06/12/2025
THE GOOD WE CHOSE TO FORGET: REVISITING DR. JAMILU ISIYAKU GWAMNA’S UNMATCHED IMPACT ON GOMBE YOUTHS
By Abu-Ubaida Ibrahim Kuna
In a society where gratitude should be a virtue, silence has unfortunately become the easier option. Today in Gombe State, public conversations are loud with politics, alliances, and trending personalities, yet some of the individuals who made the deepest and most genuine contributions to the development of our youths are no longer mentioned. One of the most glaring examples of this worrying silence is Dr. Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna, the Sardaunan Gombe, a man whose massive impact in job creation and educational empowerment remains unmatched, yet has been quietly erased from public memory.
This article was not the result of planning; it emerged from an intellectually engaging group conversation with respected minds, during which we examined those who truly contributed to youth development in Gombe. Many names naturally came up in the conversation, including Arch. Yunusa Yakubu Lubel, Hon. Usman Bayero Nafada, Hon. Saidu Alkali, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, Alhaji Muhammad Jibrin Barde, Hon. Khamisu Mailantarki, Hon. Ali Isa JC, Dr. Aminu Yuguda, Hon. Muhammad Magaji, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, Dr. Babayo Aro, Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, Alh. Abdulkadir Hammasaleh, Dr. Bala Bello Tinka, and several others whose contributions cannot be denied. There was consensus that Dr. Abubakar Ali Gombe and Prof. Isa Ali Pantami did well in providing job opportunities to Gombe indigines, although Prof. Pantami’s opportunities were more selective. However, one truth stood out powerfully and undisputed: when it comes to large-scale job creation and systematic youth upliftment, Dr. Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna stands totally unmatched, in a category completely his own.
As Managing Director of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna facilitated employment opportunities for thousands of Gombe youths. Not dozens, not hundreds but thousands. Many young men and women across Gombe State got their first professional opportunity through KEDCO under his leadership. These beneficiaries are today working in banks, ministries, government agencies, private companies, engineering firms, corporate organizations and in the wider energy sector. For some, that opportunity became the turning point that changed their entire lives. Yet, astonishingly, many of these individuals have remained silent, their gratitude swallowed by the shifting tides of politics and personal alignment.
Dr. Gwamna’s record in educational support is equally extraordinary. One of the most outstanding examples is the sponsorship of many Gombe indigines to Yamusa Science Academy in Birnin Kebbi. Every one of them graduated with exceptional results, and more than half have already gained admission into various universities across Nigeria and abroad through his scholarship. In addition, numerous Gombe youths are currently studying in Morocco and other countries through scholarship schemes connected to his interventions. These are not acts of charity; they are deliberate investments in human capital, the kind of contributions that shape generations and build future leaders.
For the sake of clarity and absolute transparency, I must state that I have never benefited from Dr. Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna in any way; not in cash, not in kind, not through job opportunities, not through scholarships, and not even indirectly. My only interaction with him happened in 2023 when Hon. Mijinyawa Sani Labaran initiated a phone call before the PDP primary elections after Dr. Gwamna was told that I was not supporting him. That was my first and last conversation with him. I have never visited him, never met him physically, and never had any association with him. I did not even think about him again until that recent intellectual discussion revived the memories of his contributions.
It is therefore important to make it clear that this article is not driven by interest, sentiment or political alignment. It is motivated purely by truth and by the responsibility we owe to history. To the thousands who benefited from his kindness, those who secured jobs, those whose educational dreams were supported, those whose careers were shaped through his direct or indirect interventions, it is important to say this: your silence is unfair. Gratitude is not politics. Acknowledgment is not loyalty. Truth is not allegiance. If someone played a role in transforming your life, you owe that truth to history, not to the person.
Let it also be stated clearly that no one from Dr. Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna’s family, camp or political circle should contact me because of this publication. My pen is independent. It does not write to please anyone. It does not write for favour. It writes on good when it is good, and it writes on bad when it is bad. I wrote this not for Dr. Gwamna, not for political relevance, but for the integrity of history and for the awareness of Gombe youths who may have forgotten too quickly.
The fading memory of Dr. Gwamna’s contribution is not a reflection of the insignificance of his deeds but a reflection of our weakening culture of gratitude. Good deeds do not disappear; they only get buried under the noise of present politics and the short memory of society. It is time for Gombe State to remember. It is time to honour truth. It is time to acknowledge those who genuinely served the people, lest Gombawa forget.
Abu-Ubaida Ibrahim Kuna writes from Gombe State, Nigeria.