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Former presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) and businessman, Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, has passed on. The politician, who contested the June 12, 1993 presidential election against Chief MKO Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), died on January 3, 2022 after a brief illness at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, at the age of 74.
His death is a great loss to the political class, his business associates and the literary community, where he lately made his mark as a prolific writer in Hausa language. Prior to the presidential primaries of the NRC, not much was known about Tofa and little or no attention was given to him as a possible winner. Despite his obscurity, Tofa clinched the ticket of the NRC by beating others tipped to win the contest.
The process of his emergence in the contest generated heated debates in the nation’s political discourse. The nomination process supervised by the then National Electoral Commission (NEC) was based on the novel open ballot system or Option A4 introduced by the NEC chairman, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu. His victory over other popular candidates put him on the spotlight and elicited hope that it was going to be an epic battle between him and the presumed winner of the election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.
Born in Kano on June 20, 1947, Tofa had his primary education at Shahuci Junior Primary School, Kano, and at City Senior Primary School, Kano. He attended the Provincial College, Kano, from 1962-1966. He later worked at the Royal Exchange Insurance Company from 1967 – 1968. And from 1970-1973, he attended the City of London College for further studies. He joined politics in 1976 and was elected a councilor of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Council.
He was also elected a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1977. In the Second Republic, he served as the secretary of the Kano branch of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and later became the party’s national financial secretary and a national member of the Green Revolution National Committee, the organ that prosecuted the agricultural programme of the then Federal Government. With the ushering in of the Third Republic, he became a member of the Liberal Movement, which later became the Liberal Convention. Due to the non-registration of Liberal Convention as a political party, Bashir Tofa joined the NRC in 1990. During the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida administration’s transition programme, Tofa emerged as the presidential candidate representing Kano. He was later to defeat Pere Ajunwa, Joe Nwodo and Dalhatu Tafida at the party primaries to get the NRC ticket in the botched poll of June 12, 1993.
Apart from politics, Tofa was also an accomplished businessman and a writer. He was so much engaged in oil and other businesses. For instance, he was the chairman of the International Petro-Energy Company (IPEC) and Abba Othman and Sons Ltd. He was also a board member of Impex Ventures, Century Merchant Bank, and General Metal Products Ltd. After leaving politics following the annulment of June 12 election and its aftermath, Tofa dedicated his life more to social criticism and writing. He had earlier written numerous articles in some Nigerian newspapers.
At the same time, his love for writing in his native language, Hausa, produced some notable works. Some of his published works in Hausa include Tunaninka Kamanninka (The Way You Think Reflects in Your Character), Kimiyyar Sararin Samaniya (Space Science), Kimiyya da Al’ajaban Al-Kur’ani (The Science and Wonders of the Qur’an), Gajerun Labarai (Short Stories), Amazadan a Birnin Aljanu (Amazadan in the land of the Spirits) and others. No doubt, his literary engagement with the Hausa language has contributed immensely to the development of Hausa language and culture.
By dedicating his later life to writing, Tofa had demonstrated that beyond politics, politicians can still do other worthwhile things that can contribute positively to the development of the country and make it a better place to live. We commiserate with his family, the political class and the literary community over the great loss. May Allah grant him eternal rest.
