Background
Gana was born on November 30, 1945 at Busu, Niger State, Nigeria.
2013
(L-R) President Goodluck Jonathan, professor Jerry Gana and chief Solomon Lar.
Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria
Jerry earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Ahmadu Bello University in 1970. He has worked there since 1974.
Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
Gana, in 1974, received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Market Place Systems and Rural Development from Kings College of Aberdeen University.
Jerry Gana and his wife.
Gana was born on November 30, 1945 at Busu, Niger State, Nigeria.
Gana received the West African School Certificate from Government College in 1964. Three years later he was given the Higher School Certificate from Okene Secondary School. In 1970, Jerry earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Ahmadu Bello University.
In 1974, he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Market Place Systems and Rural Development from Kings College of Aberdeen University. He obtained a Certificate of Education from the University of London.
Gana began his career as a lecturer of geography at Ahmadu Bello University in 1974. Two years later he became a senior lecturer and a reader in 1980 at the same university. In 1985, Jerry was appointed a professor at Ahmadu Bello University.
In the 1980s he began his political career. He was elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1983 and served briefly until the military coup that brought Muhammadu Buhari to power. Gana was appointed a chairman of Mass Mobilisation for Social and Economic Recovery under General Ibrahim Babangida's government.
In 1988, Jerry became the founding national secretary of the People's Democratic Party. Then in 1999, he was appointed a minister of co-operation and integration in Africa. Two years later Gana became a minister of information and national orientation and held it until 2003. He was also secretary of PDP Board of Trustees. In 2006, he resigned as a special advisor to President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2018, Gana announced he would be running as a Social Democratic Party candidate for president in the 2019 Elections.
In addition, he was a director for the Directorate of Food, Roads and Infrastructure. He was a minister of agriculture and natural resources in the Interim National Government under Ernest Shonekan and minister of information and culture under General Sani Abacha. Also Jerry served as a pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos until 2017.
Gana, in August 2006, announced he would contend for the PDP (People's Democratic Party) candidature for the 2007 presidential elections. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1992 on the Social Democratic Party platform.
Quotations:
"You cannot read experience in the books but you can acquire it from the elders and this is why we need to blend the youths and the elderly ones to move the country forward because this will amount to a wise combination."
"For 2019 general elections, Nigerians will not take any form of rigging from anybody; what the voters want is for their votes to count; they want the very best and when we choose, don’t overturn our election, stand by what we have chosen."
Gana was a member of the eight-member Ahmed Makarfi Committee and later became a delegate in the Special Cases category. He served in the Committee on Political Parties and the Electoral Process-Model.
In 1974, Jerry Gana married Lucy Tani Gana. They have 4 children.