Doctoral Award To The Ex-AG Of Kano State And Current Commerce Commissioner, Ibrahim Mukhtar, Is Well Deserved – Muhammad Faruk, Esq

*Says The Award By A European University Is Not Surprising
*Says The Ex-AG Has Mentored Many Prosecuting Counsel
*Says Under Him Kano Got Court of Appeal Division
*Says Under Him Kano Criminal Justice System Was Sanitize By Domestication Of ACJL

“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.” —Benjamin Franklin

I felt not only excited but equally duty-bound to rejoice with our boss and mentor who is the former AG of Kano State as well as the current Commissioner of Commerce), Mr. Ibrahim Mukhtar, Esq; on the occasion of his well deserved honorary doctorate degree by one European University.

In the first place, I deeply and profoundly feel compelled to initially acknowledge the kind gesture made to my enormous and paramount principal by the prestigious European University. It made a wise decision indeed.

However, I don’t think the Award came with some butterflies of surprises to me because like a lot of people know, Mr. Mukhtar had been an awardee of so many meritorious works of excellence. He is a rare gem and a silent achiever of the greatest things that had been rarely achieved by some people so!

I feel I am not only qualified but also competent to make attestation on who our mentor is and who he had been because I could reflect that with his sense of progress, flagship, and mentorship, the beloved erstwhile AG once decided to elect six out of the twenty-five newly employed staff of the Ministry of Justice, Kano State at his time, to work for hands in hands with him (not because we were better than others) merely to cause a rotational method of teaching young counsel on how to work administratively and be exposed to the levendous of practical areas of the law at the Ministry of Justice. But this is how I came to learn a lot about the great personalities of our leader, one of which instills the spirit of hard work in the legal profession and which gives it full meaning to my later days in the public bar.

John Quincy Adams has made a valid and powerful point on how inspiring a leader should be as follows;

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —

By so working with him, I have learnt to work under tough and soft circumstances that come with our work. The high spirit of work that runs in his blood had inspired us to always prepare for the tasks ahead. Indeed, Mr. Ibrahim Mukhtar, Esq; has been quintessential of a complete “active” practicing lawyer. I saw the burning passion of the law in practice in his wider and sound appreciation of the law.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had mentored so many prosecuting counsel because he could never be seen getting tired of guiding us throughout his stewardship.

We used to appeal under his watch not only on decisions in which judgment was not in our favor but even when we are not satisfied with the evaluations/findings and sentence of a lower court.

Hardly could I remember how many times did I spend not less than 16 hours in the office working under him every working day.

Sometimes, we had to spend almost whole nights working with him in the office. This goes rightly with the wise saying of Vince Lombardi as follows;

”Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal”. That was the believe of our mentor.

Furthermore, Dr.Mukhtar only used to relate well with punctual and hardworking staff. This was another reason that even when it comes to official training,  he used to prioritize the most punctual and the most hardworking staffers to boost their spirits of industriousness at the Ministry.

It is my considered testimony that I have never come across a leader with all the qualities of a true leader like Mr. Ibrahim Mukhtar.

He used to give clear instructions to his staffers, and his “Yes” means “Yes” just like how his “No” means “No.” This is his nature of honesty, straightforwardness, decisiveness, confidence, and boldness. What an inspiring leader!                 —  Thomas Jefferson was able to have captured firmness,boldness and decisiveness of a leader in the following words;

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”  What an inspiring leader!

Further to this, Herbert Swope is very instructive on how carefree a successful leader should be on his decision which affect his people in this wise;

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.” — That is how my mentor is.

Furthermore, it is pretty noteworthy to mention a few major revolutionary changes brought to the judicial system in Kano state under his able leadership as Attorney General of the State.

Peter Drucker posited on the effective  leadership in this regards;

“Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” —

For example, when under his watch, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria has made it a reality to have a Division of the Court at Kano with the sole aim of speedy dispensation of administration of justice in Northwestern Nigeria.

I believe History will always do justice to his great feats.

Still, in his vision to sanitize the criminal justice delivery within Kano state, with his efforts and facilitation, ACJA, was domesticated to be the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2019) and replaced the colonial masters’ modeled Criminal Procedure Code Law.

That no doubt actually paved a way to let go of the total “lay prosecution” within the State at the lower courts of the state.

Even though I wouldn’t want to close my eyes to our sentiment as Queen’s Counsel of that workload. It is indeed not easy.

Painstakingly, to look at the developments and differences brought to our Magistrate Courts and High Courts in his time, one cannot but always give credits to him.

However, I must commend the effort of the present Kano State Attorney General (Mr. M  A. Lawan, Esq) for sticking to so many good policies and works of his predecessors. That has indeed been a job well done. And

In the same vein, in several appeals we prosecuted together with the said AG,  (by being a member of the lion’s den) we used to receive an open court recommendations and appreciations of the learned justices of the court of appeal. That can never be forgotten easily.

Let me conclude the write up on my mentor with following wise saying;  “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” —Douglas MacArthur

I congratulate him with all senses of sincerity.

Written By Muhammad Nazir Faruk, Esq., lordevershed@gmail.com