Mohammed Mana Explained

Mohammed Mana
Honorific Prefix:Brigadier General
Office1:Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from Adamawa State North District
Constituency1:Adamawa South
Term Start1:29 May 2007
Term End1:May 2011
Predecessor1:Abubakar Iya
Successor1:Bindo Jibrilla
Office2:Military Governor of Plateau State
Term Start2:9 December 1993
Term End2:22 August 1996
Predecessor2:Fidelis Tapgun
Successor2:Habibu Idris Shuaibu
Birth Date:7 October 1950
Party:People's Democratic Party (PDP)
Branch: Nigerian Army
Allegiance: Nigeria
Rank: Brigadier General
Commands:Plateau State

Mohammed Mana (born 7 October 1950) was military Administrator of Plateau State between December 1993 and August 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.[1] He was elected Senator for Adamawa North in 2007 on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform.[2]

Background

Mana was born on 7 October 1950. He attended the Government College, Keffi. He obtained a diploma in Petroleum Technology from the US Army Quartermaster School in 1976.In 1987, he obtained a diploma in Public Administration from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.[2]

Military career

As Governor of Plateau State, in 1994, Lt. Col. Mohammed Mana set up a commission to look into the inter-ethnic conflict in Jos.[3] The problems were due to friction between the Berom, Anaguta, and Afizere tribes on the one hand, and the Hausa-Fulani tribes on the other hand.[4] Riots had been triggered by Mana's appointment of a Hausa man as "caretaker Committee chairman" of Jos.[5]

Mana retired from the military in June 1999 when President Olusegun Obasanjo decreed that all former military administrators must retire.[6]

Civilian career

After becoming Senator in May 2007, Mana was appointed to committees on Selection, Power, Integration, and Cooperation.[2] He was also appointed deputy chief whip of the Senate.He sponsored an Amendment Bill on Border Areas Development Commission, 2009 and a Bill for an Act on Tobacco Control, 2009.[7] Talking in March 2009 on the Electoral Reform report of the committee headed by Justice Mohammed Uwais, he recommended that the head of the Independent National Electoral Commission be appointed by the executive, but subject to judicial review.[8]

After the February 2010 coup in Niger, the senate President David Mark asked Mohammed Mana and Senator John Shagaya of Plateau State to use their close ties with the new military leaders of Niger to urge them to embrace democracy.[9] In March 2010, Mana was appointed to a 20-man committee to find ways to permanently solve the Jos crisis, where there had been endemic violence between Muslims and Christians.[10]

In the run-up to the 9 April 2011 national elections, Mana was a contender in the PDP primaries to again be Senatorial candidate for Adamawa North. However, he lost the nomination.[11] Mana filed an appeal against the selection of Umar Bindo Jibrilla as the candidate for Adamawa North. On 29 March 2011 a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the appeal as lacking in merit. Mana appealed this ruling.[12] An early report of the Adamawa North Senatorial election results said that Bindo Jibrilla (PDP) defeated former governor Boni Haruna of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), polling 75,112 votes to Haruna's 70,890 votes. The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate, Abba Mohammed, scored 22,866.[13] This result was also reported by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as of 16 April.[14] However, by 23 April, the Nigeria Elections Coalition was reporting that Mana was the winning PDP candidate.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Nigeria States. Rulers.org. 2 May 2010.
  2. Web site: Sen. Mohammed Mana . National Assembly of Nigeria . 2 May 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100403022552/http://nassnig.org/senate/member.php?senator=21 . 3 April 2010 .
  3. News: Jos - Once Upon a Peaceful Town. Daily Champion. Achilleus Chud-Uchegbu. 10 February 2010. 2 May 2010. 20 August 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100820101006/http://allafrica.com/stories/201002110638.html. dmy-all.
  4. News: Whitepaper on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the riots of 12th April, 1994 in Jos Metropolis. Point Blank News. September 2004. 2 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101126155453/http://www.pointblanknews.com/os2846.html. 26 November 2010. live. dmy-all.
  5. News: 1994, 2001 Jos riots: 2 police chiefs indicted. 19 February 2010. Daily Champion. 2 May 2010.
  6. Web site: TheCable . 2017-08-11 . Obasanjo: How I ended incessant coups in Nigeria . 2024-07-10 . TheCable . en-US.
  7. News: An Improved Senate, But Some Uninspiring Senators.... ThisDay. 24 May 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20121014094311/http://allafrica.com/stories/200905250350.html. 14 October 2012. live. 2 May 2010. dmy-all.
  8. News: National Assembly Will Decide Who Becomes INEC Chairman - Mana. Leadership. Stanley Yakubu. 29 March 2009. 2 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20121014215248/http://allafrica.com/stories/200903301276.html. 14 October 2012. live. dmy-all.
  9. News: Senate Tasks Ecowas, Others On Coup in Niger. ThisDay. George Oji and Sufuyan Ojeifo. 26 February 2010. 2 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100315034034/http://allafrica.com/stories/201002260401.html. 15 March 2010. live. dmy-all.
  10. News: Jos - Northern Senators, Reps Move to End Crisis. Daily Trust. 11 March 2010. 2 May 2010. 22 June 2011. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110622130209/http://allafrica.com/stories/201003110366.html. dmy-all.
  11. News: Adamawa's no-show senators. Timawus Mathias. 12 January 2011. Daily Trust. 23 April 2011.
  12. News: Mana, Bent advised to obey court order on Senate tickets. 30 March 2011. Nigerian Daily. 23 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120323012046/http://www.thenigeriandaily.com/2011/03/30/mana-bent-advised-to-obey-court-order-on-senate-tickets/. 23 March 2012. dead. dmy-all.
  13. News: NASS Poll: ACN Presidential Candidate Ribadu Loses In Adamawa. Online Nigeria. 4 December 2011. 23 April 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110728122559/http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/politics/89251-nass-poll-acn-presidential-candidate-ribadu-loses-in-adamawa.html. 28 July 2011. dmy-all.
  14. Web site: Collated Senate results. Independent National Electoral Commission. 23 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110419203046/http://www.inecnigeria.org/downloads/?did=114. 19 April 2011. dead. dmy-all.
  15. Web site: Senatorial Elections. Nigeria Elections Coalition. 30 December 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110413044448/http://nigeriaelections.org/nass.php. 13 April 2011. dead.