ELEGY FOR SALEH ALIYU HADEJIA, ACE BROADCASTER

For those who used to listen to the BBC Hausa Service in the 1970s, one unmistakeable voice was that of Alhaji Saleh Aliyu Hadejia, who died this week in Kano. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! (We are from Allah and to Him shall we return). If there were a name that has brought Hadejia, […]

For those who used to listen to the BBC Hausa Service in the 1970s, one unmistakeable voice was that of Alhaji Saleh Aliyu Hadejia, who died this week in Kano. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! (We are from Allah and to Him shall we return).

If there were a name that has brought Hadejia, the biggest city in Jigawa State to world renown, it was Alhaji Saleh, whose name would never be mentioned without the ‘Hadejia’ suffix. My senior by several decades at the BBC Hausa Service, Bush House, London (he was there in the 1970s and I in the 1990s), Saleh’s name and reputation lived and resonated long after he left.

When back in 2004 I was appointed Director General of the Kano State Societal Reorientation Programme (A Daidaita Sahu) by then Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, I assembled a team of media consultants to assist me achieve my mandate of attitudinal and behavioural change campaign. Alhaji Saleh was an integral part of that cohort and he provided the expected professional leadership.

To mourn the passing of this great man, I asked his family, friends and associates to write in on “The Alhaji Saleh Aliyu Hadejia I Knew.”

BILKISU SALEH ALIYU HADEJIA (daughter, on behalf of the family): Baba was a father like no other, very loving and caring, always ready to render his support and assistance in all aspects. He was a prayer warrior who strongly believed in Allah and prayed day and night according to the teachings of Islam. He was a true definition of a hero who successfully fought all the battles he encountered. He was humble, honest and trustworthy. He was never afraid to tell the truth to anyone, no matter his social status. He lived a life of contentment and was never interested in accumulating worldly things. Baba was a generous person who shared the little he had with the needy, and encouraged others to do same. He touched the lives of many in the ways he could. Life will never be the same without Baba.

ABDURRAHMAN ABDULLAH (veteran broadcaster, friend and associate): One thing that comes to mind about Alhaji Saleh was his very commanding voice which he professionally used in what I will call ‘Mosque-Broadcasting’; that is, reading out questions for interpretation by the late Mallam Isa Waziri during Ramadan Tafsir at Murtala Muhammad Mosque Kano. His voice alone made many people stay behind and listen to the Fatwa of the late Wazirin Kano. Saleh’s voice contributed a lot in propagating that particular Islamic message. A broadcast journalist to the core, and being very current, he would always take his transistor radio along on his daily morning walks on Zoo Road in Kano, so that he wouldn’t miss any foreign broadcasts which would come on air around that time. He would listen and analyse for possible communication of views and corrections later. One other thing is that he had a passion for respecting the Nigerian currency and he abhorred dirty notes. So meticulous was he that he would always take his old notes to the Central Bank and exchange them for crisp ones. So, whenever he gave you money, it was always crisp mint, stacked in his wallet. He loved and practiced neatness in all of his activities.

GARBA A. ISA (associate and fellow Hadejia townsman): While he held sway at the Hausa Service of the BBC, Alhaji Saleh Aliyun Hadejia was oratory and candour personalised. In the ‘analogue’ period of the 70s and 80s, news and analyses from the BBC were considered authoritative, almost beyond doubt. Every time Alhaji Saleh’s voice came on air, listeners of BBC Hausa would be faithfully glued to their radio sets as the stories and commentaries flowed from him with utmost command of language laced with diction. As fake news was virtually non-existent at that time, listeners took the BBC and its sisters seriously, with an air of almost religious conviction. And he was very religious; no wonder as he hailed from the Chief Imam’s household (Gidan Liman) of Hadejia. To summarise Alhaji Saleh in a single sentence: “A man of humility, oratory, religion and a sense of humour.”

1. GAUSU AHMAD (associate and friend): Alhaji Saleh was a man whose face wore a permanent smile. A veteran broadcaster of national and international repute, I first heard his voice in the 1970s, first on Radio Kaduna and later on BBC and VOA. As fate would have it, I only saw him physically in 2005 when this Columnist engaged us to conduct an impact assessment of Governor Shekarau’s A Daidaita Sahu Programme. Alhaji Saleh was our chairman and did not only provide excellent leadership, he also provided excellent meals. (Anas and Hafizu, his two sons, would always bring food from Alhaji Saleh’s house during our meetings). He also provided something else – his high sense of humour and his unending anecdotes. And we never saw Alhaji Saleh get angry.
2. DALHATU SANI YOLA (associate): I got to know Alhaji Saleh well from 2005 during our mutual assignment for A Daidaita Sahu. Being kindred hearts with shared mindsets who recognise media as veritable tools for mobilisation and development, we proceeded to establish the Media Network Forum (MNF) and subsequently the Sanin Kanmu Organisation along with Gidado Mukhtar, late Bilkisu Yusuf, Gausu Ahmad, YZ Ya’u, Nu’uman Habib and Abubakar Minjibir. Late Alhaji Saleh will be cherished for his strong Islamic beliefs, consistency and excellent human relations.

ALHAJI MUSA MUHAMMAD (junior associate and fellow Hadejia townsman): In my hometown of Hadejia, Alhaji Saleh’s name is arguably the most famous. Though we are decades apart in age and experience, I consider him a legend in Hadejia, Northern Nigeria and the world. As a young journalist, I aspire to be like him in sha Allah.

PROF. BALARABE MAIKABA (associate): It was shocking when news filtered in that Alhaji Saleh, veteran journalist and elder statesman, is no more. This, coming a few months after we lost another veteran Umar Sa’id Tudunwada (UST), was devastating. As a diligent and conscious public commentator, Alhaji Saleh would regularly call me to discuss issues of journalists and journalism in Nigeria and the world. From my little knowledge of him, he was humble, God-fearing and a nationalist. He equally had great passion for the journalism profession. I propose to whom it may concern that this great patriot be immortalised by the Kano and Jigawa State governments, and by the journalism community in Nigeria.

COLUMNIST: Alhaji Saleh died at 80. May Allah accept Saleh’s good deeds and blot his mistakes.