Kingdoms of Nigeria

The life and times of Da Jacob Gyang Buba cannot be aptly captured in this rather short citation as a philosopher once said that after all we cannot tell all about a man by the length of his biography or the number of words it contains because sometimes the unfinished are the most beautiful symphonies.

The journey to the revered stool of the Gbong Gwom started barely four days after the burial of his predecessor, Da Victor Dung Pam on April 15‘, 2009, exactly four years after the last selection exercise, when the Kingmakers came together to select a successor to fill the vacancy created by the demise of the Legendary Late Monarch.

This humble man, who is jovial, robust and affable would have preferred to remain in the anonymity of obscurity in the remote precincts of his village where he retired to but since Gold fish have no place hiding and child of destiny that he is, the Berom people in seeking for someone to fill the big shoe, left behind by the Late Gbong Gwom Victor Pam, had no difficulty in nominating and selecting Jacob Gyang Buba as a worthy successor, whose cosmopolitan upbringing, consummate administrative acumen had prepared him for this exalted position to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessors.

His overwhelming acceptance can be seen in the number and quality of individuals, organization and groups that have been trooping in to salute and pay him homage. But the ready question at this point is; who is the new Gbong Gwom Jos? Da Jacob Gyang Buba was born on the 10TH of October, 1951 to the Lo-Wet Family of Lo Du in Madu village in Du district of Jos South Local Government area of Plateau state.

He is the first son of his father, Buba Dung Bot and Ngo Kaneng Buba all of blessed memory. He started his Formal education at SUM elementary school Chwelnyap in Jos between 1960 to 1963 and completed his elementary education at Baptist Day Primary School, Jos. His leadership qualities were cited from the very beginning as he was appointed a monitor at SUM Chwelnyap.

He sat for and passed the common entrance examination and interview of one of the few secondary schools then in-the Jos province, the provincial secondary school, Kuru, now the prestigious government secondary school Kuru where he was between 1966 and 1971. While in Kuru, the young Gyang’s uncommon leadership traits could not be missed and he was made a Food prefect and President of Berom students in addition to his abundant sporting talents which enabled him to represent the school and the state in athletics and basketball which was to become his lifelong passion.

After he left Kuru in 1971, he worked as a clerk in the Federal Pay office Jos between 1972 to 1974, from where he proceeded to the institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he successfully graduated with a Diploma in Banking.

Gyang’s glorious career with the Nigerian Customs Service began on the 8th August, 1975, then as an Assistant preventive superintendent. He attended many courses in his early years in the customs, including the customs Superintendent Training School, the Senior Basic Course at the Police College Lagos between 1975 and 1976 and the Customs Revenue course at the customs Training College, Lagos in 1983.

All these was to prepare him for greater responsibilities in the customs service which upon completion, was posted to the Borno State command in 1976 as an Administrative officer and between 1977 to 1982 he was in the Sokoto Command.

In 1982, he was posted to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos where he worked for six years in various departments such as Administration, operating and intelligence. In 1988, he was moved to Apapa Port Command. In 1990, he was transferred to the Federal Operation Court of the Customs, Ikeja. With the creation of additional zones for this unit, he was posted to the Ibadan zone in 1996.

Their success in combating the menace of hard drugs in Lagos led to the creation of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, between 1993 and 1996, he was Deputy Comptroller, Headquarters Abuja. He was in Ibadan between 1996 to 1999 when he was promoted to Assistant Comptroller-General, Administration, Headquarters, Abuja. He served in that position until 2004 when he rose to the pinnacle of the customs service as the Comptroller-General of the customs service where he worked meritoriously for four years until he retired in May 2008. As CGCS, he was also chairman of the African Union, subcommittee of the Directors General of Customs from 2007-2008.

As Comptroller General of the Customs, the service witnessed tremendous transformation which led to gargantuan increase in its revenue. He spearheaded a holistic Reform and mobilization of the customs in terms of altitudinal change, systems and Tools of work part of which included computerization of the whole system. He was instrumental to the adaptation and implementation of the Common External Tariff for ECOWAS, installation and operation of scanners in Port, Border Areas and Airports, holistic review of the Customs and exercise management Act 1958 as amended and other customs notices. He attended numerous Trade Conferences around the world including INTERPOL seminars.

In the course of his service, he won many awards including one for effective Revenue Generation in Tin can Island Port in 1991. An avid basketball player, he became the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation for two terms between 1999 to 2008, during which time, Nigeria won the African Junior Championship, Gold, won the female African Nations Cup in Mozambique in 2003, hosted and retained the female nation’s cup in 2005, ensured the participation of Nigeria in the world championships in Japan and Brazil. He was a Board member of the Babcock University, ilishah—Remo, Ogun State. .

He is an ordained Elder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

In Recognition of his sterling contribution to National development, he was bestowed with the prestigious National Honours as Officer of the Federal Republic, OFR, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The new Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, OFR, is a man that loves sports, reading and traveling. He is happily married to Mrs. Rakiya Jacob Gyang Buba and they are blessed with eleven children and four grandchildren.

On this epoch making event as another chapter opens for the Berom nation as this man of destiny, quintessential administrator, a towering colossus, an icon of our time, beacon of our collective hope and aspiration ascends the revered throne of our great ancestors, as the 5th Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, OFR, will by the grace of God contribute meaningfully to the peace building process in Plateau State and also restore traditional, values and customs.