Ahmed Joda OFR, CON, CFR (13 February 1930 – 13 August 2021) was a Nigerian administrator who rose through the administrative cadre of the Northern regional government and then the federal civil service to retire as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industries. During the administration of the youthful Yakubu Gowon, he was considered to be among a group known as super Permanent Secretaries.

Biography

Ahmed Joda was born in Yola to a Fulani family in 1930, his great-great-grandfather was Modibbo Raji, a 19th-century Islamic scholar and contemporary of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio. Ahmed Joda attended Yola Elementary School and Yola Middle School before proceeding to

Barewa College Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1921 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as Katsina College. It switched its name to Kaduna College in 1938 and to Government College, ...

from 1945 to 1948. He worked briefly at Moor Plantation in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, and later as an agricultural officer in Yola before entering the field of journalism at Gaskiya Corporation in

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

. He then attended Pitmans College, London from 1954 to 1956. On his return, he became a correspondent at the Nigerian Broadcasting Service from 1956 to 1960. He then joined the Northern regional government as a Chief Information Officer then later Permanent Secretary from 1962 to 1967. In 1967, following the outbreak of the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

, he was seconded to the Federal Civil Service as a Permanent Secretary serving in the Federal Ministries: Information, Education, and Industries, where he retired in 1978. He then retired into private business during the Second Nigerian Republic, where he served as chairman and board member of various companies including the:

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited is a for profit oil company in Nigeria. Formerly a government-owned corporation, it was transformed from a corporation to a limited liability company in July 2022. NNPC Limited is the only entity licensed to operate in the country' ...

Nigerian Communications Commission The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is the independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. The NCC was created under Decree number 75 by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on 24 November 1992. The ...

, Pastoral Resolve, SCOA, Nigeria, Chagoury Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria, and the Nigerian LNG. He was also a member of the 1988 Constituent Assembly which planned the constitutional transition of the

Third Nigerian Republic The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. Founded (1993) The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989. General Ibrahim Badamasi B ...

. In 1999, he was appointed a member of the Committee to Advise the Presidency on Poverty Alleviation and in 2015, headed the Muhammadu Buhari presidential transition. He died in Yola, Nigeria on 13 August 2021, after a brief illness.

Honours

* In 1965, at the age 35, he received the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic * In 1979, Commander of the Order of the Niger * In 2002, Commander of the Federal Republic

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joda, Ahmed 1930 births 2021 deaths Nigerian government officials Kaduna People from Adamawa State Nigerian Fula people