David Mark GCON is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and a Politician. He was the military Governor of Niger State from 1984 to 1986. He was also a former Minister of Communication and two-time former Senate President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015. David Mark was in the senate for 20 years, a feat that has remained unbeaten by any politician.
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David Mark Background
David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark was born on the 8th of April 1948, in Zungeru, Niger State. He started his educational pursuit at Saint Francis Catholic Practicing School, before moving on to the Nigerian Military School, Zaria.
On concluding his studies at the Nigerian military school, David Mark went for a 3year military training at the Nigeria Defence Academy, Kaduna. After his training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1970, and in 1971, he became a Captain.
Although David Mark was already a Captain, he still had appetite for knowledge. As a result, he went for his undergraduate studies at the College of Military Engineering, Poona, India, and the Military College of Telecommunications Engineering, to obtain a BSc in telecommunications from 1971 – 1975.
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After his BSc, he still went to study at the Command Staff College, Jaji from 1978-1979, and the National Defence University Washington DC, from 1990-1991. Finally, he concluded his studies at Harvard University, Boston, where he schooled from 1991-1992. Senator David Mark is married and blessed with children.
David Mark Early Career
Before David Mark’s appointment as the Governor of Niger State in 1984, he held several high ranking positions in the military as outlined below:
- Commander 1 Division Headquarters and Signals, Kaduna
- The commandant at the School of Signals, Lagos
- Staff Officer at the Operations Headquarters and Signals Lagos
- Sports Officer at the Signal Brigade, Lagos
- Faculty Director of the National War College
- General Staff Officer, Grade I Coordinate at the Command and Staff College, Jaji
- Directing Staff Officer of Command and Staff College, Jaji
- Commander, 3rd Marine Signals Division, Port-Harcourt
- Brigade Major, Signal Brigade, Lagos
- Director of Telecommunications, Army Headquarters, Lagos
- Chairman, Abandoned Properties Implementation Commission
His tenure as Military Governor of Niger State ended in 1986. Afterwards, he became Minister of Communications in 1987, and in 1993, he went on a self-imposed exile and returned in 1998.
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David Mark As Minister Of Communications
As minister of communications, David Mark was the head of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). During his tenure, he proposed that anyone who steals a cable wire should face a death penalty.
He was one of those that transformed the Nigerian telecommunication sector by reorganizing NIPOST and introducing the city coding system. Senator David Mark also built two ultra-modern digital earth stations in Lagos and Enugu from internally generated revenue without asking the federal government for any form of financial support.
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David Mark As Senate President Of Nigeria
In 1999, David Mark contested to be the senator representing the Benue South Constituency under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform and won. At the expiration of that tenure, he contested again and was re-elected into office in 2003. In 2007, he was also re-elected into the senate and contested for the position of Senate President which he won.
David Mark was a two-time former Senate President of Nigeria from 2007 – 2011 and was in the senate for 20 years. He showed interest in contesting for the presidential seat at the just concluded 2019 general elections but that desire did not come to fruition. Currently, he decided to retire from active politics and be a peace ambassador for his state, Benue state.
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David Mark’s Membership
Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Management (FNIM)
Awards And Nominations
- Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)
- Peace Award Nominee by the by the National Youth Movement for Peace and Justice (NYMPJ) – 2019
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David Mark Quotes
“If these laws are not working, it’s our duty to create modern laws that will work in order to protect lives and properties.”
“I was once the Senate President and number three citizen. But I believe these children will be greater than me.”
“I think we should encourage sporting activities, not only because of the unifying factor but because it’s gaining popularity around the world.”
“Anytime there are sporting activities we are all united, nobody worries about religion, nobody worries about ethnicity, and nobody worries about the state. So it is a unifying factor, and we should encourage it.”
“All the sports are expensive, but the problem comes when the expenses are beyond us. You can’t say because this game is expensive you won’t participate; you have to find a way to be part of it.”
“If a Nigerian is playing for a club in Europe and he thinks that if he comes to Nigeria, he will be injured and there will be nothing to show for it, he would rather remain in Europe to play and make his money or come and not give his all. We can’t take it for granted that because of Patriotism they must play.”
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David Mark’s Net Worth
According to nigerianinfopedia.com, Senator David Mark is worth $200 million.
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Lessons From David Mark
Know what you want, and make intentional efforts towards achieving it. David Mark always knew he wanted to be in the Military, so he worked towards it from his childhood.
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Image Credit: @SenDavidABMark (Twitter)
