By
Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u
@JameelYushau
Lying on his hospital bed in the last moments of his life on Thursday evening, 21st January 2021 at Isyaku Rabiu Hospital in Kano, he asked, referring to my father, “where is Malam Yusha’u? please, ask him to come quickly.” By then my father was already on his way to the hospital.
He then started reciting the Shahada, the Muslim testimony of faith, Ashhadu an Laa ilaha Illah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah (I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad [peace be upon him] is His messenger). He kept reciting the Kalimah for the next 30 minutes until his soul returned to its rightful owner.
As my father stepped into the hospital along with my mother and brother Abdurrahman, Baba Idi, as we call him, was no more. “But Allah never delays a soul when its appointed time comes. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do” (Quran 63:11).
With the recitation the Kalimah, the life and times of my uncle, mentor, friend, teacher and a major pillar of our extended family had closed at the age of 67. He died surrounded by his wife Malama Sadiya, his eldest daughter Amina, and two of his children, Abubakar and his last child Imam (named after our grandfather Liman Yusuf). Malam Idris bn Yusuf bn Abdurra’uf bn Yusuf, bn Musa was my uncle and the immediate brother to my father. The two of them are like twins, if you know one of them, then you know the other. They are inseparable companions.
I am not writing this tribute simply because I lost an uncle. Indeed, that was enough reason to write one. But I am writing this tribute to celebrate an unsung hero, a man who dedicated his entire life to teaching and community service. I am writing this tribute to highlight that there are celebrities who contribute to our success, who inspire communities, invest their times in uplifting others, provide comfort in times of distress and make their shoulders available for others to climb the ladder of progress when we needed it the most.
Educationist ,Malam Idris Yusuf Passes On at 67
These heroes and celebrities are in every family, in every community and in every neighborhood. Yet, by human nature, we overlook these unique human beings and focus our attention on the celebrities and heroes manufactured by the media, whether they deserve it or not. I am also writing this tribute because of the dignified way in which he lived his life.
In the early 1990s, around 1993 precisely, when I started developing strong interest to study abroad, I came in contact with Dr. Tasiu Namadi who was then pursuing his doctorate degree at the Islamic University, Islamabad. My interest at the time was, after finishing secondary school to study Islamic law at either Islamic University of Madina or the International African University of Khartoum.
I was trying to find as much information as I could, so I engaged Dr. Tasiu on how to embark on this journey. Dr. Tasiu gave me couples of advice. He said, first of all, do not ever rely on any single individual to help you in achieving your dream. Just work hard and find your way, by submitting applications, searching for scholarships and God-willing you will achieve your dream of studying abroad. Then he gave me the second advice which I found true with my uncle, Malam Idris.
“Jameel, when you leave Nigeria, and move to another country, that is when you will know the people who love you genuinely,” Dr. Namadi told me. I left Nigeria in 2004. Certainly many people kept in touch, enquiring about my studies, family and general progress in life. Apart from my father, there are three people who always call to find out about my family, my wellbeing and my progress in life. They will ask about my studies and work. These three people were the late Shaykh Aminuddeen Abubakar, Alhaji Muhammadu Nata’ala Adamu (father of Professor Yusuf Adamu) and of course my uncle Malam Idris. The first two have already passed away, and on 21st January 2021, the third one joined them in the great beyond (May Allah forgive them and grant them eternal rest).
It was always a pleasure talking to them, because once they are assured that everything is fine with me and my family, then we talk about life in general. They ask me about the environment, make enquires about what they heard in the news on what is happening in the UK and now Saudi Arabia. I had my last conversation with Malam Idris on 20th January 2021, a day before he passed away. My brother, Dr. Muntaqa told me that Baba Idi is unwell. So I called him. His voice was weak. I could feel there is an extra effort in the way he was speaking. You could feel that he was being brave. As usual he enquired about my wife and each of my children with whom he has an incredibly cordial relationship.
Mentioning his name was enough to bring smile and joy to my family. When he visited us here in Saudi Arabia about four years ago, he spent time with them, he played with the children, went to a shopping mall with them and made sure they enjoyed every minute of his visit. It took me about one hour to break the news of his death to my family, and you could see the fever of shock in them in learning that Baba Idi was no more.
I have so many memories of him, but some that stand out include when he was pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in education at the Federal College of Education Kano in the 1990s. Baba Idi was an extremely busy person. He was a student, a teacher with the State Primary Education Board in the morning, and in the evening, he teaches at Da’awah Islamic School. By Allah’s providence, my father has almost every book needed in the area of education, both Western and Islamic in his personal library. He turned me into his librarian. Whenever he comes home, he would ask me to find the relevant books for his studies.
It was through this effort that I came to know some of the books written by Professor Aliyu Babatunde Fafunwa, Professor Shehu Galadanci and several works in philosophy, psychology and sociology of education. Thank you, Baba.
Another memorable moment was when I got admission to study Mass Communications at Bayero University, Kano. My interest at the time was to study law. I did everything possible to get admission at the faculty of law. Despite having the requirements, my effort proved abortive. I was hesitant to register in the mass communication department and start my lectures at the time. When Baba Idi came to our house one day, he was told that I haven’t yet registered and the deadline for registration was approaching. He asked me why? I told him I was still attempting to secure admission at the faculty of law. In his humorous nature, albeit with a serious mien on that occasion, he looked at me and said in Hausa “wanne amfani lauyoyin suka tsinana ne da ka dage sai ka karanta law. .” Literally translated as: “Why did you insist on studying law. Look at the lawyers moving around .” (Apologies to my learned colleagues).
Following that exchange, my father asked me to immediately go and register in Mass Communication department. “If the effort at the faculty of law yields results, you can move to the faculty of law,” my father said. And I complied. The rest is now history.
According to our mother, she couldn’t remember a week in the last 30 years that he didn’t visit our house.
Baba Idi is an advocate for social justice and has an allergy for corrupt practices. He is engaged with many NGOs and community initiatives. His main priority is transparency in managing the resources of these NGOs.
Baba Idi studied from an early age in the traditional Quranic and Ilmi system with our grandfather. He then went to Ilorin in the 1960s to further his Islamic education and returned around the period of the Nigerian civil war. He then went on to pursue modern education which enabled him to acquire a National Certificate in Education from Kano State College of Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Ahmad Bello University Zaria (F.C.E Kano Campus). He rose from a class teacher to a supervisor/Inspector of Education in different local governments within Kano State.
It is approaching three months since he left us. Yet, his loss is still fresh. A gigantic tree had fallen in our family. But its roots are alive and flourishing. We love him, we cherish and adore him. But his Creator loves him the most. Our prayer is that he is resting peacefully in his new abode. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus Amin.
