Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, (born 15 April 1952) is a Nigerian civil servant and politician who served as

Defence Minister of Nigeria The Minister of Defence of Nigeria is the Federal Executive Council (Nigeria), Federal Executive Council cabinet of Nigeria, cabinet official who leads the Ministry of Defence (Nigeria), Defence Ministry of Nigeria. The Defence Minister's main res ...

Early life and education

Ahmed was born in the town of Shira in southern

Azare Azare is a town in Bauchi State, Nigeria. It was founded by Mallam Zaki who was put into office by Shehu Usman Danfodio during early 1814. Azare is the headquarter of Katagum division in Bauchi State, Azare town is bounded to the east by Damban ...

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the e ...

, to Ahmadu, an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

and farmer. He attended Shira Primary School, Government Secondary School Azare, and then

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, A ...

(ABU) in

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna State, Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau, Zazzau Emirate ...

Kaduna State Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...

, where he received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1976 and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...

in 1981. He completed his

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, ...

(NYSC) service in 1977. He has an honorary Doctorate Degree in Law awarded by 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 ...

and an honorary Doctorate Degree of Letters by

Bayero University The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in ...

Civil service and politics

Ahmed joined the

Civil Service in 1977. In 1982, he became deputy secretary to the state's Ministry of Animal Health and Forestry Resources, and the next year, in 1983, he became acting permanent secretary to the Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives. In 1986, he joined the federal government's civil service, holding various positions in the Ministries of Internal Affairs and of Education. He was a member of the 1988 Ministerial Committee on the Civil Service Reforms. Ahmed was appointed to the position of Head of Civil Service of the Federation on December 18, 2000, by former President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its presid ...

, who described Ahmed as "Mr Civil Servant". In May 2006, Yayale considered running for Governor or Bauchi State in the 2007 general election. According to Yahuza Bauchi, the people of Bauchi State were "clamouring for Alhaji Yayale Ahmed to assume the mantle of leadership in the state so as to consolidate the good works of Governor Adamu Mua'zu." 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 ...

appointed him to the position of Defence Minister on July 26, 2007. He had no military experience prior to the appointment. On September 8, 2008, President

appointed him as the

Secretary to the Government of the Federation Secretary to the Government of the Federation is the official title of the political appointee responsible for ensuring the effective coordination and monitoring of the implementation of government policies and programmes in the hierarchy of Niger ...

(SGF) replacing Babagana Kingibe. In May 2011, 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 ...

replaced Ahmed with Senator Anyi Pius Anyim.

Personal life

Ahmed is married with seven children. He speaks

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He has 7 children, Khadija, Nabil, Halima, Ibrahim, Usman, Sagir and Nabila.

Titles

Ahmed is the Ajiyan Katagum, a

Katagum Katagum is a town, a local government area and a traditional emirate in Bauchi State of north eastern Nigeria. The town is located on the northern bank of the Jama'are River, which is a tributary of the Hadejia. Most of the inhabitants are Mu ...

Emirate position, and the Akowojo of Idanre Kingdom, in

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Yayale Living people 1952 births People from Bauchi State Defence ministers of Nigeria Ahmadu Bello University alumni Nigerian Muslims