In Nigeria, it is a rare thing for public appointees sacked for alleged official misconduct to be recalled and reinstated by the same administration after such officers are found to be wrongly dismissed. This is what stands out Prof. Elias Suleiman Bogoro, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), who was fired by President Muhammadu Buhari and later restored back to his office after he was cleared of any wrong doing.
The name Bogoro is synonymous with excellence, integrity, and professional panache in the Ivory Tower where he has risen to fame and earned the honour of all. It will, therefore, not be an overstatement to say that Bogoro has paid his dues and occupied a special place in the Hall of Fame of education promoters in Nigeria.
Before he was appointed the Executive Secretary of TETFund by Former President Goodluck Jonathan in April 2014, Bogoro was a lecturer at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU). His love for the teaching profession drove him back to the classroom when he was removed from office by President Muhamamdu Buhari in February, 2016.
Bogoro’s reputation for uprightness and hard work is unquestionable. It was on this note that President Buhari ordered his reinstatement after it was established that his earlier removal from office was based on unfounded allegations and vendetta.
When the erudite professor resumed work on January 21st 2019, there was wild jubilation in the agency, an indication that the management and staff of the organization missed his uncommon stewardship, amiable disposition of Style of Leadership.
Commenting on Bogoro’s reinstatement, Buhari and that it is “to re-focus the Fund and render its performance to more responsive to the expectations of the present administration.”
The President’s statement was a pointer that the Bogoro’s exist from TETFund elicited some dissonance, lack of focus and low output in the agency. And since his return, the Fund has regained its enviable status as a center of excellence and productivity.
His admirers and top officials of government have not hidden their affection for Bogoro’s style of leadership, with several of them saying that he needs more time to consolidate on his gains.
The TETFund boss is a leader on the pioneer Council of the Think Tank for Translating Research to Innovations, Strategies, Evidence for Policy and National Development created by the University of Ibadan Research Foundation. The members are academics, national professional officers, technical, business and administrative leaders selected from universities, research institutions, national agencies and the media.
During this first two years in TETFund, he focused on research and development (R&D) which led to the creation of the Department of Research and Development (R and D) in the agency.
This department stimulates, supervises and coordinates research and development activities in the country’s public tertiary institutions. His second coming to TETFund has been characterized by landmark achievements such as the rehabilitation of several decaying educational infrastructure and laboratories across public tertiary education institutions in the country.
Prof. Bogoro obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture in 1981 from the University of Maiduguri, a Master’s Degree in Animal Science in 1998 from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and a Doctorate Degree in Animal Science in 1997 from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi. He was elevated to the rank of Professor of Animal Science (specializing in Biochemistry and Animal Nutrition) in 2003.
To his credit are numerous publications in international and local journals. His versatility has been projected through his consultancy on and management of international, national and regional projects supported by the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Kingdom (UK’s) Department for International Development (DFID), among others.
Since returning to office, Bogoro has taken full supervisory role in all the departments of the agency, which enabled him to discover that most of the scholars sent abroad under the Academic Staff Training and Development (AST & D) programme were stranded.
During his assessment visit to the UK where over 500 of the scholars are receiving training, Bogoro assured them that “TETFund cannot turn a blind eye to your travails, hence the fact-finding trip to correct the non-responsive posture of the last administration at the Fund.”
Bogoro’s achievements at TETFund are matchless. It is for these outstanding accomplishments within a year that he emerges LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year 2019.
Culled from LEADERSHIP