By Abdullah Dan’azumi Golkos
The days keep rolling. Year after year, I could still feel the emptiness and the refusal of his memory to fade. It remains evergreen. Even though death has robbed us of a true patriot, what that silent enemy could not accomplish is to stop us from remembering this scholar of distinction, a teacher, journalist, administrator, philanthropist and a pan Africanist whose works and legacies would, forever, remain a reference point especially to those in pursuit of higher knowledge.
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the death of Dr. Jibril Bala Mohammed of blessed memory. Late Dr Jibril Bala Mohammed was not only a close relation, but also a friend and a comrade. While we are from the same family, the fact that we were age mates made our relationship special as we undertook our childhood adventures together in Wuyo, a peaceful and serene farming community in present day Borno State. We were brought up in that village, located in the provinces on the margin of the Savannah in the 60’s and early 70’s. That was a time when the dichotomy between the urban and rural areas were so stark.
It was a period electricity and pipe borne water were things we only read in books. The countryside provided our source of adventure with wild fruits coming in as the bounty. Our rivers and brooks were seasonal because of the low level of rainfall.
Lacking the knowledge of marine life, to us, every shallow pond contains fish especially if we can observe a bubble on the surface. The thought that it may be a frog or the emission of hydrogen was beyond our infantile minds. Sometimes such bubbles were enough to mobilise us for fishing with crudely constructed hooks which yielded no results.
Our life was purely rural with our thoughts not going beyond the confines of the village. At a certain stage, we thought with exception of Nigeria, the entire world was populated by the white race. Such was our naivety.
Then something happened in the 60’s which not only left a permanent imprint on our psyche, but to have a far-reaching impact on our political and social development. We were coming back from the primary school when we saw a man in his under pants, whose hands and legs were shackled behind and was left under the blazing sun.
Later on, we learnt that he was treated like that because he could not pay his taxes and would be sent to the prison at the District headquarters in Kwaya Tera. In spite of our age, we knew something was wrong. Oblivious of class stratification then, we could only sympathise with him. But the devastating impact of the action was the witnessing of the humiliating episode by Binta, the victim’s daughter who was a year behind us in school.
Her father could not pay his taxes, that scourge of the peasants that have sent many to the Tin Mines on the Plateau and many kitchens of the expatriate staff as stewards with many never to return.
Since that sad event, we never saw Binta in school again. Whatever became of her, we could only speculate. That event was to, unconsciously, constitute the bedrock on which our future philosophical outlook would be as we individually and gradually leaned towards Marxism- Leninism.
Dr Jibril’s admission to ABU Zaria in the 70’s was to be the beginning of the moulding of a formidable intellectual. With a sharp mind and a peasant background from a semi feudal setting in which he witnessed class oppression at a very young age, education to him became a tool for liberation. Within a short time, he made his impact felt as a student unionist.
Like all revolutionaries the world over, it did not take long for him to pay the price. But like the proverbial Phoenix, and with a daunting spirit that never conceded defeat, he rose up again stronger, articulated and committed with a sense of mission which continued to guide his life till that day he passed on.
In spite of his worldly achievements, he led a humble life in which material possession had never counted for anything. He was courteous to all and never looked down on anyone. I still remember when he was a Postgraduate student at UNILAG and I was a youth corps member at Ikorodu in Lagos. We used to sit by the lagoon at weekends and be reminiscing about home. We were only two without any relatives in Lagos whom we could visit. We held onto each other for solace. In other words, we used to sit by the lagoon like the Israelites in Babylon sitting by the rivers remembering Zion reminiscing about home.
Dr., you are gone, but we shall never forget you. I never forget that day I met you at home when we bade each goodbye before you travelled to Jos. Unknowingly, destiny was set to take its course.
Dr. the shoes you left behind has proved to be too large for anybody to put on, while the standard you set has been too high. The legacy you left in our community has not been equaled and may appear unlikely. Your types only come once in a while. Rest in peace and may Allah (SWT) grant Jannatul Firdaus to my friend, my Comrade, Amen.
Abdullah Dan’azumi Golkos, is the CEO of Kaduna based Salasadiscourse Political Consults
