Dr. Ibrahim Kana: The Rising of A Star -By Dr. Yaji Ibrahim Obel

The life trajectory and success of Dr Ibrahim Kana caught the attention of the public a few days ago when he was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as a federal permanent secretary. Many public analysts have considered this appointment unusual because of his age.

 Indeed, the position of a permanent secretary both at the state and federal level is considered the pinnacle of one’s progression in civil service within 35 years of service. At the federal level, it is even more objective as exams other qualifications and some board room politics may come into play before one is considered for such a top job.

Although I am yet to have the opportunity to meet Dr Ibrahim Kana personally, the closest I have come is being in an audience where he spoke in 2018 at the NiMSA At 50 event in Abuja. I was impressed by his charisma and charming personality. Most importantly, however, I was impressed by his achievements as contained in his citation which was read shortly before he was presented with an award of excellence by the Nigeria Medical Student Association (NiMSA) under the leadership of the then NiMSA President, Dr Boris Nwachukwu.

Dr Ibrahim Kana was the NiMSA President between 1995- 1996. Ever since then, he has remained one of the few former presidents who have maintained a very close relationship with the association and has consistently contributed tenure after tenure to the growth and development of the association. For those who have met him, they would tell you Dr Kana remains one of the most brilliant minds around. His ability to synthesize history with current events of things is admirable.

I took some time together with my friend, the current NiMSA President, Umar Danbuba, to study the career trajectory of Dr Kana and many lessons young aspiring leaders can draw from him. We have decided to share our findings, hoping that perhaps, many young people, ourselves inclusive, would pick up some of these lessons as we make strides to succeed in our various endeavours.

Most student leaders, after being involved in student politics leave the university high spirited and optimistic about entering the political space to do exploits or serve their country as the case might be at such young ages. This desire may seem noble but is in reality quite unrealistic and as dangerous as a time bomb waiting to explode.

The glory that political power comes with even on our campuses has a way of making many student leaders believe crossing over to secular politics or public service is so easy and can be achieved overnight. As a result, you find out many of these student leaders are unwilling to add value to themselves or build a meaningful career after school. It would appear that all they want to do is hang around politicians and keep wishing they would be absorbed into the system. After 4 -5 years of such struggle, they realise that the politicians have been using them for their selfish agenda, and are not interested in seeing them grow or eat with them on the “power” table.
 By the time they look back, many of their colleagues who pursued career or business have gone far and if these same politicians had the opportunity to select or recommend anyone for a position in public service, they would rather recommend those colleagues of theirs who have made strides in their fields and have shown some loyalty because they believe they would have more to bring to the table.

Such situations can be frustrating, and even those student leaders who got the chance to enter the political space shortly after the university are usually scared. They may wonder what would become of their ambitions if a change of government comes, or they are sacked overnight, as they have no other life to fall back on.

In the case of Dr Kana, after he left medical school about 24 years ago, where he served as the NiMSA President, he aggressively pursued his medical career unapologetically. He enrolled immediately for his residency program in Ophthalmology after the NYSC program. He subsequently completed the residency program and became a fellow of the National Medical Postgraduate College.

After his fellowship program, he was involved in several community programmes with international health organizations like Sight Savers, who were interested in eye care across Northern Nigeria. Under this organisation, he served as a zonal coordinator for Kaduna state.

He went further to assist the then Sokoto state government to set up an Eyecare program in the state. While in Sokoto, he also offered his services as a visiting lecturer to the Usmanu Dan Fodio University, where he lectured in Ophthalmology.
 He was equally able to mobilise a team that carried out over a thousand eye surgeries across several rural settings like Illela, Tangaza, Gwadabawa, Gada, Issa, Sabon Birni, and many others.

In recognition of his pursuit of service excellence, he was elected by his colleagues in Kaduna to serve as the Secretary of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA). He went on to become the National Assistant Secretary-General of the NMA. He was subsequently elected as the National Treasurer from 2008 – 2010.
It was during his tenure that the NMA moved its secretariat from Lagos to Abuja and procured the current secretariat in Abuja.

His insatiable quest for knowledge and desire to contribute to national development further pushed him to acquire a certificate in community ophthalmology from the Kilimanjaro Centre for community ophthalmology – Arusha, Tanzania.

While in Sokoto, he enrolled for a postgraduate diploma in public administration. He also attended other world-class institutes for leadership and managerial courses, all in a bid to prepare for public service in his later life. He later explored a new path in his medical career by becoming a Global Health finance expert. He did this by attending SINA HEALTH/ World bank health financing ( Performance-based financing) in Mombasa Kenya, the World Bank Flagship course in Health Financing in Washington DC, and the WHO advanced course in Health financing in Barcelona, Spain.
 He is currently undergoing a masters in health financing and pharmacoeconomics at the Pompeo fubra university, Barcelona, Spain.

On the National scene, becoming a Federal Permanent Secretary is only the icing on the cake for Dr Kana.  he has been on the scene for the past 12 years. In this time, he focused all his energy and attention on serving and making noiseless contributions to national development at different cadres. He did all of this selflessly without looking for recognition.

 He joined the medical department of the National Hajj commission earlier in his career, where he later rose as the head of the Hajj Medical Team, a position he used to reposition the safety protocol of intending pilgrims in the holy land of Mecca. This performance has reduced the mortality of our pilgrims over the years. This sterling accomplishment was recognised by the commission and Saudi authorities as well.

 Dr Kana has chaired the world bank flagship program ” Saving One Million Lives Programme for Result ( SOML-PforR)” in the last six years, a programme that has reached out to many rural communities in Nigeria. His performance has been recognised by many international organisations.

 In between these assignments, he has proven to be a technocrat of esteemed value as he served as a technical advisor to several health ministers in the past, head of the health desk, former senior special adviser to the president on MDGs who is currently the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. He also served at least 4 different permanent secretaries in the federal ministry of health as senior special assistants. H
e is currently at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru – Jos which is the Nation’s Apex policy-making body where he is joining other senior civil servants and senior military officers to recommend formidable policies to move our nation forward.

It is crucial that events or landmarks around the life of Dr Kana are established above so that lessons from his rising would be carefully extracted. The trajectory of Dr Kana describes a man who has understood the importance of goal setting, service and personal development. For comprehension, I would discuss the values I believe young aspiring leaders must emulate from his life in the paragraphs below.

From the series of events mentioned above, it is very obvious that Dr Kana is a goal-oriented personality who has remained focused, consistent and unapologetic in the pursuit of his goals. One can only imagine the number of challenges he encountered on his way up, the sleepless nights and the number of times he may have been rejected, but all that did not deter him.

We are in a time where most young people are distracted either by the fast-success syndrome or the frivolities of social media so they rarely have the mental endurance to remain focused on any set goal. I was told by a few friends who are close to him how he has constantly rejected offers of jobs from international organisations and foreign governments which he considered not part of his desired goals. Many of these jobs are so mouthwatering that it would take a very disciplined and visionary individual to resist them.
I have had cause to interact with many young people about plans to advance their careers; most of their responses are lukewarm. You do not seem to find this conviction and astuteness about their goals or aspirations. On the other hand, I have met many like minds like Dr Kana, who would, almost with accuracy and precision, give me a picture of where they are headed. Their convictions and hope in their description of vision are warming enough.

The era of finding excuses about the Nigerian system not enabling enough is becoming obsolete as many young professionals have been rising to the pinnacle of their careers, just like Dr Kana. Unless we have a clear cut idea of what we intend to make out of our lives, we cannot acquire the kind of energy needed to remain focused on our set goals.

 Indeed Dr Kana owes our generation some life stories to share.
Since his early life, he has understood the power of service whenever the opportunity presented itself. From his days as NiMSA President to his days at the NMA, to National Hajj, to the federal ministry of health, he has always maintained a posture of selfless service, which has paid off.
 Now in my little life, I have come to understand that most great men rise by selfless service to humanity through any available platform. Service allows you to build a network that, if maintained, would go a long way to increase your chances of succeeding.
One can only imagine the number of people that reached the presidency on behalf of Dr Kana to make a case or lobby for him with regards to his appointment: former ministers, governors, senior civil servants or even people in the international community, because of the service he rendered to the country under them and how he was able to prove himself.

Selfless service would always bring rewards. In all those years, Dr Kana never struggled to rub shoulders with many of these men he served or even compete for the spotlight. That explains his mindset about loyalty. He knew his time for the stage would come, and he used all those times of service to adequately prepare for the set time. That time is upon him now.

If there is one thing I truly admire about Dr Kana, it is his insatiable desire to be a better version of himself. He has never been in competition with anyone or in haste to prove a point. His goal was to be a better version of himself which he never relented in doing. He kept pursuing the best education and required the competence needed to take him to his desired destination. It is obvious that at this prime age of his life, being a federal permanent secretary might be the pinnacle of his civil service career. On the other hand, though, it might just be a stepping stone to his life pursuits which we pray come to the limelight at the right time.

 He has over the years placed value on himself which has now put him in charge of events around his life. If he walks out of civil service today, I doubt he would spend the next week without jobs knocking on his door. This is owing to the immense value he has deposited in himself.

This is one great lesson all young people must learn: the value is in the person, not the title.

As Dr Kana resumes work as a federal permanent secretary, most likely after his senior executive course at NIPSS, we have no doubt he is bringing his years of experience from working with former senior executives, creativity, and youthful energy to the scene. We are optimistic the country would benefit greatly from his service and he would serve as a model to many people who desire to join the public service.

In conclusion, we want to use this medium to call on Dr Kana to consider setting up a mentorship group to engage the youth. This is to enable him to share his life experiences with them. Again, our generation and generations to come would greatly benefit from a memoir from him when he is exiting active public service life.

Once again, please accept our warm congratulations, Dr Kana Ibrahim, and we wish you the very best in your new assignment.

Dr Yaji Ibrahim Obel 
Public Affairs Analyst