By Garba Musa
On Tuesday, 27th August 2024, all roads led to Mambayya House, the former residence of late Malam Aminu Kano, the emancipator of the Talakawa to honor the invitation to mark the tenth anniversary of the demise of Malam Magaji Danbatta, CON, an elder statesman and mentor to innumerable citizens.
My knowledge of the memorial lecture came from a Freedom Radio program, Barka da Hantsi, featuring Malam Isa Inuwa, a nephew to the late sage on a rainy day, I awoke from my slumber immediately I heard the name of late Malam Magaji and remained glued to my radio and forsaking my morning sleep. You know pensioners like to take the rest after 35years of service.
But how can I sleep when the person of Magaji Danbatta was being remembered. A man with an unusual pedigree, a man of high premium, and a leader of his peer group. He was a problem solver and a great interviewee who controls the Whiteman’s language with an unequal gait and resilience. He was a man who touches the lives of many individuals with heart-warming and frankly speaking advises and cohorts that were to be their guiding principles. How can I sleep and miss the good things that he has done from a person so close to him and a relation of no mean importance.
I immediately made up my mind to burn the little fuel in my gas-guzzling old-model sienna bus and headed to the Mambayya House, venue of the memorial lecture. The first thing that came to my mind was the feeling of satisfaction at seeing the place filled with cars and security, a fact that the man was really held in high esteem. It is common knowledge that the kind of occasion taking place at the Mambayya House or any place in the North does not attract crowd especially on a working day. Unless it is the distribution of fake palliatives by politicians. However, the crowd at Mambayya that Tuesday morning was real and a testimony of how highly the invited guests, family and friends have held late Magaji even in death.
The parking space was jam-packed by vehicles of invited guests, while the Auditorium was filled to the brim with people from all walks of life.
Though I know the late sage from a far, my formal knowledge of him was when he became the chairman of the Board of Directors of Kano State-owned Triumph Publishing Company in 2005, while serving as secretary to the Board. One learnt a lot from him as he always read the minutes line by line and dots the ‘Is’ and cross the ‘Ts’ most of the times. He was a great inspiratory and teacher of no mean degree. And I learnt that he did that to all those who come across him at work. That was how my relationship with him evolves. I used to go to his house to greet him and learn more wisdom in handling my affairs, in his sparsely-furnished sitting room, with a book-rack containing the works of renowned philosophers, autobiographies and biographies of great men and women.
I will never forget when I remained glued to my radio when the Freedom Radio was featuring him on the anniversary of late General Murtala Ramat Muhammad. The presentation, language and maturity in delivering were superb. Wallahi mutumin nan yaji nasaranci sosai.
I had no hesitation therefore, when I was asked to be a partnering Master-of-ceremony at the 50th wedding anniversary of his first wife in the year 2006 (or thereabout). The event held at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium with the usual presence of the family, friends, well-wishers and so on. The then Governor of Kano, Malam (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau who returned from a trip same day, honored the invitation despite the fact that he was so tired and sleepy on the day. It was later that I knew why the Executive Governor was at hand to share in the joy of the silver jubilee of the marriage of our mentor. He jokingly told the audience then that his wife’s first meal for him was ‘Danwake’ (a Hausa delicacy made from cassava and other ingredients).
My respect for Malam Magaji increased a million fold when, my poor self, lost my elder sister in September 2009 and he personally came to the House behind Gwale Veterinary clinic to condole and sympathize with us. This shows his caliber as a humane and indiscriminate states man he was. A small me losing a sister and the friend of the Emir of Kano coming all the way to condole with me show how humble and simple he was, and a respecter of men no matter the status.
And so I attended the First Memorial lecture with men of timber and caliber under the chairmanship of Isyaku Umar Tofa (Makaman Bichi), and the chairman, Board of Trustees of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Barrister Bashir Dalhatu, Wazirin Dutse, Sardaunan Kano Ibrahim Shekarau, former Governor of Bauchi State, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu and Galadiman Fagge, Ibrahim Galadima on the high table. Other distinguished guests were the lecturer, Professor Alkassim Abba, my lecturer at Bayero University Kano, Dr Mahmoud Usman (first commissioner of Kano State Ministry of Rural and Community Development), Professor Habu Fagge, the Chief Host and Director of Centre of Democratic Studies, Mambayya House. The nephew of late Malam Magaji Danbatta, Isa Inuwa was also on the high table and so were the DanMalikin Kano, Ambassador Ahmed Umar, and Malam Faruk Sakaratsa of Daily Times fame. The Master of Ceremony, Salisu Saleh Na’inna Danbatta had a herculean task sharing speaking time for the dignitaries as all of them had a lot to say about our mentor. Many invited guests were able to honor the lecture, including Honorable Faruk Adamu, whose hand was in a sling. The wives, children, close relations and friends of Malam were there with pond memories of him.
The lecturer, Professor Alkassim Abba who named his paper, ‘The Significance of NEPU in the history of Nigeria’, said that there is no befitting tribute to Malam Magaji Danbatta than digging and bringing out the important role that he and his colleagues played in fighting for democracy, fundamental human rights, national unity and independence for a United Nigeria. He said that the freedom and liberty which we currently enjoy and often taken for granted was what people like Malam Magaji fought and sacrificed to make it possible for this to happen. NEPU under them spread with the speed of the current bush fires in California (USA) and the forests of Australia and was to win all the seats in parliamentary election before the white supremacists in alliance with our traditional rulers voided the victory and imprisoned or outlawed most of its members. Such was the contributions of late Malam Magaji and his colleagues to encourage participatory equality and universal suffrage for our people. Allahu Akbar!
The Sardauna of Kano, Senator (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau talked highly of Malam Magaji and revealed that he gave him a loan from the funds of Kano Peoples Forum (Inuwar Jama’ar Kano) to buy the form with which he stood for election and won the governorship of Kano State. Former Governor of Bauchi State also said he always sought his assistance in running the government of Bauchi State. The same thing goes for almost all the big shots in the Auditorium. It was a lecture or gathering well-arranged and delivered and I believed everybody went back home satisfied with a befitting occasion equal to the status of our mentor.
I will however not forget that sunny day in 2014 when I crossed over from my office in the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning to his house on the opposite side and found his corpse carefully wrapped up in the white cloth inside the local coffin before departure to his final abode. I could not control myself as tears flowed from my eyes while praying for his peaceful repose in Aljannatul Firdausi. May Allah continue to bless the soul of our mentor, Malam Magaji Danbatta.
Musa lives in Kano.
