Opinion

Dr. Ahmad Bamba:The Lost Of An African Scholar-Jibia

Published

2 years ago

January 16, 2022

Abdussamad Ahmad Jibia

It was a Friday, specifically the seventh of January 2022 in the official salary calendar of Nigeria. Even if you are not Gregorian in your personal timings once you are a salary worker in Nigeria you cannot afford to ignore the Gregorian calendar. Even Islamic schools use it to pay their workers. Traders are always conscious of it because their sales are higher at the end of the month. Employers feel relieved when they are able to pay their staff before or on the last day of a Gregorian month. Nigerian politicians list payment of monthly salaries as one of their achievements.

But this piece is not about salary payment or the Gregorian calendar.

In one of the Whatsapp groups I belong, someone had just posted that Dr. Ahmad Bamba was dead. Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim was, until sometime in the late 1990s, a tenure staff of the Department of Islamic Studies Bayero University Kano. After some misunderstandings with the then administration of Bayero University Kano, which he narrated when he was alive, he voluntarily withdrew his services from the university only to be to be reabsorbed, voluntarily retire and reabsorbed many years later when Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed assumed the Vice Chancellorship of the University.

Before I could react to the news of Sheikh Ahmad BUK as many people called him, I must verify its correctness. In 2020, I went to the extent of calling the Deputy National Chairman of the Izala group to condole him about the death of Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau announced by an online newspaper and it turned out to be a fake news. Before he died, fake news reporters had once killed Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the erstwhile Presidential candidate of the defunct NRC and publisher of the first Nigerian Islamic newspaper, The Pen. Much earlier, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe was killed many times before his death, even without social media at that time. With all these in my mind, I decided to verify, and I thought the best person to ask was my neighbor and one the most senior students of the Sheikh, Professor Ahmad Murtala. After the confirmation, I began to pray for Dr. Ahmad.

Dantata Shed Tears Over Insecurity

I do not personally know any of Dr. Ahmad’s children except for one of his daughters who is a classmate and a close friend of one of my two wives. But my wife was in Bauchi for the marriage ceremony of a cousin in her mother’s family. So she could only immediately phone. Of course, she visited Insaaf Bamba after her return. As for me, the best thing I could do was to pray. As an ordinary person, I have always avoided gatherings of people who matter in the society. Allah answers prayers from whichever location and even from ordinary people like me. So, in sha Allah we shall continue to pray for Islamic scholars like Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim. Of course, the best way to remember a scholar is first, to practice the message he propagated and to continue to spread his teachings. The Messenger of Allah (May blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) listed a knowledge taught by a Muslim as one of the acts of virtue that continue to fetch them rewards after their death as long as the knowledge continues to be practiced.

But who is Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim?

Baby Ahmad was born in 1940 in Kumasi, Ghana to a migrant family of Islamic scholars. Migration from Northern Nigeria to Ghana is age long and Dr. Ahmad’s family is one of those Nigerian families who migrated to join the Hausa community of Ghana. The child of Fatima and Muhammad began his early Islamic education from home and at the age of 14 he was taken to a tailor to learn the art of making clothes while still attending his Islamic lessons.

The turning point in Sheikh Ahmad’s life came with his journey to Saudi Arabia to study. I heard him confess several times that before he made it to Madina where he met world class Islamic scholars he had begun to see himself as a leading Islamic scholar. That was understandable given the environment in which Sheikh Ahmad was brought up. However, according to him when he arrived Madinah he was reduced to a beginner struggling to learn.

And he learnt well. Soon after collecting his letter of admission and registering as an undergraduate in the prestigious International Islamic University of Medina, Ahmad Bamba excelled to become one of the best students of Hadith. That was the time when the University was headed by the famous Sheikh AbdulAzeez Bn Baaz, and had lecturers like Sheikh Hammad Al-Ansariy. These are some of the best Islamic scholars of their generation and it is a pride for any student of Islam to come in contact with them even if they didn’t teach him. They directly taught Sheikh Ahmad.

Ahmad’s scholastic aptitude earned him a good degree in Hadith before he left the Prophetic city of Madina. He assumed duty as a lecturer in the well respected Department of Islamic studies of Bayero University in 1981.

For the first one decade of his sojourn in Bayero University, the people who mostly benefitted from his vast knowledge of Islam were the students of his Department. For the rest of us in other faculties of the same University, we only heard about him when we discussed with his students. This is not to say that other people did not discover him early enough. In addition to teaching at the Aminuddeen’s Da’wah Islamiyya School many people, including some influential businessmen, privately visited the Sheikh’s house for Islamic lessons.

After the death in 1992 of Sheikh Abubakar Mahmoud Gummi who served as the de facto leader of the Salafis in Nigeria, the private students of Sheikh Ahmad Bamba thought that there was the need to raise their not well-known teacher to serve as a replacement. And it worked perfectly well. The first open lessons of Hadith by the Sheikh began at a location provided by one of his students in Gandun Albasa Quarters, Kano.

The lessons in Gandun Albasa did not last long. The promoters of the Hadith lessons thought further that better results could be achieved if the lessons were moved to the University, after all Dr. Ahmad was a staff of the only University in Kano at that time. That is how Dr. Ahmad began his Hadith lessons in the Bayero University Old campus Jumuah mosque. And because the lessons were holding in BUK and Dr. Ahmad was a staff of BUK, he came to be known in many circles as Dr. Ahmad BUK.

As planned by his students and with Allah’s permission, Dr. Ahmad within the blink of an eye became the scholar everyone respected in Northern Nigeria. Many people from all over Kano state and the neighbouring Katsina and Jigawa states made special arrangements to attend his weekly lessons in Kano. Those who could not attend would not miss the cassettes. He was teaching the Nigerian public a knowledge that was hitherto restricted to the circle of select Islamic scholars. He was questioning unIslamic traditions of Sheikh-worshipping. He openly exposed disbeliefs packaged and given to Muslims as Islam. Naturally, this would not go down well with those who benefitted from the status quo; hence the many enemies of Dr. Ahmad.

Younger Sunni scholars accepted Dr. Ahmad as their leader and respected his interventions. For example, he prevailed on the Late Sheikh Ja’afar Adam to rescind his decision to impose niqab as part of the compulsory uniform for girls in Uthman bn Affan College. For those of us who attended various lessons of different Salafi scholars in Kano, we noticed that salient issues raised by Dr. Ahmad were always amplified by other scholars as a mark of respect for the late leader scholar.

Books of Hadith are categorized. The best are the collections of Bukhari and Muslim. Any hadith reported by both scholars is considered as unquestionably authentic. The next set of books are the Sunan. These are the collections of Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah. The six books put together are known as “The Six Collections (Al Kutubus Sitta)”. The six collections plus the collections of Imam Ahmad (Musnad), Imam Malik (Muwatta) and Imam Addarimiy (Sunan) are known as “The nine collections (Al Kutubut tis’ah)”.

In case you don’t know the level of Dr. Ahmad’s contribution, he is the only African scholar known to have read, translated and interpreted the nine collections to public.

Dr. Ahmad was charismatic. Perharps that was what made many people feared approaching him thinking that he would be too tough to deal with. They were always surprised when the Sheikh received them with smiles and an open mind.

Like the Late Sheikh Abubakar Gummi, Dr. Ahmad was generous. As donations kept coming, he kept giving. This has been attested to by people very close to him. At a point when someone spoke to him about it, he said, “keeping this one will prevent another one from coming”. This is a statement that could only be discerned by a person who understands the saying of Allah, “Whatever you spend (for Allah’s sake), Allah will provide its replacement” (Q34:39)

If your habit is to carry gossip from one point to another, Dr. Ahmad would never welcome you. His time was for teaching and learning. He encouraged productivity and urged youth to be focused until they excelled in the one thing they choose to do in life.

When some people began to question his nationality, Dr. Ahmad stated in his characteristic smile that he had a “productive nationality”. And it is so. After he temporarily withdrew his services from Bayero University in the 1990s Sheikh Ahmad accepted to teach in the Islamic University of Niamey. Soon after, his Nigerian students arranged for him to come back and continue with the work he started. There was a mild rejection, by his Nigerien students. The Nigerians had their way and our neighbours gave up when they understood that more people stood to benefit from his knowledge in Nigeria.

May Allah have mercy on His servant Ahmad Muhammad Ibrahim. May He forgive his shortcomings and admit him into the highest level of Firdaus. May Allah give this Ummah more of his kind. Amin.

Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia is a Public affairs commentator and a University Lecturer.
14/01/2022

Opinion

Forte GCC Sets New Standards in Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate-Adnan

Published

5 days ago

May 14, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

Forte GCC raises the bar in engineering, construction, and real estate with groundbreaking standards, by Adnan Mukhtar

In a move that is set to revolutionize the engineering, construction, and real estate sectors, Forte GCC Innovative Solutions Limited has announced its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and excellence.

Since its inception in 2019, the company has established itself as a trailblazer in the industry, with a team of dedicated professionals and a vision to harness the power of technology to craft a smarter, more efficient world.

The company’s mission and vision is to elevate services through continuous research and innovation and to become a frontrunner in engineering consultancy, construction, and real estate sectors.

Led by Engr. Khalil Sagir Koki, a seasoned engineer and project manager with a proven track record of delivering complex projects, the company’s management team boasts a diverse range of expertise and experience. Engr Khalil has a Masters of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Surrey and a Master’s of Science in Engineering Construction Management from the University of East London. Engr. Koki is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Institute of Civil Engineers UK, the Institute of Highways Engineers UK, and the Association for Project Management UK, and has attained the APM Project Fundamental Qualification from the Association for Project Management. He also holds a Construction Project Management certification from the Colombian University of New York.

Other members of the management team include Engr. Emmanuel Adetokumbo, a COREN-registered engineer with over a decade of experience in building and infrastructure projects; Muhammad Gazzali Ado, a seasoned finance professional with experience in accounting, taxation, and financial management; and Mrs Misriyya Imam Hassan, a management expert with a degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Sharjah and an MSc from the University of Leicester.

The company’s recent achievements include the successful completion of Laurat Terraces, its inaugural real estate development project in Katampe District, and the commencement of two new estates, Misriyya Terraces and Guildford Terraces, in Katampe District.

With its commitment to safety, ownership, integrity, passion, and teamwork, Forte GCC Innovative Solutions Limited is set to deliver unparalleled results and shape the future of Engineering, Construction, and Real Estate in Nigeria and beyond.

Opinion

Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus :A Successful Business Man And Philanthropist

Published

2 weeks ago

May 8, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

Abdulkadir Ahmad Firadusi

By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo

The fascinating story of Ilorin born businessman but resident in Kano, Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus is the one filled with a rare commitment and tenacious disposition. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Aquarich Integrated Services, Hydro Blue Water and Habidaus Global Concept in Kano. Indeed, no businessman or an entrepreneur would ever tell you it is easy to be in business or self employed but he has been making remarkable progress against all odds.

It interests me to write about him because I have been in the know of how he has positively metamorphosed from being an employee to become an employer of labour in the commercial city of Kano. Firdaus story is not a fairy tale as those who know him can attest to his growth in the Kano business community.

Sincerely, it is through observation of him I got to know practically that you don’t invest in a business if you don’t have time to monitor it, otherwise you would be feeding the greedy and glutton among your workers inadvertently, and before you know it, the business has collapsed. They don’t want to know how you come about the capital for the business but they would be ready to drain the resources to comatose, since no one would be around to have critical monitoring of their activities.

Successful businessmen do have challenges and that of Firdaus is no exception, especially given the current stifling inflation in the country. You must have the courage and sagacity to pull through in business with sincerity and promptness.

There was a time I visited Kano, precisely February, 2022 to attend the 40th Anniversary of Mass Communication Department in Bayero University, Kano, my alma mater. I observed him in the office and I discovered that he has full grasp of what it entails to run a business. He is an economist, so one shouldn’t expect less from him.

He is very strict but pragmatic. His strictness cannot be likened to nefariousness but proper way of doing things. He doesn’t cut corners. He will never bargain for substandard products.

As an entrepreneur you have a goal, but it should be predicated on your customers satisfaction. Without them your business will face retardation and sluggishness. That is why when you agree on a day and date for the supply of goods, do not renege. Customers develop confidence in someone based on their experience over time. If their experience is positive you are in for a good time with them.

Discipline as a core value in any setting, be it political, social or economic, will help anyone to grow; especially in business, financial discipline is key. To the best of my knowledge, Firdaus has it and his prudence is a great deal of idea.

*My relationship with Firdaus*

We are both from Ilorin but we didn’t know each other until we met in Bayero University, Kano. Although we gained admission the same time, he was a year ahead of me because his was a direct entry. Since graduation, the relationship has been sustained till today; alhamdulillahi! He is a thorough person, he neither receives ideas and/or opinions nor treat issues dogmatically. It takes a sound and convincing explanation of a subject matter to get him on the same page with one.

Our good friends, they say, are our lives. At one’s lowest hour, one must have that one person in whom to confide. This is reminiscent of Mariama Ba’s So Long a Letter in which it is said “confiding in others always pain”.

Our relationship has transformed beyond friendship, it is now a familial bond. I can remember when I attended his wedding in Kaduna in the year
2009 and he reciprocated by attending my wedding in Ilorin together with his wife, an epitome of a good wife.

He is based in Kano but his door is always open to visitors. You can’t visit his family without giving a good account of their hospitality and humility. Great men are synonymous with humility and that has been my conviction over the years.

*His Philanthropic Activities*

He is a finest gentleman with a kind heart and generous disposition.He does not have a Foundation through which he reaches out to the less privileged because he believes giving to people is a personal thing and does not require publicity. His argument has been that he is doing it for the sake of Allah, not for people to praise him, and that getting a reward for doing good is preregative of Almighty Allah.

This is unlike politicians; there is no way they can keep in secrecy if they render assistance. If they don’t say it out, oppositions would use that against them, that they have neglected the people after gaining their mandates. So it is easy for him to do it in his own way, because he is not a politician.

There are cases of where he has helped and those people would be the one to tell me much later. If he helps you the third person would not hear about it. Emphatically, he has been kind to me as well.

Ahmad Abdulkadir Firdaus does not allow his busy schedules to deprive him of the opportunity to reach out to people through associations. He is currently the Vice President II of Bayero University Kano Alumni Association, the national body. He is also the Vice Chairman of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Kano Branch. He is a Patron of Ilorin Emirate Students Union, BUK Chapter.

He is a detribalized Nigerian; his hand of fellowship spreads beyond his tribes and associates.

*His business sojourn*

Firdaus joined Royal United Nigeria Limited in Lagos State in 2007. He was later transferred to Kano office where he rose from the position of Accounts Assistant to become Regional Manager, North. In his words “I joined Royal United Nigeria Limited in 2007 through my Guardian, Dr. Abdullahi Jibril Oyekan”

Ahmed Abdulkadir Firdaus was born to the family of Alfa Ahmad and Hajia Halima of Ile Machine, Oju Ekun Oke, Adangba, Ilorin and grew up at Sebutu compound, Ilorin. He had his primary and part of secondary school education in Ilorin before proceeding to Lagos where he completed it. He is happily married with kids.

Below are his Educational background, Awards, and excerpts of the interview with him.

*Academic Qualification

In 2005 he bagged B.Sc. Economics from Bayero University, Kano with second class upper. He also obtained Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011 from the same institution. In 2006 he obtained Proficiency Certificate in Management and graduate member from the Nigerian institute of Management.
He became an Associate member , Institute of Chartered Economists in Nigeria (2006).

*Awards

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union, IEDPU Northern Zone, 2023

Award of Excellence by BUK Alumni, Ilorin Emirate chapter, 2023

Award of Excellence by An-nur Islamic Organization, BUK, 2021

Award of Excellence by Ilorin -Ifelodun Social Group, Kano, 2021

Markazul Ulum Wal Maharif Islamic School Dei Dei, Abuja, 2020

Award of Excellence by National Association of Kwara State Students, BUK Chapter, 2019

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association, Kano, 2019

Award of Excellence by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2016

Certificate of Merit by National Youth Service Corps, Corps Welfare Association, Giginya Barracks, Sokoto, 2007

Merit Award (Chairman Fundraising) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2005

Merit Award (Financial Secretary) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2005

Merit Award (Member Fundraising) by Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2004

Merit Award by Markaz Agege Alumni Association, BUK, 2003/2004

Al-Adabiyya Alumni Association, BUK, 2003/2004

Merit Award (Active member) Ilorin Emirate Students’ Union, BUK, 2002

*Interview Session*

What do you sell?

I sell different types/brands/sizes of Tyres and TableWater (HYDRO BLUE)

What could be the catalyst for your success in the business world?

Determination, patience, and passion can drive a business growth.

Nigerian economic challenges are enormous, but I always tell myself that if Dangote can do it, I can equally do with determination.

What advice do you have for upcoming entrepreneurs?

Business requires pragmatism, goal-oriented, and target. Including the culture of discipline

At the early stage of business, they must be available (full participation), adopt austere approach, have some level of accounting knowledge, and financial discipline.

They should understand that there is no shortcut to success; Rome was not built in a day.

Is it always rosy for your kind of business?

Not at all, like the Yoruba would say, a person that knows the day he would make plenty of sales might know the day of his death. Is just a saying nobody knows when he or she will die. No one can determine the day he or she will make enormous sales. However, business is unpredictable, most especially in the face of the current inflation that has influenced price instability.

It is obvious that even in the business world there are challenges but your ability to cope with its complexity and dynamism will determine how far you would go. This doesn’t rule out the significance of prayers as you weather the storm gradually. Our young men and women should cultivate the habit of sincerity and patience. Nothing good, they say, comes so easy. Get-rich-quick syndrome can’t be a way out of poverty but the road to doom. Patience is key to every facets of our lives just as Hausa saying “Hakuri maganin zaman duniyan”. Meaning patience is the key to successful life.

Firdaus, as a businessman is an example of those who would do their businesses diligently and would not surcharge the people.

He is in Kano, doing his business with utmost standard and excellent customer relations. Please patronise him for a life changing experience.

abdurraheemsaaddembo@gmail.com

Opinion

Exposing the fraud in NASS budget-Jaafar Jaafar

Published

2 weeks ago

May 2, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

By Jaafar Jaafar

In an unprecedented budget fraud, the National Assembly has appropriated N370 billion on running costs, contingency, vague and duplicated projects for the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2024 Appropriation Act.

I’m not talking about the hundreds of billions of naira padded in other ministries, departments and agency, but what they budgeted for their welfare and running of the National Assembly.

In the N370 billion NASS budget, the lawmakers duplicated projects and created new, unnecessary projects that increased the budget from N170billion in 2023 to N370 billion this year.

In budget (under Statutory Transfers ), the NASS budgeted 36,727,409,155 for the National Assembly Office; N49,144,916,519 for the Senate; N78,624,487169 for the House of Representatives; N12,325,901,366 for the National Assembly Service Commission and; N20,388,339,573 for Legislative Aides.

A senator recently told me that each of them (and members of the House of Reps) is entitled to five aides, while the four presiding officers (Senate President, Speaker and their deputies) have at least 3,000 aides. In total, you are talking about over 5,000 aides!

Despite the foregoing, the NASS budgeted N30,807,475,470 for “General Services” and N15billion as “Service-Wide Vote” – known in administrative parlance as “contingency” or “security vote”. The NASS never had anything like service-wide vote in the past as “service-wide vote” is always exclusive to the Executive arm. Insiders said this is a clear case of budget padding as the purpose for the huge appropriations are vague.

Even the retired clerks and perm secs (despite receiving their pensions) are not left out in this public funds buffet as they got N1.2billion padded for them.

Apart from padding the intangibles, the NASS will spend N4billion to build recreation center; about N6billion to furnish committee rooms for the two chambers and; another N6billion to build car parks for senators and members (don’t ask me whether they lack any parking space).

And despite this, the lawmakers padded N30 billion in the FCDA budget for “Completion of NASS Chambers” and N20billion for “completion of NASS Service Commission”! In the same budget, the lawmakers set aside another N10billion (under NASS budget) for the completion of National Assembly Service Commission building! How did this happen? No be juju be dis?

Still hungry to devour public resources, the avaricious parliamentarians budgeted another N3billion for the “Upgrade of NASS Key Infrastructures”. How come? What about the N30billion budgeted for “Completion of NASS Chambers”?

NASS Library Complex, named after President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, got N12billion as take-off grant and another N3billion for purchase of books.

Like other institutions under NASS, the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies got N9billion without clearly stating how or where the resources will apply to. The same institute also got another N4.5billion (is this ‘jara’?) for completion of its headquarters.

Despite the dedicated powerline and powerful generators backing up power supply in the National Assembly, the lawmakers budgeted N4billion to install solar power system. I guess this will give them a reason to pad billions for the purchase of batteries every year.

The committee that superintended this butchery of public resources, the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Reps, got N200m each for a job well done.