Barr Ismaeel Ahmed is 43 years old, Kano State, North West Nigeria, a politician, lawyer, youth development strategist, one of the pioneer youths of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and currently a stakeholder in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Jogn N. Paden, author of the biography, Ahmadu Bello, Sarduana of Sokoto, “Leadership maybe defined as implying a more active, purposeful, directional role than authority, which may be static. In practice, however, leadership assumes authority – (whether the ‘power’ element is real or sought after) – and most authority also entails some elements of leadership…in changing times or times of challenge and stress, leadership is crucial in defining ends and means.”
Ismaeel is one of those young northern intellectuals who sought power that will give greater inclusion of the younger generation in governance at a time when the older generation dominated the space. Rather than bury his passion in the security of a government employment as popular in his early at the age of 23, he instead committed himself to active political partisan participation. The Kano born politician began his political career under the Congress of Progressives Change (CPC) as aspirant to represent Nasarawa Federal Constituency, Kano State after which he was later selected to become a member of the Renewal Committee of the party before curlicue merger that was considered the largest political merger in 2015 between the CPC, ACN, ANPP, APGA and others. The merger led to the formation of present day All Progressives Congress (APC).
Barr Ismaeel or ‘leader’ as he is popularly called became one of the prominent members of the party at about the age of 35 serving as a member of the sub-committee responsible for planning the merger. His zest to ensure strong visibility and prominence of young people in the party engineered his forming the Youth Wing of the party known as All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF). He became elected as the founding chairman of the forum before successfully transiting power in 2018.
Nigeria’s democratic journey which took off in 1999 in the midst of grave uncertainties and pessimistic forecasts of its longevity kept many at bay from participating. The older politicians who sought to dominate and reap from this wine press could not even consider young people except as erranders. Succinctly put, “The basic problem of democracy and development in Nigeria is the nature and orientation of the political actors as framed by the nature of the Nigerian state. The political actor either as a ruler or an opposition member is concerned with his self interest.” (Meditteranean Journal of Social Sciences, MCSER, Publishing, Rome, Italy, 2013)
So, young politicians like Ismaeel in the past could not have envisaged any significance in the political system except to live in uncertainties or trust that a day will come that young people will have a place. He did not sit like others and wait for this to happen, he continued to show his capacity, dexterity and stint through little responsibilities and duties that later made the big shots to take him serious.
As a member of the APC, he has served as member of Kastina State Committee Registration and Presidential Primaries Convention in 2014. He served in the party’s Directorates, member of Planning Committee, 2015, Chairman Monitoring Committee for Ondo State and Chairman Gubernatorial and Legislative Primaries in Nasarawa State in 2018. He was deputy director, Directorate of Youth for 2019 Campaign Council and currently on the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee of the party.
Barr Ismaeel’s ability to engage and mobilize young people attracted his appointment to serve as the president’s senior special assistant on the National Social Investment Program which was flagged off in 2015. The National Social Investment Program was created to address social welfare of Nigeria in line with president Buhari’s campaign promise to address poverty and increase economic development.
In the build up to the 2023 general elections, he was one of the young progressives who engineered the creation of a unified platform for youths in the party and from across the country. The hosting of the first APC Youth Conference in 2021 provided a platform for aggrieved youths to dialogue, exchange ideas and regain confidence in the party’s inclusion structure. The event brought top government functionaries and politicians including the Vice president, Prof Yemi Osibanjo and the speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila. The successful event impressed the president instigating his instruction mandating the his Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to ensure inclusion of young people on government boards and committees.
Barr Ismaeel influence has grown beyond the north as he has built robust relationship across the South which many portend his appointment into any of the MDAs will be a big win for younger politicians.