55th birthday in 2020, I wrote a tribute titled ‘The Dauda Lawal I Know,’ describing him as a symbolic interactionist: a retired banker seeking a quiet, private life, as the Hausa people will always say, ‘ba hayaniya.’
As fate would have it, in 2021, despite all the character assassinations and many campaigns of calumny against Dauda, he responded to a very difficult distress plea from his people in Zamfara State: ‘Help us, Dauda’.
The Dauda Lawal of 2018 to 2023 can be viewed as someone who sees society from a micro perspective, understanding how people create reality, because of his previous role as a banker who reached the zenith of his profession.
Since May 29th 2023, I have seen the evolution of an entirely different Dauda Lawal, who, if not for his educational background at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, I would have assumed had learnt from the founding fathers of Sociology, such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, as well as contemporary structural functionalist scholars.
Over the three years we have been in government, and during Dauda’s tenure as Governor of Zamfara State, I have witnessed him govern not in a rush but with precision, aiming for results; it is indeed the mighty sociological theory of Functionalism at play.
I have seen commitment and a governor who understands Auguste Comte very well, by prioritising the fact that a society is an integrated organic whole where institutions (like security, education, health, economy, etc) are deeply interconnected and rely on each other to keep the social system running smoothly, much like organs in a living body.
You can argue, but I have seen a governor who mastered Comte’s ‘Positive Philosophy’; he runs Zamfara by applying empirical science and direct observation to study social rules and collective behaviour, shifting away from pure speculation. He did, and succeeded in the IGR of the state, which rose from 90 million naira to over 5 billion naira monthly.
One day, I must invade Governor Dauda’s library to feed my curiosity and confirm whether he owns Emile Durkheim’s ‘Rules of Sociological Method’ and George Ritzer’s ‘Sociological Theory’.
I spent many years studying Talcott Parsons, and I see in Dauda’s leadership a refined Structural Functionalism in which the AGIL Scheme was strategically applied to running the affairs of Zamfara State.
According to Parsons, every society must meet four basic functional needs to survive: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latency.
Adaptation for Dauda Lawal began when he reached out to foreign donors who were shut out of Zamfara due to a lack of transparency, especially the World Bank, to secure resources for projects. The donors agreed to reintroduce and sponsor projects in the state.
For him, goal attainment means setting public goals from the very beginning and deciding how to achieve them across ministries, departments, and agencies.
For effective integration, he maintains internal cohesion and coordinates ministries and agencies to manage conflicts.
With a deep understanding of Parsons’ Latency, Dauda Lawal’s administration, grounded in a rescue mission, preserves, transmits, and renews the core values and beliefs that underpin the government’s purpose: rescuing and rebuilding Zamfara.
I wish I could write more, but in the years to come (In sha Allah), every 2nd of September, I will touch on areas that were missing in previous years to celebrate a man whom I no longer see as a boss but as a father.
Happy 61st birthday to Governor Dauda Lawal, whose leadership has transformed the trajectory and altered the negative narrative about Zamfara.
Sulaiman Bala
Spokesperson to the Zamfara State Governor.