It has been 30 years since the untimely death of my father, Mukhtari Adamu Abubakar, on the 25th of April 1993. He was a brilliant and fine lawyer, a breadwinner, a generous personality, very loyal to his parents, completely devoted to his God, a responsible husband to his wife, and much more. We lost him in a ghastly motor accident at Ningi, Bauchi State.
I was inspired to pen this tribute to my father by Mahmud Jega, who wrote a tribute in honor of his late grandfather titled “30 years without Magatakarda” sometime around 2014.
The accident that claimed the lives of 30 people occurred on a Sunday evening on their way back to Kano from Bauchi with his friend Mallam Yusuf Muhammad Tudun Wada (Karachi).
As I delved into the story of my father, I realized that he left a good name for his family and was one of the most loved personalities by his friends, family, and community members.
My father was a man of many parts. He worked briefly in the bank, was a freelance journalist, a successful lawyer, and also a writer. This can be seen through his love for books and contributions in the national dailies. My mother always remembers his column ‘Literary Corner’ in the then Sunday Triumph.
We inherited a large number of books from our father, many of which were autographed by the authors, including the renowned novelist and author Chukwuemeka Ike, who was a contemporary of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, etc., the late Dan Iyan Zazzau Nuhu Muhammad Bayero, and the Liberation of Nigeria, which was autographed by the late Yusuf Bala Usman.
My father was a Pupil Counsel in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Senior Magistrate Grade I and II in the Kano State Judiciary before his appointment as company secretary/legal adviser of the Nigerian Hotels Limited in Lagos.
The legacy of our iconic father, the Late Mukhtari Adamu Abubakar of blessed memory, has granted us unexpected favors and accorded us respect and courtesy at many times.
“He was nicknamed professor by his secondary school classmates because of his mastery of the English Language.
He was friendly to all that he met, he was exceptionally brilliant and unassuming”. This was in the words of one of his classmates in a comment to one of my tributes in their class WhatsApp group. It was sent to me by the Dan Amar of Gumel Alhaji Sani Ahmed Babandi last year.
I have written a lot about my father for the past 9 years, but words will not be enough to describe him more. We shall tell my son, Muhammad, his siblings and cousins about a great man called Mukhtari Professor.
May Allah S.W.T grant my father, his friend, Yusuf Muhammad Tudun Wada, Hajiya Hauwa Mai Kosai, Baba Ladi, Aunty Sarauniya, and all the departed souls eternal rest.
Adnan is a Political PR consultant and Staff Writer with PRNigeria
