The Falling Iroko Tree: A Tribute to Professor Ibrahim Baba Yakubu (1965–2023)

By
Murtala Uba Mohammed (PhD)

My selection of the metaphor of iroko tree, a giant and strong to characterize Professor Ibrahim Baba Yakubu was not by accident. The decision was influenced by the fact that Professor Yakubu who is affectionately referred to by his acronym IBY, by students and colleagues, is an environment professor, an expert in plant geography and biogeography, and a passionate lover of trees and anything green. It takes little time to become enamored with Professor Yakubu’s unreserved and unparalleled passion for plants. It is not hyperbolic to say that IBY rarely speaks at any academic events without advocating for going green. These guided the selection of the tree for the commemoration of this gentle, beautiful soul who answered the call of His Lord on 11th November, 2023.

A graduate of geography and forestry, Professor Ibrahim Baba Yakubu taught in the Geography Department and later in the Environmental Management Department, all at Bayero University, Kano. He was the head of the research and technical department of Nigeria’s World Bank-Assisted Afforestation Program Coordinating Unit (APCU) when he joined his alma mater as an academic in 2004, after completing his PhD in geography with specialization in environmental management in 2003. Although his first degree was in geography, which he had obtained from Bayero University in 1988, IBY saw himself more as an environmental and plant scientist in a more passionate way above what a graduate or teacher of geography does. This may not be unconnected to the unique engagement with environment, having obtained his Masters degree in Forestry, which he bagged from the University of Ibadan, and his earlier training and experience in the agroforestry project. It is obvious that his relation with trees had made him developed features comparable to them. He stood firm and shade those around him.

The Writer Dr Murtala Uba Muhammad

I first noticed him when we went to Plateau State for the compulsory three-credit unit course titled Fieldwork (GEO 3301) in 2004. It is easier to notice him for three reasons. Firstly, apart from him and the other new lecturer, Dr. A.O. Adekia, all others were known to us as they taught us some courses in either the first semester or at the lower levels. The second is his usual dress, most especially the type of cap and shoe he wore, which were quite unique and fashionable. The third reason why IBY would hardly be unnoticeable was his eloquence and unique oration, excellent accent and effortless command of the English language.

My close association with him began when I joined the department in 2012. IBY was then the department’s coordinator for the newly introduced MSc. Geography.

Although the Bayero University Geography Department ran postgraduate programs, it was not until 2012 that the department introduced MSc. Geography under the headship of Professor A.I. Tanko. For more than thirty years, the department’s MSc programs were mainly in Land Resources, with two specialization: Development and Administration. With new MSc in Geography one can specialize in human geography, physical geography, environmental management,  or population and development.

In 2014, Bayero University created the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences (FEES). The Geography Department relocated from the Faculty of Social and Management Science (FSMS) to the new faculty; and five additional departments were created: Architecture, Estate Management, Quantity Surveying, Urban and Regional Planning (URP), and Environmental Management (EVM). URP and EVM were created with personnel from Geography Department. Only two of the old Geography Department staff, Dr. M.A. Liman and Late Mal. A.D. Maiwada, moved to the URP, while eight academic staff, including IBY and his two teachers, Dr. L.F. Buba and Late Professor Kabir Ahmed, joined the EVM. Thanks to this newly created faculty, it gave the apolitical scholar, IBY, the opportunity to serve as its sub-dean, deputy dean and immediate past dean of the faculty.
In connection with the creation of the FEES, I can vividly recall an incidence that happened during our maiden meeting cum retreat at Mumbaya House, which took place on the very day terrorists attacked Federal College of Education Kano. We were debating on who will remain in geography or move to another department. In his usual zeal to lure some of us to the EVM department, IBY made a statement that I still recall: that the future is in the new field of environmental management, which is an applied aspect of geography, and that “geography is losing its relevance and therefore is collapsing.” A response then came from Professor J.Afolabi Falola who responded to him saying that, let’s wait for the geography to collapse first; “we will all
move to the environmental management.” While IBY may be right that the new has a promising future considering the current global mantra, the older one is still relevant, with new fields such as GIS and Remote Sensing emerging out of it. I thought these differing opinions were caused by perspective. Despite being a geographer by trade, IBY’s education and early years had given him the greatest foundation in environmental management. Given the idea behind regional studies and the burgeoning science of GIS, geography will continue to play a significant role in regional planning and development, particularly in addressing challenges related to environment.
Despite that Professor Yakubu moved to the Department of Environmental Management, he never relinquished teaching and supervising researches in the Department of Geography. While still in the EVM, he supervised many MScs and PhDs in geography, such as that of my good friend, who incidentally bears his highest footprint, Dr. Muhammad Nurudeen Danjuma, and the most recent, which is that of Isa Adamu of the Federal Researcher Institute of Nigeria (FRIN).
Professor Ibrahim Yakubu was not only an academic person of repute, as testified by all those who write briefs for him; he was also a person of high principles and dedication to duty. Punctuality is one excellent trait that one would hardly have take away from him. To IBY, you never agreed on time and broke the agreement. His colleagues and students know this. I recall my time with Professor A.I. Tanko when it became obvious that we could not meet the deadline. Professor Tanko was so worried that he told me, “Murtala, I am afraid if one breaks IBY’s promises, he will only look at you and say not a word, but the look speaks more than what the mouth says.” This tree man, as Professor Yusuf Adamu once called him, was so rooted in his principles.
IBY was a man of integrity whose level of principle paradoxically endeared and infuriated many people. He kept time, which was very rare these days. Whoever IBY happened to be his supervisor, we used to joke, must be ready to bring his academic work in good time and keep to the agreed-upon timetable. I personally know one of the student he supervised that trembled whenever he missed the professor’s deadline!
In one of the elegy he composed for one of his patrons, Malam Habibu Fari, the Hausa master panegyric, Late Mamman Shata, describes the deceased with phrase fari yake mai farar aniya, which means that as his complexion is fair, so is his mind. Even though IBY may not have a fair complexion, at least half of his outfit is white, and the style is overwhelmingly straightforward. His habit and the style of his clothing were highly positively correlated. He rarely disagreed or engaged in argumentation, except when he observed a complete deviation from the truth. Accepting the truth from any party was his usual trait, even if that person is lower in rank. Although my teacher and by far my senior, on many occasions he asked for my opinion on statistics and GIS, and whatever I say, he insisted the student has to follow. This is quite uncommon in Nigeria’s academy, where ego and superiority are becoming the order of the day. IBY believed in specialization and accorded every person respect in his chosen field.
I may go on exploring many attributes that earned respect for Professor Yakubu among his student and colleagues, but for the space and the fact that this piece is not a biography of his. However, it is important to reiterate here that three qualities stand out in him that one combines. They are: the depth of his knowledge in his chosen field, which is unmatched by any of his contemporary; his simplicity in dress and habit; and finally, his principle of keeping to time and promise, which puts him far above many of us.
While acknowledging the fact that whatever Almighty does wisdom is enshrined in it, it is obvious that Malam IBY left at a time we needed him most. He died when the Nigerian academic community was battling with principles and in need of dedication and sacrifice of his kind. His good deeds will always be remembered, including his deep affection for his four children and his dearest wife, whom he lost just two months before his death. I sincerely pray for the Almighty to forgive his shortcomings and reward him with his beloved green, for Janna is glaringly the most evergreen of all spaces where iroko live.

Murtala teaches geography at Bayero University, Kano