Abba Sayyadi Ruma
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Abba Sayyadi Ruma (13 March 1962 – 27 October 2021) was appointed Federal Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in Nigeria by President
Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...
on 26 July 2007. He left office in March 2010 when acting president
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
dissolved his cabinet. He was chairman of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development headquartered in Rome, Italy, and was a Partner Minister of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
(UNESCO).


Background

Ruma was born on 13 March 1962. He gained a BA in history from the University of Sokoto, a Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy from
Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...
,
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 ...
, and a PhD in international relations from the
University of Abuja The University of Abuja is a tertiary institution in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. It was established in January 1988 (under Decree No. 110 of 1992 as amended) as a dual-mode university with the mandate to run conventional and distance learning ...
.


Early career

Ruma obtained a position as information officer in
Katsina State Katsina State ''(Hausa: Jihar Katsina) (Fula: Leydi Katsina 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞥁𞤭𞤲𞤢)'' is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Katsina State was created in 1987, when it split from Kaduna State. Today, K ...
, and became special adviser to
Saidu Barda Alhaji Sa'idu Barda is a Nigerian politician who was elected on the National Republican Convention (NRC) platform as Governor of Katsina State, Nigeria, holding office between January 1992 and November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic. He r ...
, the governor of Katsina State in 1992. Between 1999 and 2003, Ruma was chairman and chief executive officer of Rascom Network Ltd, a company based in
Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...
that consults on research and development. Ruma was the chairman of
Batsari Batsari is a Local Government Area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Batsari. It has an area of 1,107 km and a population of 208,978 at the 2006 census. The postal code A postal code (also known locally in ...
Local Government Area in Katsina State in 2003, and strongly supported the PDP candidates. He became secretary to the Katsina State Government in 2003, when
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2 ...
was governor. He was appointed Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Education in 2005 under Dr.
Obiageli Ezekwesili Obiageli "Oby" Ezekwesili (born 28 April 1963) is an economic policy expert, an advocate for transparency, accountability, good governance and human capital development, a humanitarian and an activist. She is a former vice president for the Wor ...
, and in 2007 briefly became Federal Minister of Education when Ezekwesili left to take up a World Bank job. He was married to Hajiya Rabi and Hajiya Khadija and had twelve children.


Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources

In 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua appointed Ruma Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources. Ruma was seen as one of Yar'Adua's most esteemed colleagues. It had been expected that Yar'Adua would appoint Ruma as minister of education, since Ruma had previously served as minister of state for education and was widely believed to be part of the reform process. In May 2008, Ruma denied reports that Nigeria was suffering from a food crisis, saying the only problem was with the rising cost of rice. He defended his ministry's decision to centralize distribution of fertilizer rather than relying on private enterprise, and noted that the government was taking action to improve access to credit by farmers and to supply more tractors. But the government would import rice if needed to cushion cost increases. In July 2009, talking to a stakeholders' roundtable of the National Food Security Advocacy Group, he said that in the past middlemen contractors and politicians skimmed off subsidies for fertilizers which did not get to the farmers in time for the planting season, and then were grossly overpriced. Speaking to journalists in November 2009 on the government's Public Private Partnership in the area of rice production, Ruma explained the government was looking at linking up large-scale private sector operators with farmers' cooperative groups to achieve
economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...
, and was providing funds for small-scale irrigation with focus on the most productive areas. N200 billion was available for farmers' credit, but release of the funds would be carefully monitored to ensure it went to the intended recipients. In November 2009, Ruma was considered to be leader of a faction of the
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP) opposed to the reelection in 2011 of Governor
Ibrahim Shema Ibrahim Shehu Shema (born 22 September 1957) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who was elected Governor of the north western State of Katsina during the 2007 general elections. He was re-elected for another four-year term on 28 April 2011, ...
. His "Abuja Group", which included Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, Senator
Garba Yakubu Lado Garba Yakubu Lado Danmarke (born 1961) is a Nigerian businessman who became a Member of the House of Representatives (2003–2007) and was elected a Federal Senator in April 2007 for Katsina South constituency of Katsina State as a member of the P ...
and businessman Dahiru Mangal, were all said to be acolytes of Yar’Adua.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruma, Abba Sayyadi Federal ministers of Nigeria 1962 births 2021 deaths Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) International Fund for Agricultural Development people Usmanu Danfodiyo University alumni Nigerian officials of the United Nations