By Rayyanu Bala
I first met Senator Solomon Ewuga in 1988. I was seeking employment with the Plateau Publishing Company, publishers of the Nigeria Standard newspapers, where I was directed to meet him. At the time, he was serving as the General Manager. My elder brother, the late Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu, who was then Permanent Secretary at the Plateau State Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, advised me to see Solomon Ewuga.
Late Solomon Ewuga received me courteously in his office at Joseph Gomwalk House. Although he showed a willingness to assist me in gaining entry into Nigeria Standard, I was unfortunately not able to secure the job due to circumstances beyond our control. Another applicant, the late Abdullahi Namo, who applied alongside me, also did not succeed. I vividly remember that only his younger sister, Deborah Ewuga, was successfully employed at the Standard at that time.
Solomon Ewuga did not stay long at the Nigeria Standard due to internal power struggles between the office of the General Manager and the office of the Company Secretary, Mrs. Felicia Gyang. The present Sarkin Karshin Abuja. Alhaji Sumaila Mohammed succeeded Solomon Ewuga as General Manager, and it was during his tenure that I secured employment as a reporter in October 1990.
My relationship with late Solomon Ewuga deepened around 1998. On one occasion, he commended my perseverance for not giving up my desire to work with Nigeria Standard. Whenever we met thereafter, I made sure to greet him, and he came to know me quite well. When he was working in Lagos at the Nigerian Provident Fund, I visited him at his Ijora office while I was studying for my postgraduate diploma at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos. As usual, he received me warmly.
After the creation of Nasarawa State in 1996 and my subsequent deployment, I was posted to the Press Affairs Unit as Press Officer in the Office of the Military Administrator. I worked under the late Ifram Audu, then Director of Press Affairs, while Mamman Allakayi was the Director of Protocol, and former House of Assembly member Mr. Obande served as the Protocol Officer.
With the advent of democracy in 1999, and the election of Abdullahi Adamu as governor and Solomon Ewuga as deputy governor, I was posted to head the Press Affairs Office in the Deputy Governor’s Office. Mr. Obande was posted to head the Protocol Unit. During this period, I worked harmoniously with Solomon Ewuga for the few months he served as deputy governor.
When Solomon Ewuga was later appointed Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), we moved to Abuja and continued working briefly under him.
Though my time working with Solomon Ewuga—both as deputy governor and minister—was brief, it left a lasting legacy on me. He was indeed detribalized, with a diverse circle of friends who did not necessarily share his ethnic or religious background.
Adieu, Solomon Ewuga.
–Nasarawa Eye