Tahir: Exit of an officer and gentleman
It was indeed my good friend, Elayo, he wanted to present a remarkable surprise, he was with Najeeb, our friend who survived the Independence day bomb blast at the Eagle Square, Abuja. Our friend is up and walking. He is in Abuja for the routine procedure to remove residual part of the shrapnel lodged in […]
It was indeed my good friend, Elayo, he wanted to present a remarkable surprise, he was with Najeeb, our friend who survived the Independence day bomb blast at the Eagle Square, Abuja. Our friend is up and walking. He is in Abuja for the routine procedure to remove residual part of the shrapnel lodged in his legs. I was really astonished and immediately suggested a dinner somewhere out, we jumped into the car and zoomed off. However, some metres down the road something unpleasant triggered a chain of reactions that reshaped our thinking on the quest for a dinner. Something loud exploded, we hoped it was not another bomb. It wasn’t anyway. It was the normal Christmas celebrations with loud fireworks, but this very celebration was characterized by youthful exuberance. They colonized the whole neighborhood and almost became lawless. The reflex in all of us was not as discreet to downplay what our mind was reflecting to; 1st October 2010! It became obvious that this incident unearthed the fears and aftershock that our friend Najeeb has been concealing about the Independence day bombing. It’s indeed traumatic and this reechoed the unfortunate act of 1st October 2010 in our hearts.
Najeeb, a guy with a heart filled with fascinating attributes, was the last guy who saw and spoke with Tahir. The pair were walking smartly shoulder to shoulder with dignity and patriotism to witness a historic event of independence day, which they might someday relate it to their children, perhaps for more generations to come; a loud noise erupted and the scene became chaotic. That was the last time the comrades saw each other. The news of his friend’s death sneaked to him on the hospital bed. When I went to meet him in the emergency section of the National Hospital, his mum was beside him serving as a wall of comfort and strength. But then, seeing me, the somewhat relaxed ambiance changed, men also cry!
Tahir! I fondly call him TZ. He was an exceptional guy with deep passion for humility and forthrightness. In my humble opinion, his humility and kindness was not by accident, but a reflection of a hereditary attitude amongst his kinsmen, as this was evident by the sense of humor exhibited by his family whenever we visit his family house.
It has been a tradition since TZ and I got married to visit each other fortnightly when ever our families are in town. But for about five months before he died, we could not maintain the tempo, but only spoke on the phone because TZ was away on official assignment and my wife was in school. But just some weeks after Ramadan in 2010, the two families planned a reunion and thanks to (sitta Shawwal) the six-day fasting after Ramadan. The late TZ, his family and Elayo came to my house for Iftar on September 27, 2010. We spent about two hours after eating, lamenting the state of the nation… not knowing that it was a valedictory session. TZ has on that day completed his voluntary six days fast… May Allah reward him with the highest point in Aljanna, Amen
In his remarkable habit, TX would always call or check by my office to drag me to the masjid for zuhur and asr prayers. Wednesday September 28, 2010 was not an exception. Thanks to his normal routine, I was oblivious of time, but he checked at the right time to remind me of salat…. On this memorable day, he brought some of my things I had borrowed him long ago and said, this you borrowed me and you should take it today. I did collect it and put it right inside my office drawer. Two days later, my Tahir died! But the item remained in my drawer for as long I was still in that office, because I could not summon courage to take it home, until recently when I relocated.
TZ has made it a point of duty in his life to send text messages from the verses of the Holy Quran or Hadith on Fridays. He was so selective and coherent in sending those messages. He made sure after reading the text, one will have no option than to sit and have a moment of reflection; the texts really touched the innermost recesses of my heart. May Allah reward him abundantly, amen.
October 3, 2010 was to be my wedding anniversary, so I travelled to Kaduna to join my wife; but the happy moment never came. I received a call that changed the momentum around 1300hrs on the 1st of October that my friends, Najib and Tahir were among the victims of a deadly bomb attack… Najeeb was stable in hospital while TZ was nowhere to be found. Friends and family took the courageous move to search for him in hospitals within Abuja….. We were hopeful… but then it dashed away….. We were all confronted with the reality…TZ is dead!
I was suddenly overwhelmed by thoughts; exactly one year ago, TZ stood in front of me, looked into my eyes and told me about the very basics and secrets in matrimonial happiness. Alas, exactly one year later, I was faced with the task of burying a true friend.
When we went to pick up the remains of late TZ from the morgue at about 0800hrs on October 2, 2010, I was astonished to observe the nonchalance of the mortuary attendants. They moved freely in between the dead to identify remains… It was really breathtaking. I sighted TZ….. In life and dead, TZ was not a different chap, because I would have mistaken him for sleeping and smiling if not for the killer bruise he sustained during the sad event. Ironically, it was almost time for asr prayer. It was like, ‘hey get up and let’s go pray’. ….Not until Elayo whispered from behind that I realized that our own TZ was no more… and before I was able to assemble together the fragmented thoughts in my heart, my eyes were blinking more often to give way for some warm tears flowing freely. May Allah in his infinite mercies accept his good deeds and forgive his shortcomings.
Today is exactly a year since Najeeb survived the bomb blast, but then the scares left by the shrapnels will certainly not be as painful as losing Tahir; and for late Tahir and other comrades who lost their lives, perhaps it was just an escape route to a better and rewarding situation devoid of bombings and suicide attacks! Tahir is gone, but he remains an emblem of forthrightness to his colleagues, friends and whoever had a chance of meeting him. Personally, I benefitted immensely from his wisdom. He consistently admonished me not to get tired about the quest for self development. I adhered to his advise and is paying up; I am away for a postgraduate degree.
His beautiful daughter Maryam turned exactly one year on February 4, 2011, she is growing wonderfully well with seamless resemblance to her great dad who lived among his peers as an ambassador and crusader of good leadership and anti corruption. She will definitely live to celebrate 1st October every year with skepticism, wondering what the date really signifies. However, her source of comfort will be her wonderful mother who showed a great sense of resilience and total submission with humility to the Will of Allah for the loss of a great and a wonderful husband.
From his extended family to his friends, we are consoled and seek solace in the fact that, Tahir lived a fulfilled, exemplary and humble life; he died a patriot, sticking to the desire of building a better Nigeria for yet unborn generations to come. We pray Allah have mercy on him, reward him with Aljanna where we shall certainly meet again. We shall keep the flame of his efforts, good work and thoughts burning till our days are over.
Mohammed is of the Department of International Relations and Strategic studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.