A few years ago, precisely around October 2021, I joined the inspection team of Distinguished Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda.
The journey started at about 8 a.m., and we didn’t return home until almost 9 p.m. That day, we covered just a few of his projects scattered across parts of Bwari Area Council. The inspection itself was a two week-long exercise, but I was privileged to join twice, both times in Bwari.
what I felt on that first day. Honestly, I was torn between being angry and being amazed. Angry because I had no idea the Senator was actually doing that much. Amazed because of what I saw with my own eyes.
In Pmape, for example, beyond the township water and solar projects, we went deep into remote villages, places you would normally hesitate to enter. Yet, even in those hidden corners, Aduda’s projects were standing tall.
That was when it hit me: many of us criticize from afar without knowing the real picture. People often ask, “What is Aduda even doing?” Back then, I had only a faint idea myself until that field experience opened my eyes.
On the second day of the tour, still in Bwari Area Council around Kubwa, I saw one of the road projects he was executing. My respect for him as a leader grew massively. Later, I began to notice that many of the good roads, water, and solar projects I came across in the FCT satellite towns were actually Aduda’s initiatives.
Recently, I had a small but beautiful encounter that reminded me of those days.
I was somewhere when a woman saw me and exclaimed, “Ah! Aduda junior!” I smiled and greeted her. Another woman nearby asked if I knew Aduda, and when I said, “Yes, I am an indigene,” she immediately began to talk about how he helped fix a terrible road in their area in Kubwa. Right there, I shared my own experience with them and it became clear we all shared the same admiration for a man who has quietly touched many lives.
I’ve come to realize that Aduda is not a media freak or was not a media person, he did all he could between him and God! and maybe that’s why many people didn’t know the extent of his work.
If it were today, every single project would have been flagged off, commissioned, and streamed live with fanfare. But back then, Aduda simply focused on the work itself.
Before Minister Nyesom Wike began extending massive development to satellite towns, good number of the existing infrastructures then had been done by Aduda.
I also know several directors and public servants whose rise in service can be traced back to his influence.
My respect goes to a leader who has made the FCT proud countless times, a man with a genuine heart for his people.
If he had no capacity or heart for people, his name would have long faded away, but it hasn’t. In fact he is called more often compared to other natives or elected officials in Government and that says everything.
I proudly call Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda (CON) my leader, and I will always do so.
God bless Distinguished Senator Philip Tanimu Aduda.
God bless the FCT and God bless Nigeria.
Theophilus Noah Baba (TNB)
Bwari (Bwaya)
