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Economic Confidential,
March, 2009
PROFILE
JISALO’S AMAC AS BUMPER HARVEST
By A. G. Umar Kari
The debonair and suave Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC),
Zaphanaiah Bitrus Jisalo, is given to wide, toothy smile. He has
every reason to be pleased, because by popular acclaim, the Garki
Prince and 14th Chairman of AMAC, now in his second and
final term, has posted remarkable achievements, unparalleled and
unsurpassed.
The AMAC was created on the 1st of October, 1984 by the
Ibrahim Babangida administration. Easily the most strategic,
cosmopolitan and culturally mixed Local Government in the whole
Federation, AMAC sits pretty at the centre of Abuja, the nation’s
capital. The bulk of the most important Federal Institutions,
ministries, embassies and landmarks are located here. It is the
nation’s nerve centre and heart and hub, being the host of the Three
Arms Zone, comprising the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and
the almighty Aso Rock Villa.
If Abuja is the pride of the nation, AMAC is the essence of that
pride, because everything that is something and everybody who is
somebody is here, making it the most striking assemblage of icons
and stars in the country.
Yet, AMAC is not all about mind-boggling skyscrapers, imposing
edifices and ethereal spots, gardens, parks and emporiums. The
reality is that AMAC has its fair share of deep backwater rural
settlements, hamlets, shanties and ghettoes.
The spirited efforts to bring these backward areas up to standard,
represent Jisalo’s monumental, revolutionary strides. His stint as
AMAC boss has seen to massive rural transformation, upgrading and
provision of needed infrastructure, social amenities, as well as
empowerment of occupational and age groups. To this end, and in a
bid to bring the rural settlement at par with the city, Jisalo has
provided water, roads, and electricity on a scale that is
unprecedented. He has also built markets, shopping plazas and parks
in both the city and the satellite areas.
In the area of agriculture, Jisalo’s AMAC has put smiles on the
faces of farmers, with its prompt response to their needs for
seedlings, herbicides, fertilizers and tractors. In the same vein,
health care delivery, particularly primary health care, has become
much more accessible and affordable to all socio-economic groups.
AMAC equally sits on the highest yam belt. As at now, this has been
turned into a big plus for small-scale entrepreneur, who prosper
from commercial agricultural produce. Indeed, the entire AMAC is one
big business hub, as a result of the vision of Jisalo.
To students and primary school teachers, Jisalo’s AMAC is God-sent,
because scholarship, and further training are offered to all those
who care to apply. This has really turned the educational fortune of
the area around.
Zephaniah Jisalo’s AMAC is certainly one big bumper harvest for
Abuja residents. And for the gentle and humble helmsman, a
fortuitous landmark left indelibly on the sands of time, the over
500 executed projects during his tenure and still counting, the
testimony of his administrative achievements.
Hon Zaphaniah Bitrus Jisalo was born on April 3, 1970. He attended
Garki Primary School from 1976 to 1983 from where he went to
Government Secondary School Karu to obtain a General Certificate of
Education (GCE).
In his quest for further education, he attended Institute of Mass
Communication and Technology Jos; Nigeria Institute of Journalism,
Lagos and University of Jos where he obtained several qualifications
in Public Relations, Print Journalism, Applied Psychology, Guidance
and Counseling, Criminal Justice and Administration. He has also
attended several seminars and conferences at home and abroad.
This former logistic officer with the FCT Independent National
Electoral Commission is happily married with kids. |
