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It is difficult to express in words the story of a man whose life was not only lived but felt deeply, sincerely and deeply. It is over now, the last file signed, the last hand was exchanged, the door gently closed behind a man whose entire life was far from ordinary. From 30 May 2025, Dr. Bala Maijama’a Wunti came out of the public service, silently bowing from a remarkable journey that shook the borders, raised lives and left behind a trail of courage, dignity and truth. I find not only appropriate but necessary for this: now that it is done, let this be my tribute.
Much has been said, written and whispered by admiration from the announcement of his retreat. But what Penno today is not a reply of what others have offered. This is personal. This is from a heart that was moved years ago when I sat in silence among the students of Atbu Bauchi, listening to a man who did not speak like a bureaucrat, not as a technocrat, but as someone who had walked for fire on fire barefoot and did not come out not burned, but better.
He was not talking to impress. He was saying the raw and not filtered truth. He spoke of days when meals were not guaranteed, when dreams seemed ridiculous in the face of the brutal reality. He described hunger, worn sandals, sleepless nights and how faith became his pillow. I clearly remember that moment. That day, in that humble auditorium, something moved. It wasn’t just a speech. It was a decisive moment, for him and for us who listened.
At that moment, I brought three life lessons by Dr. Wunti – One never explicitly taught but showed his life.
First: prayer is not optional. I have never met a more rooted man in submission to the divine. It does not matter how close its program is, how much the office is demanding or how crucial the meeting has found time to pause and connect with its creator. And he did not do it out of habit but conviction. He modeled everything about him: his calm, his clarity, his trust.
Second: he never forced what his heart has not embraced. Dr. Wunti did not do things just to sprout the boxes. If his soul was not aligned with a cause, he left it alone. This rare integrity has given its actions an unusual depth. Whether it’s multi-miliar naira reforms or to silently help a sick community clinic, he did it with full acceptance and sincerity.
Third: compassion was not a virtue for him; It was a reflection. He did not give why he had to do it, but because he knew what he felt he needed and not having. Each school he built, every sponsored child, every well he commissioned and every invoice of the hospital he paid was from a heart softened by the experience. It was remembered. And in remembering, he raised.
Born in Bauchi, in a family where survival often came before ambition, Dr. Bala Wunti grew up in the shadow of lack. But he didn’t let him define. Instead, he let him perfect. He pushed the school with pure determination: from the Ahmadu Bello University chemistry, Zaria, to earn his MBA in marketing from Atbu Bauchi and a post -laurean diploma. Dr. Bala is a pupil of the prestigious universities of the world, Oxford and Harvard. These were not only academic goals; They were small battles won against the probability.
Then came the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). He joined to 1994 and what followed was a remarkable odyssey. From the Production Production Office for GM’s corporate planning and finally MD of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), it has not only held positions, has transformed them. His work at Napims as the group general of the group has changed the way Nigeria managed oil investments. Projects like the White operation restored mental health to a system that many had given up.
But beyond the strategy and the structure, he brought the soul to the system. He refused to let the numbers dehumanize politics. He saw the sector downstream not as a market but as a line of life, and made it work for people, not only for profits.
However, if I asked Dr. Wunti what his most proud successes are, he would not indicate the Council room. Probably you would tell you about the girl from Dass who had a scholarship and later became a pharmacist or the widow mother in Katagum who now has a roof over her head. He talked to you about community wells, school renovation and young people who have made a mentor who are now fully leader.
It was not only needed; He saw. He saw people not as statistics but as stories. And he listened. And when he could, he helped. Silently. No camera. No hashtags.
In his family, Dr. Wunti is not the oil manager; He is Abba, a father who sits with his children, teaching them not only for advice but for example. A husband who understands that love is shown in small acts, in presence, in patience. He did not let the success steal it away from those who counted the most. He brought them with him.
Now that his chapter in the public service closes, many will remember Dr. Wunti for the policies he has shaped, the reforms he has led and the titles he bored. But I will remember him for something more lasting: the humanity he has never let go.
Some may chase size by building empires. But some, like him, choose to build people. And when people grow, they remember. They speak. They write. Just like I’m doing now.
Dr. Bala Maijama’a Wunti did not withdraw. It has simply entered the influence phase, one that does not require office walls or government files. His impact now lives in the echoes of the laughter of children in the classrooms he built, in the gratitude of the patients treated in hospitals he supported and in the hearts of all of us who have had the good fortune to know the type of man who really is.
Thanks, Lord, for raising and bringing many of us with you.
This is not goodbye. It is an honor.
Usman Abdullahi Koli
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