Nasiru Mohmmed Sama: A banker & gentleman exits

I was driving towards Sun City, Abuja, when I placed a call to late Nasiru to confirm his whereabouts. My intention was to pay him a visit that afternoon. Minutes later, I was with him at his house. He led us in prayer and afterwards we retired into the house where we had our very […]

I was driving towards Sun City, Abuja, when I placed a call to late Nasiru to confirm his whereabouts. My intention was to pay him a visit that afternoon. Minutes later, I was with him at his house. He led us in prayer and afterwards we retired into the house where we had our very last conversation which as usual centered on family issues, work and life in general, spiced with the politics of the day.
This encounter on this Saturday afternoon was the very last I would ever have with him. As the news of the demise of Nasiru came to me as a rude shock via a telephone call from a mutual friend on the night of Friday June 10, 2016, I immediately placed a call to his family at Argungu and got the confirmation that it was a car accident, the only thing I could utter then was Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilaihir-Raji’un (from Allah we come and to him we shall return). Up until now, I am still finding it rather difficult to accept his passing away.
I met Nasiru in 1998, when destiny brought him to Minna to become my banking officer at UBA. We became friends at the first instance and the relationship blossomed within a short time. We were both bachelors and moved into a single accommodation. We brought our parents and extended families into the relationship as well as our circles of friends. It was phenomenal in the sense that many could not believe that we had never met while studying at ABU. We had so many things in common, ranging from our world view to our dispositions. On one occasion, we visited Argungu, saw his parents and he took me to see the emir who happened to be his cousin. It was a late winter evening preceding the fishing festival. It was a wonderful encounter with his Royal Highness. The next day, Nasiru insisted we visit the famous Kanta Museum where he proudly took me around, explaining the legacies of his fore fathers – the past emirs of Argungu. He was indeed well connected to his roots.
Truly, we matured together and we greatly influenced each other. Over the years, we both got married, moved to Abuja, our wives & children remained close. We were like a family. He had this kind of relationship with many other people that I know. Nasiru was a rear and special breed who dedicated his life to reaching out to other people, particularly in their hours of need. With his position as an assistant general manager of Fidelity Bank in charge of North-west and Niger State, he was always on the road from one state to the other, yet he was always around to attend to family and friends. He was a pillar in the lives of many.
His nice and friendly nature made him sociable and amiable; he overlooked faults and was always there to encourage his subordinates to grow. He had no limits in reaching out to people across the spectrum of society.
Though a princely, high profiled and highly professional man, he lived a very simple life which attracted all shades of people to him irrespective of their ethnic, religious or social status. At just 47 years, Nasiru touched the lives of many people in so many ways that explained the emotions that greeted his departure. His passing away at such a young age was very painful, most especially to his immediate family, we feel it all.
Our prayer and hope is for him to have eternal rest for indeed he lived a good life which will hopefully rob off on the ones he left behind.
Adieu my friend and brother.
Ahmad  wrote in from Abuja.