AZ Gambo: Celebrating a peer @57

Vice Admiral Awwal Zubair Gambo, the 16th and current Chief of Naval turned a year older recently. 

He is a peer in whom all of us peers from Gwagwarwa primary school, through transit school at Kawaji and the prestigious, Rumfa College all in Kano, are well pleased.

Looking at his towering profile as the number one sailor in the land, one wouldn’t have thought that “Rizi”, would take on a career in soldering and attaining the mountain peak as a service chief.

He was reticent and unobtrusive and loved to “mind his business”. I was among the “noisy’’ ones making fun of teachers, poking others. Physically, Awwal was almost diminutive, fair skinned and slightly plump. He cut the image of “Dan gata” (Ajeboh) these attributes didn’t mark him out for soldering. They marked him out for leadership. He used to listen more than he talked. This discreet demeanor and ‘harmless’ appearance helped him navigate dangerous waters, literally and figuratively and berthed his ship at the dockyard of success.

He manifested that leadership trait early from being class monitor in primary school, a feat he replicated in Secondary School. We were always in different arms of same class. For example, he was in form one I while I was in 1D.

By the third year, we moved to Rumfa College. Only the brightest got into that prestigious school. Tough exams were set going into the third year. In modern times, sitting for that kind of tough exams is the equivalent of heading into senior secondary school. 

The idea was to select young bright minds regardless of social and economic background and blend them into future leaders. It worked because at Rumfa were princes and sons of paupers. Scions of the merchant class and wards of top civil servants. Children of Islamic scholars and jurists all dissolved into unidentifiable powder of scholarship.

You are only recognizing by your brainpower not the power of your surname.

Most of our tutors were Brits, Canadian and Asians with a no nonsense Principal, Ado Gwaram of blessed memory.

Established in 1927,Rumfa College was second only to Barewa College established in 1921.Late General Abacha was a product of Rumfa College.