Engr. Alim: A service of proficiency and incorruptibility

At 61 years old, retired General Manager at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Engineer Idris Lawal Alim, is a proud man. He has lived a life of service to his country and is proud of the name he is leaving behind. Now a farmer who maintains a hobby of cycling with a motorbike, the retired TCN General Manager is a man of integrity who has been hailed for financial prudence, technical proficiency and selfless service to the nation.

Engineer Idris Lawal Alim hails from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State and attended Gadamayo Primary School Gwoza from 1970 to 1977, before proceeding to the Government Technical Secondary School, Ngala from 1977 to 1982.

He attended Ramat Polytechnic from 1982 to 1985 where he obtained a National Diploma in Electrical/ Electronic. Between 1987 and 1991, he attended the University of Maiduguri where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering Electrical Power.

As a professional engineer, Alim did the mandatory National Youth Service Corps at the Kainji Dam NEPA, New Bussa, in Niger State. He was inducted as a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, and the Nigerian Institute of Power Engineers, FNIPE.

“After my National Youth Service at Kainji Dam Power station from 1991 to 1992, I got employment with the NEPA, then as an Assistant Manager (Generation & Transmission) in System Electrical Department Corporate Headquarters, Marina Lagos and assumed duty on April 4, 1993,” he said.

Engineer Alim’s dedication and commitment to his work triumphed to a successful service through hierarchical managerial positions in different parts of the country, including Lagos, Abuja, Bauchi, Kaduna and Port Harcourt.

“In 2020 I was redeployed to Port Harcourt as Ag. General Manager Transportation, Port Harcourt region, I was confirmed as General Manager in 2021 and the promotion was backdated to June, 2016. That means I was supposed to be General Manager (GM) from June 2016, but that wasn’t the case until after five years when I was confirmed as General Manager in 2021,” he said.

Over the years, Eng Alim has demonstrated strong leadership qualities, honesty and integrity. His actions have saved the Nigeria government millions of naira that could have gone to contractors for maintenance and repair works of power installations across the country. He has led the installations of heavy-powered transformers in his capacity as TCN General Manager in Bauchi, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Maiduguri respectively. In August 2015, he was deployed to the TCN regional office in Bauchi as General Manager in charge of the Northeast Zone and was able to restore the power supply in Maiduguri, by restoring the 132KV tower that was bombed by Boko Haram back to service.

“It was a very difficult task because of Boko Haram, but at last, we overcame all the difficulties. I and my team and the Military were in the bush for 11 days trying to restore the 132KV tower that was bombed by Boko Haram but we restored the tower back to service,” he said.

Under his leadership, when a 40MVA transformer was allocated to Damboa, the installation of the transformer was awarded on contract and the contractor requested the sum of N217 million for the installation. He however insisted that the installations could be handled by in-house engineers. “I led the team and we were able to install the transformer within two months at N18 million only. We saved the government about N182 million,” he said.

Alim who is now retired and lives in Abuja said, “From there, I advised TCN management that we should be installing our transformers, circuit breakers and other power equipment in-house so that the younger engineers can gain experience on the job.”

He however said though he is proud of his achievements, he faced the most challenging times in his career while working to restore power supply to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“I sacrificed my life because I promised to restore the power supply in Maiduguri. So, I went to Maiduguri and held meetings with Kashim Shettima, the then governor of Borno State and now the vice president. After the meeting I told him I will restore Maiduguri and he said many general managers don’t even come to Maiduguri and asked what was special about my own system to restore the electricity? I said I believe in God and that only God can kill.” He said after his assurance, he was able to restore power to Maiduguri, with the assistance of the Nigerian Military.

As a man of integrity, those close to Engineer Alim say he reportedly declined bribes or any form of gratification or contract kickbacks. “Any contractor who gives me money, I will ask him, why didn’t you give me before, why now?”

His integrity and dedication to service earned him respect and trust among his colleagues at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) where Ali Bukar Ahmed, the Head of the Market Operator of the Nigeria Electricity Market at the TCN, Ali Bukar Ahmad described Engineer Alim as an epitome of financial prudence.

“There was a time he used only 10 per cent of what others used in maintaining or installing transformers. That was his trademark, that speaks volumes about his prudence and about his financial management,” Ahmad said.

He said the retired General Manager never saw himself as the head of either a substation or the region. “He is always with people, doing the same thing he was doing when he was a manager or senior manager. He has trained people that have no certificate into specialised engineers in different aspects of the activities of the Transmission Company of Nigeria,” he said.

Engineer Idris Alim’s test of integrity, hard work and dedication has been transmitted into his parental duties. His wife, Salma Aliyu, describes him as a strict father who continues to mentor his children to be self-reliant and good ambassadors.

“Everybody knows him. He is not someone you can attempt any form of shady business with. He is good at what he does and he loves to encourage people to be good at what they do,” she said.

“If you are with him, you have to learn the work, you have to know the work.

“He doesn’t play with government properties and everything,” Alim’s wife pointed out.