By Uche Amunike
Ex-presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in the aborted 1993 third republic, Alhaji Bashir Tofa has just been buried after the funeral prayer held for him at his residence in Kano State.
The prayer session which was led by Imam Shehu Tijjani Yan Mota at 9:20am, was attended by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, Kano Central Senator, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, former Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Sabo Nanono and Alhaji Sule Yahya Hamma, as well as Alhaji Aminu Dabo, Alhaji Sani Kwangila Yakasai and Barr. A.B Mahmud, among others.
Tofa, who died early Monday morning after battling with a protracted illness was later buried at Hajj camp burial ground in Kano State.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information, Mohammad Garba, has mourned the demise of the ex-presidential candidate of the June 12, 1993 election, saying that his contributions to Nigeria’s democracy will always remain indelible.
Ganduje noted that Tofa, who started taking up leadership responsibilities early in life when he was elected Councillor in his late 20s, has made sacrifices and remained vibrant and dynamic, even till the time of his death.
According to him, Tofa, as a business man, philanthropist and trader, has impacted in the lives of many people, particularly the downtrodden and expressed his hope that his legacy will be lived for posterity.
His words: ‘The legacy of his political beliefs and triumph will be important footnotes in the literature of Nigeria’s government and politics for generations yet to come’.
‘He was a great man, a quintessential democrat and outstanding a statesman who has left very bold prints, both on politics and political History of Nigeria’, he added.
He prayed that the Almighty Allah will grant the soul of Alhaji Bashir Tofa rest and also that he may give his family, friends and associates the fortitude to bear their loss.
Alhaji Bashir Tofa was born, June 20, 1947 in Kano State Nigeria. He is of the Kanuri tribe. He attended Shahuci Junior Primary School in Kano and the City Senior Primary School in Kano, between 1962 and 1966. He also attended Provincial College, Kano and is an alumnus of City of London College.
He started his career life with Royal Exchange Insurance Company, where he worked between 1967 and 1968, but joined the world of politics in 1976 when he contested and won the position of Councilor of Dawakin Today Local Government Council and later as a member of the Constituent Assembly, during the Nigerian Second Republic in 1977.
He served as Secretary of the Kano State chapter of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and later, as the National Financial Secretary of the party.
He joined the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1990 where he contested as Presidential candidate in the June 1993 general election, where he lost to MKO Abiola.
Alhaji Bashir Tofa was also a businessman and industrialist and was the Chairman of International Petro-Energy Company (IPEC), as well as Abba Othman and Sons Ltd. He was also a board member of Impex Ventures, Century Merchant Bank and General Metal Products Limited.
