ELEGY FOR BALA SHEHU AZARE, HAIDAR’S UNCLE

As we sat mourning Little Haidar last week, another bombshell landed – Bala Shehu Azare, Little Haidar’s most senior uncle had been killed in a car crash in Bakori, on his way to Kano from Birnin Kebbi where he had been visiting his close friend, Governor Sa’idu Dakingari. Apparently having heard of what happened to […]

As we sat mourning Little Haidar last week, another bombshell landed – Bala Shehu Azare, Little Haidar’s most senior uncle had been killed in a car crash in Bakori, on his way to Kano from Birnin Kebbi where he had been visiting his close friend, Governor Sa’idu Dakingari. Apparently having heard of what happened to his little nephew, Bala was on his way back to Kano when he and his driver were said to have been crushed by a water tanker hurtling in the opposite direction.
For those who know the single-lane Kano to Sokoto Road, it is quite narrow at many spots, and one has to negotiate and manoeuvre to extricate oneself. The water truck which was apparently speeding was said to have lost a tyre, lost control and made direct for Bala’s car. Bala’s driver swerved, the truck swerved after them; they went off the road completely, the truck pursued them off the road. In the end, Bala and his driver were crushed to smithereens but, as they say in Nigeria, the truck driver ‘escaped unhurt’. “Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un!“
When the tragic news of Bala’s death was broken to his father, Alhaji Shehu Azare (my own late father’s closest confidante), the calm old man said: “Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un! Allah Ya jikansa. Duk abin da ya yi ma na duniya da lahira mun yafe masa. Wannan yaro ya rike amanarmu, ya taimaka mana, ya hada kan ‘yan uwansa. Allah Ya ba mu ikon rike amanarsa kamar yadda ya rike tamu”. (We are from Allah, and to Him shall we return. May Allah forgive him; we have also forgiven him any wrong he may have done us. He was very dependable and helped us immensely, and he united his siblings. May Allah give us the ability to also look after what he has left behind.”)
And please don’t tell me it was ‘karar kwana’, that Bala’s time was up. He died because Kano – Sokoto road is not dualised. He died because the water truck was lawlessly over-speeding for it to be under control. He died because the truck’s tyre may have expired to have burst, and did not deserve a certificate of roadworthiness. He died because this is Nigeria…But as Muslims we believe in Allah’s decree that: “Every soul shall taste death…” and “…no soul shall die save by Allah’s leave, neither shall anyone die before his appointed time,” as Allah says in the Qur’an.
I asked a few of Bala’s friends to tell the world what he was to them. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring, as we were on Haidar’s death:
AHMAD IBRAHIM YAKASAI: ‘Wajabat’ in the case of Bala Shehu in sha Allah. Our two sets of parents used to refer to us as ‘twins from different parents’ – that’s how close we were. He was dependable, reliable, honest, religious, generous, simple, humble, a trusted friend and a complete gentleman. He died while observing the fast on a Thursday, the eve of a Friday, and was buried on a Friday.
GARBA ALIYU GEZAWA: Bala lived a very simple life and assisted humanity. He built mosques and Islamiyya schools and was involved in many philanthropic activities. He was very religious, morally upright, intelligent and very friendly.
BASHIR TURAKI: A person who always showed concern for the welfare of people. He was patient, honest, sincere, dedicated and humble. He once reconciled me with my wife when we had problems, not even to the knowledge of our parents or friends.
ISMAIL M. JIBRIN, PHOENIX, USA: I have never been so touched by the death of a person I only met once but whose extraordinary kindness, wisdom, decorum and exuberance would live in my mind forever until the tragic and untimely loss of our friend and brother, Alhaji Bala.
YOMI AKINLOSOTU: O Bala! Since we met in school about 40 years ago, you had always related with me more as a brother than a friend, as a classmate, reading mate and roommate. You were very dependable and unassuming. We shall all miss your contagious smile.
IBRAHIM ABBAS: There is nothing permanent in this world, especially life itself. Bala was kind, generous, humble, modest, forgiving and above all pious. He lived an exemplary life worth emulating.
JA’FAR SANI ABDULKADIR: He was a detribalised Nigerian, an honest and loyal friend and a true family man. Bala would go to great inconvenience and personal discomfort to satisfy anyone, and would readily deny himself for the good of the weak.
TIJJANI ZAKIRAI: O Bala our friend! You left when we needed you the most. To us you were more than just ‘a friend’ but a brother, a team builder and a model who everybody wants to emulate.
NASIRU MUHAMMAD: I spoke with Bala on Monday March 3 on one of our missions – to set up a private university in Kano. If he were a politician one would have dismissed his generosity as deposit for votes! But he gave in deposit for Allah’s favour, and in sha Allah he has started reaping that.
M. I. ABDU: Bala Shehu was like a son to me; he was like a brother to me; and he was my friend. Despite this hierarchy of relationship, he always respected and honoured me. He was a good man.
QISMUL BARI AHMAD: I never saw Bala in an unhappy mood. He was always lively and friendly and easy-going. And he was very clean.  He was more of a community man than a business man, visiting friends, relations, the sick and the bereaved.
ADAMU IDI: We attended the same FGC Kano; same SBS; same ABU. Because of our friendship, even our mothers are friends. We travelled together most times. In fact, many friends thought we were together even during this journey from which he never returned.
FAROUK M. LAWAN: May Allah the exalted overlook his imperfections, forgive his sins and grant him eternal abode in Paradise
IBRAHIM ISA WADA: May Allah forgive Bala Shehu.

POST SCRIPT ON HAIDAR: The suspected murderers have been arrested and paraded by the SSS in Kano. We received thousands of condolences and we are very grateful. One condolence from a nine-year old has stuck with us: “I am  Muhammad AbdulQadir, aged 9, of Gwarinpa, Abuja. I wish to commiserate with you over the painful demise of little Haidar who was brutally murdered by heartless, useless, drug addicted undesirable elements unworthy to live. May Allah comfort his parents and grant Haidar eternal rest.” On further contact, my wife discovered Muhammad is also orphaned, having lost his father in a road accident, much like we lost Bala Shehu.
And finally, there is tragic irony in the death of our brother. Bala Shehu was General Manager of his family business, perhaps Kano’s biggest and oldest tyre service franchise of Michelin. And that water truck lost a tyre and lost control and crushed our brother. “Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un!”