Today marks the birthday of Engr. Mu’az Magaji Dawakin Tofa, a notable engineer and public servant from Kano State. He was born on May 27, 1969, in Sarauniya village, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area.
Engr. Mu’az began his education early, completing his First School Certificate in 1980 at age eleven. He attended Dawakin Tofa Secondary School and later Kano State Polytechnic, where he earned a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering in 1989. He graduated from Bayero University Kano with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and earned a Master’s degree in Oil & Gas Engineering from Robert Gordon University, Scotland, in 2000. He also obtained additional certifications in project management, oil and gas well engineering, geosciences, and Information Technology.
His career started in 1989 with the Kano State Civil Service Commission, where he worked for two decades. He also worked for about ten years with Shell, an international oil company. Between 2010 and 2013, he served as SURE-P Project Coordinator under President Goodluck Jonathan, overseeing infrastructure projects. He was later appointed Senior Special Assistant on Project Planning and Monitoring by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, a position he held until 2015. In 2014, he withdrew from the governorship race ahead of the primaries.
In 2019, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje appointed him Commissioner of Works. Although his service was briefly interrupted in 2020 following controversial social media remarks, he was later reappointed Chairman of the NNPC-AKK Pipeline Project Delivery and the Kano State Industrialization Committee.
Engr. Mu’az is also an active voice in Kano’s political circles, particularly within the APC’s Win-Win agenda, where he brings technical expertise to policy discussions.
His story reflects the role of education and perseverance in rising from rural origins to positions of influence. He currently leads key projects connected to Kano State’s infrastructure and industrial development.
