Honouring Service: From Baraden Misau To Prof. Pate’s Global Role
It is important to state this clearly from the outset: this is the story of two men, a father and his son. Not one person mistaken for another. Alhaji Ali Umar Misau, Baraden Misau, the educationist, jurist, and administrator. And his son, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, CON, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. Their lives are separate, their times are different, but the values that guide them are the same discipline, learning, and service to people. That continuity is what makes their story worth telling to Bauchi and to Nigeria.
In a Daily Trust interview titled “Reminiscences with Alhaji Ali Umar Misau” by Hassan Ibrahim, Bauchi, the elder Misau recalled a childhood of contrast. Born in 1944 in Mainari village, Misau LGA, he described it as “sweet, hard and unforgettable.” He began with Quranic education under his grandmother, the daughter of the renowned Malam Abdulkadir, Imam Nakoli.
He later attended missionary schools in Bayara and Dass, was expelled for insisting on senior elementary instead of bible school, and only returned to the classroom after impressing a British district officer with his English during a hockey tournament. That encounter opened doors to schools in Plateau and Benue, and eventually to Bauchi Teachers’ College where he finished Grade II in 1962 with 7 credits.
Alhaji Misau’s roots are woven into Misau’s history. His lineage traces to the daughter of the first Emir of Misau. The family’s historic house still stands west of the old Misau Central Mosque. He was conferred the traditional title of Baraden Misau. His son was later given Cigarin Misau “the most loved son of the emir.” Both titles came with a clear understanding: they were honors for service and standing, not tickets to contest the emirship. That distinction reflects a family ethic that places duty above ambition.
The father’s public career was built in classrooms, courtrooms, and university offices. After teaching in Misau, he entered ABU Zaria in 1966 for a diploma in Sharia at a time when government needed young men to take over Sharia cases from traditional rulers. He later earned a diploma and degree in Law. He served as registrar, chief registrar, and grade one judge, and in 1976 became the first registrar of the Sharia Court in Bauchi. He spoke of ordering the arrest of Maiduguri’s richest man and facing pressure within 30 minutes from the military governor. He stood his ground, recorded proceedings, and let justice take its course. For him, the law was not about fear.
At ABU Zaria, Alhaji Misau spent decades in administration. He was Assistant Secretary of Council, Legal Adviser, Executive Secretary of the Centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies, Secretary of the Division of Agricultural Colleges, Examinations Officer, and Academic Secretary for six years. One of his most difficult assignments was addressing admission imbalances. Statistics then showed some southern states with over 50 percent representation while many northern states had 2 percent or less. He pushed for balance, arguing that ABU was built with the wealth of northern farmers and herders and could not ignore its own. The effort earned him criticism, but he maintained it was about fairness, not favoritism.
He also served the nation at a constitutional level. Elected to represent Misau at the Constituent Assembly, he was part of the group that insisted on the inclusion of Sharia in the 1999 Constitution. Alongside figures like Babagana Kingibe, the late Etsu Nupe, and the Grand Khadi of Kwara, he argued that Nigeria is a deeply religious country and its laws must reflect the moral convictions of its people. He counts that as one of his proudest contributions. After leaving the university, he joined politics, served as Secretary and later Chairman of APP in Bauchi, and worked with leaders including President Muhammadu Buhari.
In 1998 he founded the A.U. Misau Institute of Management and Computer Studies in Bauchi, and later opened a branch in Gombe in 2003. He also established A.U. Misau Tarbiyatul Aulad, A.U. Misau Science Academy, Technical and Vocational College, and Esteemed Hope Academy. Many of these schools run free programs for orphans and the less privileged. For him, education was never about certificates alone. It was about producing responsible citizens with skills, character, and faith.
From that foundation emerged his son. Professor Muhammad Ali Pate was born on September 6, 1968 in Misau. After secondary school, he studied Medicine at Ahmadu Bello University, then worked in rural hospitals in The Gambia. He pursued postgraduate training at the University of Rochester, a Masters in Health System Management at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and an MBA with a health concentration from Duke University. His career at the World Bank spanned 10 years, where he led health sector reforms in Africa and East Asia and pioneered public-private partnerships in hospital delivery.
Prof. Pate returned to Nigeria and served as Executive Director of NPHCDA, then as Minister of State for Health in 2011. He later became CEO of Big Win Philanthropy and Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank. In 2022 he was named CEO of GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. In August 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare. He is also a Commander of the Order of the Niger and was listed on TIME magazine’s “100 Health 2025” for his role in shaping health systems.
As Minister, his work has been measurable and large in scale. Under his leadership, 45.9 billion naira has been disbursed directly to 8,800 Primary Healthcare Centers to improve services at the grassroots. The rollout of the RTSS malaria vaccine has been expanded. Maternal and child health programs have been strengthened across 172 LGAs. The National Health Insurance Authority is being reformed to expand coverage and reduce out-of-pocket costs. These are not announcements. They are budget lines, programs, and facilities that touch ordinary Nigerians.
The impact in Bauchi is direct and personal. Through policies coordinated by his office and the opportunities created in federal health and social programs, over 3,000 qualified young men and women from Bauchi have secured permanent and pensionable federal government appointments. That is employment, dignity, and a future for families. It mirrors his father’s lifelong mission of opening doors through education, only now it is happening at national scale and with federal resources.
What connects father and son is not office or title, but principle. Alhaji Misau retired from service and waited seven years for benefits, yet says today, “I did not eat haram money. I have peace of mind.” Prof. Pate has carried that same standard to global institutions and back to Nigeria. Both chose to build institutions rather than to enrich themselves. Both believe that service is measured by what you leave behind for others.
It is in this context that recent cyberbullying is disappointing. Calling a Coordinating Minister “Bayahude” or reducing his work to insults does nothing to change PHC funding, vaccine coverage, or job creation. It only distracts from the real work. Those making such claims are far from the hospitals being revitalized, far from the 3,000 youths now earning salaries, and far from the global platforms where Prof. Pate represents Nigeria. Criticism is welcome in democracy, but it must be about policy, not character assassination.
The Misau story therefore offers a lesson for Bauchi and for Nigeria. Service can pass from one generation to the next without losing its meaning. A father who taught in classrooms, interpreted the law, and built schools. A son who is now reforming a health system for 220 million people and creating opportunities for thousands. Two different individuals. One legacy. If we must engage them, let it be on the basis of ideas, performance, and the future they are both trying to build.
Professor Muhammad Ali Pate is no doubt one of the best Bauchi ever produced.
Danaudi, Writes From Bauchi Via danaudicomrade@gmail.com
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