Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed was Born and raised in the ancient commercial city of Kano, Barr. Ismaeel graduated from University of Abuja with a Law degree, a Master of Arts in International Relations and Diplomacy from Webster University in the USA, and an LL.M from University of Chicago IL, USA. He was a member of the defunct CPC that formed part of the APC merger. Barrister Ismaeel contested and won the House of Reps seat in his native Kano in the elections of 2011 but suffered electoral injustice as is common in Nigeria. Ever since, he has kept faith with the struggle of the opposition parties in their bid to rescue the country from the grip of corrupt and incompetent government.
Well, I believe managing the needs and aspirations of youths require undiluted commitment. Barr. Ismaeel has demonstrated amply over the last 2 years that he is committed to changing the situation of youths of this country for better. He has shown that politics for him isn’t about glamour; it isn’t about becoming a well known face. It is about bringing change to our long-suffering country.
Barrister Ismaeel is driven by a desire to change; a heartfelt belief that Nigeria and Nigerian youths deserve better. He didn’t spend his energy during the campaigns on monitoring Facebook statistics or on Twitter feeds. Ismaeel’s energy was spent on motivating youths; organising town hall meetings; planning events and many more germane activities essential to a healthy political campaign. Did anyone ever hear of APYF in the
course of the campaigns? Well, that Forum was the brainchild of Barr. Ismaeel. Without Ismaeel’s drive and selflessness, there wouldn’t have been the APYF, a platform that served the good purpose of mobilising the youth voters across Nigeria.
I had a conversation the other day with a friend of mine and she said to me: “How come I don’t know this Ismaeel”? So I’ll tell you a little story from the campaign.
It was a Friday evening in Barrister Ismaeel’s office located in Garki area of Abuja. I joined a conversation with other APYF members who were excited with the political debate going on. Then Barrister Ismaeel interrupted the conversation with the remarks:“You know guys, if all of us here believe that Change is possible and we go all out to canvass for it, we’d win the 2015 elections hands down.” That might not sound much, but it captures everything that makes Ismaeel the ideal person to represent the youths in government. It was from Barr. Ismaeel that I first heard the term- ‘common sense revolution’, and that was long before Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, APC National Leader, used it in a campaign.
Of all the APYF events I am aware of, there was none in which Ismaeel demands that he should be the one in the photo that’s going to the Press. And that is possibly why my friend doesn’t know Ismaeel. Ismaeel has never been one who is into politics for an ego trip. He doesn’t value his face being plastered over the papers or demand his voice is the one that is heard loudest in the crowd. What Ismaeel values, is what wins you elections: good honest hard work.
Make no mistake about it, no one will work harder than Ismaeel if nominated a Minister. In the just concluded campaigns that won APC its victory, no other young person has done more canvassing than Ismaeel over the last two years. And most importantly, no one is better placed to take advantage of the current youth political reawakening in Nigeria than Barrister Ismaeel. With the way he led the APYF, Ismaeel has shown how effective he can be leading a team of young people. We need him to lead us into the era of Change.
CREDIT: Abdullahi (@mofolohunsho) from Abuja, Nigeria