Rear Admiral (retired) Samuel Bitrus Atukum was the military governor of Plateau State, Nigeria from January 1984 to August 1985 during the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari.[1]
[edit] Plateau State Governor
As governor, Navy Captain Atukum had to handle many challenges with a severely limited budget. He reintroduced community and cattle tax.[2] In July 1984, while launching a state-wide tree-planting program, he noted that 70,000 hectares of valuable farmland had been lost to mining activities, and called for Federal assistance in conservation and reclamation of eroded land.[3] He sold off all Mercedes-Benz and Peugot 505 official cars, replacing them with less pretentious Peugot 504s, and also banned after-hours use of government cars.[4] In August 1985 he proposed that the unions should accept a 20% cut in the salary of state civil servants in view of the state's financial difficulties.[5]
Atukum said politics "has adversely affected the lives of the citizens instead of being an instrument for institutional development".[2] He expressed concern over use of the terms "non-indigenes" and "indigenes", which he felt would cause disharmony among people in the state.[6] In 1985 he declared that anybody who harboured illegal immigrants after the 10 May departure deadline would be treated as a saboteur.[7] In December 1984 he launched a program to vaccinate all children against killer diseases, urging parents to take advantage.[8] He merged Plateau Television (PTV) and Plateau Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) into the Plateau Radio Television Corporation.[9]
[edit] Later career
After retirement, Atukum was appointed the chief executive of the Nigerian Unity Line (NUL), a new state-owned company established after the liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line in 1995. The company was privatized in 2001.[10] In February 2002 the company's only vessel, MV Abuja, was stuck in Sri Lanka needing repairs, while the shipyard was insisting on a down payment for the work and the crew's salaries were unpaid.[11] The ship was finally released in February 2003 after a bank guarantee of US$500,000 had been provided.[12] A few weeks later, NUL put the 10,000 deadweight container ship up for sale and plans to float the company on the stock market were dropped.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ "Nigerian States". WorldStatesmen. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nigeria_federal_states.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ a b West Africa. West Africa Pub. Co., ltd.. 1984. p. 1986.
- ^ Andrew Orolua (13 Jul 84). "70,000 Hectares of Land Lost ro Mining in Plateau". Kaduna New Nigerian. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA368271&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ William D. Graf (1988). The Nigerian state: political economy, state class and political system in the post-colonial era. Currey. p. 150. ISBN 0852553145.
- ^ "Plateau to Cut Wages by 20 percent". Kaduna New Nigerian. 15 Aug 85. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA337973&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ Andrew Orolus (18 January 1985). "Use of Word Indigene Causes Disharmony". Kaduna New Nigerian.
- ^ British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service (1985). Summary of world broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa, Issues 7939-7990.
- ^ Sehinde Dagunduro (14 Dec 84). "Plateau State Immunization". Kaduna New Nigerian. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA361826&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ "History". Plateau Radio Television Corporation. http://www.prtvonline.com/node/7. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ TOKUNBO OLOKE (May 6, 2004). "Govt ought to subsidise shipping – Admiral Atukum, NUL boss". Daily Sub. http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/money/2004/may/06/money-may6-03.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ Francis Ugwoke. "NUL MD Spends 68 Days Abroad to Recover Ship: Fears sabotage by crew members". ThisDay. http://1and1.thisdayonline.com/archive/2002/10/25/20021025bus02.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ Francis Ugwoke And Chinedu Okwu (February 18, 2003). "Detained MV Abuja Released.". This Day. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-22491556_ITM. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
- ^ Yakubu Olaleye. "Move to Sell MV Abuja Terminates NUL Quotation". C.W. Kellock & Co. http://www.cwkellock.com/past_sales_files/nigeria.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
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From: Sashen Hausa na Muryar Amurka <sashenhausa@voanews.com>
To: rishi2520@yahoo.com
Sent: Wed, June 30, 2010 8:56:32 PM
Subject: Muhimman Labarai Daga Muryar Amurka
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