In a move strange among Nigerian political appointees, Mr Pate resigned as minister in 2013 to take a chair of a professor in America's Duke University's Global Health Institute.
When President Bola Tinubu on Thursday submitted the much-awaited list of his ministerial nominees one of the names many Nigerians had guessed right was Muhammad Pate, a professor and expert in internal medicine and infectious diseases.
An announcement by the global vaccine alliance, Gavi, on 26 June of Mr Pate's decision to withdraw his acceptance of appointment as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) gave a strong indication of what was coming.
Mr Pate's reason for his decision was also a clear pointer. Having earlier been scheduled to assume office as GAVI's CEO on 3 August, he informed the global organisation that "he has taken an incredibly difficult decision to accept a request to return and contribute to his home country, Nigeria."
The decision must have truly been incredible following his tortuous journey to the appointment as Gavi CEO.
In a statement on its website in February, Gavi had said 344 applicants for the job were pruned down to the top three contenders, before Mr Pate eventually emerged the choice to lead the global organisation.
Though he is not the only healthcare professional on the 28-person list submitted to the National Assembly by the president, thee seems to be a consensus that giving Mr Pate the health portfolio would be putting a round peg in a round hole.
But there are others who see the likely appointment of Mr Pate as a hold on Nigeria's government by the Bretton Woods institutions, he having also recently served the World Bank in different capacities.
A group of politicians in Bauchi State had also earlier advised the president against Mr Pate's nomination as a minister, describing him as a fair-weather party man.
However, as a key player in the global health sector, Mr Pate is also not strange to Nigeria's health system and its peculiar challenges. He once served in the ministry as the head of an agency and later as minister of state.
In this piece, PREMIUM TIMES takes a look at the rich profile of the man who many hope can turn around the fortune of Nigeria's health sector.
Meet Mr Pate
Born on 6 September 1968, Mr Pate hails from Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State in north-east Nigeria, and was raised in that part of the country.
The 54-year-old attended the popular Barewa College, Zaria, Kaduna State in north-west Nigeria.
In the same city of Zaria, Mr Pate enrolled at the medical college of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), where he studied medicine.
Upon graduation from ABU, Mr Pate worked at the institution's teaching hospital from 1990 to 1991, before moving to The Gambia at the British Medical Research Council Laboratories, where he also worked with rural hospitals for a few years.
In 1998, Mr Pate moved to the United States of America for a residency training programme in Internal Medicine and a fellowship training which qualified him as a consultant in infectious diseases, at the University of Rochester, New York.
He was certified by the American Board as a medical doctor in both internal medicine and infectious diseases, with an MBA (health sector concentration) from Duke University, USA. He also bagged a Master's certificate in Health System Management from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in the United Kingdom (UK).
On the global scene, Mr Pate was in 2000 appointed by the World Bank as a young professional to work on contemporary issues of health, including HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and malaria across many regions including Africa and East Asia.
Homecoming
Eight years after joining the World Bank, former President Umar Yar'Adua appointed Mr Pate to head Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) shortly after it was merged with the country's National Programme on Immunisation.
Mr Pate arrived on the scene at a time Nigeria was facing vaccine hesitancy, which had caused a major clog in the country's wheel of polio eradication initiatives. He quickly engaged traditional rulers, especially in northern Nigeria, for improvement in the use of polio vaccines and other primary healthcare services.
This strategy helped in no small measure in laying the foundation for the eventual elimination of polio epidemic in Nigeria.
Mr Pate also served on various national and international panels, which include the first WHO health systems research forum in Montreux, Switzerland in 2009; Mckinsey's Geneva Health Forum 2009, also in Switzerland, and Ernst Strungman Forum, 2010, in Frankfurt, Germany.
His performance in office as the NPHCDA boss must have informed Mr Pate's choice as Minister of State for Health by Mr Yar'Adua's successor, former President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2011.
As minister, Mr Pate established a global coalition to support health system improvements and also implemented innovative programmes to tackle priorities such as the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
He also led a flagship initiative to revive routine vaccinations and primary healthcare, chaired a presidential task force to eradicate polio, and introduced new vaccines into the country.
While still in office as a minister, the prestigious Harvard Health Leader award was bestowed on Mr Pate in 2012 for what the organisation described as his "immense contribution to healthcare" in developing countries.
Resignation
In a move uncommon among Nigerian political appointees, Mr Pate tendered his resignation letter as a minister in July 2013.
In the letter, he said he wanted to take up the position of Professor in Duke University's Global Health Institute, in the US. He added that he was also scheduled to pick up a role as Senior Adviser to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Washington DC, and also to participate in a university-wide Africa initiative.
But Mr Pate volunteered to continue his work as the chair of presidential task force to eradicate polio on a part-time basis; "as well his position as head of the Saving One Million Lives Initiative."
Former President Jonathan, who described the appointment of Mr Pate into the new positions as a plus for his administration, accepted both recommendations.
Back to global stage
At Duke University's Global Health Institute, Mr Pate served as a visiting professor and taught its postgraduate students Comparative Health Systems.
In 2015, he began a term of three years as Chief Executive Officer of Big Win Philanthropy, an independent foundation investing in children and young people in developing countries, helping them improve their lives and maximise opportunities for long-term economic growth in their particular regions.
Earlier in 2014, he also founded the Chigari Foundation, a non-governmental organisation "whose goal is to provide world-class leadership in engaging communities to implement actions that will positively transform lives and the society."
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In 2019, Mr Pate was appointed as global director for health, nutrition and population (HNP) of the World Bank, and director of the global financing facility for women, children and adolescents (GFF).
Between 2019 and 2021, Mr Pate led the Bank's $18 billion COVID-19 global health response and represented the bank on various boards, including those of Gavi, the Global Fund, CEPI, and UNAIDS.
Pate's eye on Bauchi governorship
Since 2015, Mr Pate has had his eyes on the governorship seat of Bauchi State. As a result, he has crossed from one political party to the other, taking part in primary elections in the state.
In 2015, Mr Pate came third in the governorship primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, scoring 86 votes to trail Babayo Gamawa whole polled 116, and the eventual winner - Mohammed Jatau, who scored 368.
Mr Jatau lost the general election to the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammed Abubakar.
In 2019, Mr Pate, who had initially crossed to APC, also contested on the platform of the People's Redemption Party (PRP) but the PDP candidate and former Minister of FCT, Bala Muhammed, won the election.
Also in 2022, Mr Pate participated in the governorship primary election of the APC which was won by a former Chief of Air Staff, Sadiqque Abubakar.
Honours
Apart from the prestigious Harvard Health Leader award bestowed on him in 2012, Mr Pate has also been appointed by the Harvard Chan School of Public Health as Julio Frenk's Professor of Public Health Leadership in the Department of Global Health and Population.
Also on 11 October, 2022, Mr Pate was conferred with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Pate is married with four daughters and two sons.
