The Life and Legacies of Da D B Zang

Da DB Zang a top-ranking miner, politician,Lar as Governor of the state. At the peak of his
philanthropist and community leader died on Maymining business he was said to have become so
29, 2008. Late Danboyi Gyel, as he was known atsuccessful that he could be ranked among the
the dawn of his prominence, was born on 7thfifty wealthiest Nigerians. The Presidency of the
October 1927. He was one of the three males ofnation was however set up by the National Party
seven siblings. Coming from a modest familyof Nigeria (NPN) that considered NPP as a threat.
background, he became his own breadwinnerStates where NPP set up government were
early in life by hunting birds in the rocky hills anddenied subvention. He was said to have
valleys of his Gyel home, which he sold, at Bukurushouldered the financial burden of the party at the
market in the present Jos South in Plateau Statestate.
of Nigeria. It was not long before he found a jobThe relevance of Da D B Zang continued in
at the Amalgamated Tins Mines of Nigeriasuccessive governments. In 1995 he became a
(ATMN). His natural inclination to hard work sawmember of the National Board of the Petroleum
him rising up to become a mine overseer within aTrust Fund (PTF). When the Plateau regional
very short period.branch of the PTF was inaugurated in 1997 he
During the forties the Premier of the Northernbecame the Chairman until 1999 when the
Region, Sir Amadu Bello came up with an initiativegovernment of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo ended
to empower the people of the Northern Regionthe PTF and its activities.
by giving out financial support to selected personsDa DB Zang lived to make obvious the fact that
to start up businesses. D B Zang's experience ofwhere there is a will there will always be a way.
working at the mines marked him out. He thusHe remembered his modest educational
benefited from the empowerment programme.background with a tinge of remorse but that
The resulting company, D B Zang Limited startednever placed an insurmountable barrier in his
operations in the fifties eventually becomingjourney towards greatness. He, no doubt, was
incorporated in 1962.one of the most outstanding Nigerians with four
The company played a big role in boosting thenational honours to his name. The generation of
popularity of the now mining entrepreneur to theyouths of today can learn that education makes
point where he considered contesting for asuccess easy but the lack of it does not stand in
parliamentary position. He lost however. Thethe way of big dreams.
Parliament of the time was made up of electedWhen Sir Amadu Bello needed people to
and non-elected members. He was lucky to findempower, he insisted on individuals who have past
his way into the parliament of the Northernexperience proved they can manage resources of
Region in Kaduna as a non-elected member of thethe empowerment programme well. The late
parliament. There he headed the Parliamentminer multiplied the resources in millions, benefiting
Committee on Mining. He added that role to onemany and the nation. This is a lesson that merit
he had prior to becoming a parliamentarian, therather than nepotism works in the interest of the
President of the African Miners Association.nation.
Da Zang who never had the privilege of formalThe secondary school he founded grew to
education looked around his community tobecome one of the most accomplished schools in
discover that if nothing is done generation aftersize and quality of its products. The products of
generation of his people will continue to remain inthe school are found everywhere around the
ignorance. This realization inspired Gyel Commercialworld and have played a remarkable role in
College, which he founded in 1966. The institutionshaping not just Nigeria but the world at large.
later evolved to become Zang SecondaryThe school, mining and other organizations he was
Commercial School in 1976.involved in founded jobs for thousands of people.
The military coup of 1966 ended his parliamentaryDa D B Zang lived to be an octogenarian in a
responsibilities. He turned his full attention to D Bcountry where life expectancy is a mere 45. This
Zang Limited and the school he founded. By thein itself is an accomplishment in life. It is a mirror
twilight years of the military junta of the 1970s,of the discipline that characterized his life.
he became the chairman of the Nigerians PeopleHe married twelve wives with whom he had
Party, NPP, in Plateau State. During the 1979thirty-six children. He was able to sustain this huge
general elections the party won and set upfamily with great grand children and died of
government in Plateau State with Chief Solomoncancer in a London cancer clinic.