Sixty is an age when some slow down. For Tajudeen Abbas, it feels more like an overture. The Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives has reached his milestone birthday, still carrying the weight of both crown and gavel, balancing politics with the princely title of Iyan Zazzau.
Born in Zaria on October 1, 1965, Abbas rose from lecturer to legislator, winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 2011. He became the first to be reelected from Zaria Federal Constituency and, in June 2023, clinched the Speakership with 353 of 359 lawmakers voting in his favour.
His path was anything but preordained. Trained as a business scholar with degrees from Ahmadu Bello and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Abbas lectured at Kaduna State University before testing himself in the private sector. A stint as marketing manager at the Nigerian Tobacco Distribution Company sharpened his instincts for negotiation and persuasion.
Since entering politics, Abbas has been an industrious legislator. He has served on committees spanning commerce, finance, defense, and national planning, and once chaired the Land Transport committee. Observers say his focus on detail and his calm demeanour helped him move through the House’s often fractious corridors with surprising ease.
As Speaker, Abbas has pledged accountable leadership and grassroots dividends of democracy. His recent Independence Day message urged Nigerians to cling to optimism, even as security and economic troubles persist. The tone was hopeful, almost pastoral, suggesting a leader more interested in unity than bluster.
Yet Abbas has also tested boundaries. He once proposed compulsory voting with penalties for abstention, only to withdraw the bill after public outcry. The episode revealed both his appetite for bold ideas and his responsiveness to feedback. Few politicians wear both traits so openly.
At 60, Abbas stands at the confluence of scholarship, politics, and heritage. The next decade will show whether the lecturer-turned-speaker can shape Nigeria’s restless democracy into something steadier. For now, the birthday candles flicker, and one wonders what lessons the quiet professor still has up his sleeve.
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