Upon his election as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2011 to represent the good people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, not many thought he was going to make any impact in the Senate, perhaps, because of his relatively young age. He was just about 39 years old then.
Some people had called him a “small boy”, wondering what he would have to say or do in the midst of men who are old enough to be his father when important national issues are being discussed either on the floor of the Senate or at the committee level.
However, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, an aspirant for the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi State on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) proved his mettle and did not disappoint his people who gave him the mandate to be their representative at the Upper Chamber of the Federal Legislature.
It was evidently a fruitful outing for a man who discharged his duties and responsibilities as a lawmaker in the Red Chamber with every sense of commitment, dedication and rectitude.
Notwithstanding the fact that he was the youngest in the seventh Senate,
Abatemi-Usaman was able to blend and relate well with his colleagues in a manner that he became so much loved and liked by most of them. Fondly referred to as the “last born” of the Senate by the immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark, during deliberations on the floor of the 7th Senate, Abatemi-Usman is believed to be the most active, vibrant and ebullient Senator Kogi Central ever produced.
In line with his promise to be an advocate for steel development, as soon as he assumed office, Abatemi-Usman visited the Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCO) and the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) to get firsthand information about the abandoned national treasure that is capable of providing jobs for millions of Nigerians.
Throughout his stay in office, Abatemi-Usman, popularly called ‘Deen’, never gave former President Goodluck Jonathan a breathing space as he was always mounting pressure on him, reminding him of the need to fulfill his pledge to revive Ajaokuta Steel which is said to have consumed about $7 billion and needed less than $1 billion to be completed.
The Jonathan administration may have refused to make provision for fund for the completion of the steel complex as requested by Deen, nonetheless, his efforts yielded some fruits. His aggressive push saw to the disbandment of the Interim Management Committee (IMC). The IMC was set up to run ASCO and NIOMCO for a period of six months and come out with a blueprint or template for the purpose of turning around the fortunes of the two companies. But it ended up spending almost five years and causing more damages to the operation of the two important firms.
After ensuring that the IMC was disbanded, he went further to push for the appointment of Engr. Joseph Onobere, a seasoned metallurgical engineer of over 30 years of experience in the steel industry as sole administrator of ASCO. Engr. Onobere, an indigene of Kogi State from Ebiraland has been working hard to see to the revival of the company, but he is being hampered by the paucity of fund.
We can only hope that the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari would make money available for the commencement of full operation in the steel complex.
In the same vein, Abatemi-Usman showed dogged determination towards tackling the problem of acute water shortage that has bedeviled the people of Kogi Central for decades.
He was able to push for the allocation of funds in the budget for Ekuku Dam in Okene and the Ogori/Magongo Water Treatment Plant. Work got to advanced stage at the Ekuku Dam such that the people of Agassa had a feel of tap water during the test-running.
The breakage of the underground pipes in certain locations prevented the smooth flow of water from Ekuku Dam. Determined to see the completion of the water projects, he lobbied for the provision of additional fund in the 2015 budget. While he was seeking for the long term solution to
the water situation in Ebiraland, he equally took steps to provide temporary alleviation for his people by using his office to facilitate the sinking of hand-pumped and motorized boreholes in a number of communities across Kogi Central.
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