Yusuf Maitama Sule (1 October 1929 – 3 July 2017) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician, diplomat, and elderly statesman who held the ''Ɗanmasanin Kano'' a chieftaincy title. In 1955-1956 he was the chief whip of the Federal House of Representatives. In 1960 he led the Nigerian delegation to the Conference of Independent African States. In 1976, he became the Federal Commissioner of public complaints, a position that made him the nation's pioneer

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

. In early 1979, he was the presidential candidate of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

but lost to

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

. He was appointed Nigeria's representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

after the coming of civilian rule in September 1979. While there he was chairman of the

United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1761 was passed on 6 November 1962 in response to the racist policies of apartheid established by the South African Government. Condemnation of apartheid The resolution deemed apartheid and the polici ...

. After the re-election of President Shagari in 1983, Maitama Sule was made the Minister for National Guidance, a portfolio designed to assist the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in tackling corruption.

Career

Public Complaints Commission

The rise of

economic nationalism Economic nationalism, also called economic patriotism and economic populism, is an ideology that favors state interventionism over other market mechanisms, with policies such as domestic control of the economy, labor, and capital formation, incl ...

during the 1970s led to the enactment of a

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

stipulating minimum requirements for local content in many companies doing business in Nigeria. To capitalize on the benefits of indigenous control of the economy, many permanent secretaries, federal commissioners, state

governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

and their cronies established firms to conduct business with the government. It was with the intent of patching the revolving door and to stem small-time

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

that the Public Complaints Commission was created in 1975. It was meant to hear and tackle complaints by the common man in a simple and efficient manner. Sule, as head of the commission, was known to have taken his job seriously, partly because he was a potent political commodity and had a lot to gain from the good will of the people when a transition to

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

was in place. As a result of the commission's effort, corruption during the period was temporarily curtailed.

National guidance

In 1983, Sule returned to a familiar role, this time under a

democratic government Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...

as the head of a ministry to tackle corruption. The new but short-lived ministry was created solely to invest time in an

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

re-orientation of Nigerians. Sule, who had acquired a solid reputation as a tough U.N representative when he was chairman of a U.N. special committee on apartheid, was asked to lead the ministry. However, his appointment was not satisfactory to critics. Shagari's administration was removed by a coup, with the coupists citing corruption as a major reason for the incursion.

Polemical statement

Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule said, The aforementioned statement has been used by some to stir up fears of northern political domination in the country. The fear of northern dominance can however not be dismissed. "May God give this country leaders not rulers, leaders with the fear of God."

Death

Sule died on 2 July 2017 in a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, after suffering from pneumonia and a chest infection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sule, Maitama 1929 births 2017 deaths People from Kano Candidates for President of Nigeria National Party of Nigeria politicians Federal ministers of Nigeria Permanent Representatives of Nigeria to the United Nations