A LETTER TO DR. IBRAHIM DATTI AHMAD

Sir, perhaps among all Nigerian commentators, I think I know you best. And my knowing you all of thirty years, since those days in the early 1980s at the Da’awah Group of Nigeria, Kano, has been, alhamdu lilLah, a positive influence, a selfless guidance, a didactic reprimand. The Hausa say: “Sabo da maza jari.” (Loosely […]

Sir, perhaps among all Nigerian commentators, I think I know you best. And my knowing you all of thirty years, since those days in the early 1980s at the Da’awah Group of Nigeria, Kano, has been, alhamdu lilLah, a positive influence, a selfless guidance, a didactic reprimand. The Hausa say: “Sabo da maza jari.” (Loosely translated, it means ‘Acquaintance with useful people is ultimately beneficial.”) It has been so for me over the years.

You have spoken. And Nigeria has heard you. Indeed, you have every right to be angry and frustrated. Your single-minded initiative to intervene in this ongoing national calamity was unprecedented. And, to me and all those who know you so well, it did not come as a surprise. You have not known fear, you don’t do eye-service and you suffer no fools. That I know. Aye, you were the one fit and proper to intervene. And it is sad what happened. But the time has come for you to reconsider. Accept to work for Allah. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

Recall that, more than a quarter of a century ago, when regrettable misunderstandings occurred at the Islamic group you were a leading figure of, you were fearless and courageous enough to pull out, with hundreds of followers in tow, to form the Asusun Taimakon Musulunci, ATM, (or Muslim Aid Fund), to undertake the same good works you were frustrated from undertaking at the older organisation. I remain eternally grateful that, despite the fact I was then an undergraduate and you were Kano’s leading medical practitioner, you saw value in me and had me appointed me Secretary of the Asusu. And, under your tutelage, I was to gain much experience.

Yes, you have every right to be angry at the people who are not sincere about this mission, and apparently don’t wish well for this country. But here I am, Sir, speaking on behalf of millions, imploring you to reconsider. It is not about them; it is not about us; it is for Allah’s sakes. Therefore, were the President or his Vice, President of the Senate or House Speaker, Chief Justice or President of the Court of Appeal to seek your intervention again, please accept their invitation. Accept to work for Allah. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

One of the most valuable lessons I learnt from you is that you are tough. Only those who know you so closely can understand how tough. You are a ‘hard task-master’. And I mean it in a very positive way. For example, as Secretary of the Asusu in the 1980s, you would always reprimand me if, in the Minutes for the Meetings, I omitted to dot the i’s or cross the t’s. You would correct firmly, and reprimand sternly. I clearly recall the day I brought the ‘perfect’ Minutes to the meeting. You read, and re-read. Then you looked at me and smiled, a first; and said well-done, another first! Your colleagues Alhaji Sulaiman Ladan and the late Squadron Leader Mohammed Sulaiman couldn’t help but break into applause, congratulating me for at last pleasing the Chairman.

Yes Sir, you are tough. But we trust you. Many others also trust you. Nigeria needs you at this critical crossroads in its life. Your single-mindedness, your courage, your independence combine to make you the one to do this. Therefore, were the Minister of Defence or the Inspector General of Police or the National Security Adviser or the Director General of the State Security Services or the Chief of Defence Staff to seek your intervention again, please accept their invitation. Accept to work for Allah. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

When some years back you addressed the media about a certain matter Islamic, we all recall what a former Nigerian president said about you. If we remember correctly, he was reported to have asked, “Is it the same Dr. ID Ahmad that I know? That brilliant University of Ibadan-trained medical doctor, one of the North’s first? The Dr. Ahmad who I know to be a core nationalist and patriot? What got into him to become such a religious fanatic?” Yes, they could call you any name, but we know, more than all the pretenders today claiming to lead our religion and culture, you cannot be sponsored, you cannot be bribed and you cannot be compromised.

In the early 1990s, you were a Presidential Aspirant during the interminable IBB Transition. We were there with you. Because we believed you were different from the other politicians. You have always been a serious person. And, despite your politics and your Islamic activism, you never abandoned your patients at your Asma’u Memorial Hospital, Kano. So, Sir, were the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) or the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NGSF) or particular Governors across the nation to seek your intervention again, please accept their invitation. Accept to work for Allah. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

Yes, we come a long way Sir. Recall that when a little over a decade ago I returned from studies in South Africa and met you at Dr. Habibu Gwarzo’s residence in Hotoro, Kano, you gave me one look and bluntly said, “Bala, what have you been eating? Continue with this weight and one day your knees will not be able to carry you.” That was how blunt you were, and still are. Saying it as it was to someone you hadn’t seen in almost a decade. (And yes, it came to pass; a bank door corroborated what you said a decade later: it screamed at me: “One At A Time Please.” And for that, I was later to shame-facedly enrol in a gym.)

Therefore, if the Sultan of Sokoto and the Shehu of Borno and the Emir of Gwandu and your good friend the Emir of Kano and your own brother-in-law the Emir of Ilorin and your classmates from Barewa College, Zaria, or the University of Ibadan, or other friends and colleagues at every stage of your eventful and beneficial life were to seek your intervention again, please accept their invitation. Accept to work for Allah. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

It looks as if there is only one key to unlock this matter. And, it seems, Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad, that key is with you. For Allah’s sakes, use that key to keep that door open. Seize the moment. Use the opportunity. Intervene again. It is not for them. It is for Allah. Then for Nigeria. For us.

May Allah help you to help this nation, amin. Haza Wassalam.