Dr. Musa Mohammed Dambam: A Tribute

This was an act of unspeakable cruelty, for he was one fine gentleman, who was never given to violence. Within a few hours of the incident, an unprecedented crowd descended on Dambam to attend his funeral prayer, and his corpse was escorted to the local cemetery by several thousand people in the blazing heat.Musa, who […]

This was an act of unspeakable cruelty, for he was one fine gentleman, who was never given to violence. Within a few hours of the incident, an unprecedented crowd descended on Dambam to attend his funeral prayer, and his corpse was escorted to the local cemetery by several thousand people in the blazing heat.
Musa, who died at the age of 45, would often drive back and forth the short distance from his station to Dambam, just to meet with his kinsmen and childhood friends. He had cultivated this habit wherever he lived and worked during his short but eventful life. Sadly, this attachment to his roots and family was to play a tragic role in the circumstances that led to his demise.  We learnt that on the fateful day, having concluded the usual short visit for that weekend, he had picked his aunt with the intention to drive her home which is a village just a few kilometers away, before eventually returning to Azare to spend the night. Alas! That was not to be, for no sooner had he set course on this trip, than his car was commandeered by a gang of heavily armed men and forcibly re-directed to the palace of the District Head of Yamai. It was there that both men were eventually murdered in cold blood.
His father was the late Wakilin Gona of Misau, who was a strict disciplinarian that was reputed to have raised a lot of children, many of whom were not his own biological children. After an early introduction to Islamic education, Dr Dambam had passed through primary and secondary schools with flying colours. He was an exceptionally brilliant student and qualified as a medical doctor in 1994 from the University of Maiduguri, where he graduated top of his class and was awarded the George Edington Prize for the Best Overall Student.
Thereafter, Dr Musa Dambam had spent a year in Imo State for the mandatory national service, NYSC, during which time he made his mark in the care of patients and community services. He was, in fact, instrumental to the building of the first mosque in the community where he served during this time. For these and other contributions, he was awarded the Presidential National NYSC Honours in 1996.
After his internship and national service, he took up a job at the Aso Clinic in Abuja. A few years later, he decided to go to England for further studies where he acquired the MRCP (UK). On completion of his studies, and quite unlike most young men of his age, out of patriotism and a keen sense of service to his people, he decided to return to Nigeria.  Once back in the country, his unquenchable appetite for knowledge took control of him again, and this time, he acquired the specialist qualification of the West African College of Physicians (FWACP). This was soon followed by appointments to the position of Consultant Physician and Head of Department of Medicine at the Aso Clinic. He distinguished himself in this job and was considered worthy of several assignments in the hospital. As an indication of the level of this trust, at a very young age, he was appointed the Personal Physician to the then First Lady, Justice Fati Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), amongst other dignitaries. His closeness to the seat of power at this time was indeed quite fortuitous. It happened that in early 1998, the National Association of Resident Doctors had declared an indefinite nationwide strike which had crippled the health sector for several months. While the death toll continued to rise, negotiations had stalemated, and the leaders of the doctors association had been driven underground for fear of likely repression. It was into this picture, that we were brought in to broker a deal. It was therefore very convenient to tap Dr Musa Dambam and Miss Amina Abubakar, who clandestinely arranged our crucial meeting with the Head of State on 9 March, 1998, that was critical in resolving the impasse. Out of modesty, Musa had seldom mentioned his own role in the successful resolution of that crisis.
In 2008, soon after acquiring the Masters in Public Health (MPH) from ABU Zaria, he moved permanently to Bauchi where he helped found the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency. To his credit, over 20 states have since established similar bodies, and invariably used the experience derived from Bauchi as a benchmark. In this role he was inspirational to co-workers and was able to dramatically raise awareness of the most important public health issues of the time. He also served, in acting capacity, as the Chief Medical Director of the Bauchi Specialists Hospital and was noted for his prudence and diligence to duty.
People were easily drawn to Dr Dambam because of his simplicity. At a younger age, he was quiet, almost shy. But his brilliance easily shone in the classroom, for he was an energetic debater. For several years after graduation from medical school, where he was my junior by a year, our paths did not cross. However, when he decided to take a second wife, he chose my sister-in-law, Aisha. During that time she lived for some time in my house in Kano and he would often sneak in, unannounced, during their courtship. He always made sure to make his entry while I was away at work, and whenever I chanced upon him, we would laugh about the silliness of it all and sooner rather than later resume our heated arguments on the state of the nation. He was particularly worried about the numerous missed opportunities for greatness and the apparent inability of our generation to rise to the challenges of nation building.
The last time I saw of him was at the Bauchi Airstrip. After the usual pleasantries, he again consoled me to take heart on the challenges of holding public office in the prevailing socio-political milieu. Furthermore, he told me of a plan he had devised to reduce the pressure of work by spending more and more time on his farm, which he had recently expanded. In characteristic manner, he invited me to visit the farm and take a picking of whatsoever pleases my eyes there.
Very little is known about Musa’s generosity because his type of charity was true Muslim charity. He gave freely of his time, his skill, and his resources to family and friends, the destitute and invalids, and even to complete strangers, and expected nothing whatsoever in return. As an example, Musa had for several years teamed up with his older brother, Dr Alkali Mohammed, to secure admissions and sponsor indigent students from Dambam town for studies in several institutions of higher learning. Another notable act of philanthropy is that they had also successfully initiated a scheme where they lent out portions of their ancestral farms and constructed boreholes to support groups of rural dwellers. As a direct fall out of this effort, tens of peasant families are into irrigation farming there, and are thus able to support themselves during the long dry season. He was, in fact, planning to scale-up this initiative when his life was brutally cut short.
In a truly exceptional career, Dr Dambam had served as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor, Acting Chief Medical Director and Executive Chairman all within a space of five years. He was a restless man and always sought for new challenges. Therefore, when the position of Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center Azare became vacant in 2011, he turned to me, among other friends, for advice. A few days later I intimated Governor Yuguda of his plans.  Without any hesitation, the Governor directed me write him a strong letter of recommendation. This did not come to me as a surprise at all, because Malam Isa Yuguda had entrusted Dr Dambam with ever increasing levels of responsibility before, and was apparently convinced that he was then ready for greatness at the national level too. When he was appointed to the post a few months later, he promptly called to share the good news with me.
In the days leading to his final trip to Azare to assume his new position, he kept a solemn face and tidied up his table quietly. For some unknown reason, he chose the innocuous occasion at the end of a routine congregational prayer in the small mosque located in the office to announce his imminent departure.  He then proceeded to plead for forgiveness from all and sundry, while saying he was aware that he was less than perfect, and might have stepped on some toes in the course of his duties. Unlike other chief executives, Musa refused to throw a big party to celebrate his exit. The next day, a huge crowd gathered spontaneously and escorted him to his new office – a distance of close to two hundred kilometers.
A quiet retirement was not on Dr Dambam’s agenda. He had confided in me that after he was done with the headship of the Federal Medical Centre, he planned to return to fulltime duties as a physician there or he would take up a teaching appointment with the new medical school in Bauchi, where he intended to teach generations of students, until he literarily dropped dead.
Even though he had left the services of our state, I continued to tap into his vast knowledge and uncommon understanding of health issues. Whenever I found myself in difficulty, I would conveniently sound his opinions and he always responded promptly. On occasions, without solicitation, he volunteered his own advice to me which was usually spot-on.
In a final testament to his strength of character, Dr Dambam had written an email to his former classmates on 8 August 2013, that is barely a few days to his death, in which he called on them to reconnect and collaborate on some good causes, and I quote:
“…We need to reconnect, share ideas and leave a lasting legacy. The other time I reflected on my own and thanked Allah for his various mercies. I have heard that some have died among our seniors and juniors alike, but I have not heard of anyone who died among our set. This is a big mercy from God for sparing our lives. Let’s utilize our time before it’s too late” Unquote.
Dr Musa Mohammed Dambam was deeply prayerful, loyal, generous, and a doting father. It had been my privilege to know him, and an honour to have been his friend. Even though the circumstances of his untimely death still remain shrouded in mystery, but Allah knows best.
Recognition came to Musa very early in life. He had been honoured with the chieftaincy title of Dan Masanin Dambam in 2009. He was similarly recognized by the Emir of Misau and turbaned as the Wakilin Tsabtan Misau in 2012.
He leaves behind six children and our thoughts are with his family in these very difficult times. We pray that his gentle soul shall find eternal rest in Jannatul firdausi.
Dr. Malami is Bauchi State Commissioner for Health