Two men fascinate me. Both were in the news recently, for marking their life prolongs, a rare privilege only few men get – for the mercy of God but also for reasons of a rare trait – good management of their lives. Many men in Nigeria are either dead or dying – by heart, soul or body – for the opposite reason: gross mismanagement of life, owing to what they ate, drank, who they married and how, from where and how many, what type of children they now have, doing what.
Please do not rush me. I am not ruling out destiny and the rule of God in the life of men. It is always there, first. But it is God Who says whatever befalls a man is from what their hands delve into the choices they make. What man takes and leaves are both variables in life. They are the two variables on the two sides of wisdom. And that is why Mamman, 80, and Yakubu, 85, hold some lessons for men behind to watch and learn from. May God keep my two great teachers for long so the unscrupulous can tap more from their pots of life.
Mamman Daura, PMB’s uncle, is an industrialist turned journalist, if you want to know the source of his wealth because my profession – true – is poor. Yakubu Jack Gowon is a soldier who ruled Nigeria as the youngest ever to, from 1966-1975, by providence, after the Unitary System of Aguiyi Ironsi failed to hold the centre, a humanitarian servant and a respected statesman, except in Igboland, for his execution of the Civil War 1967-1970, to force back the integration of Nigeria.
Whatever their experiences were, their stuffs must have roots into the fountains of their respected homes and lineage of great innate traits, good home/family training and remarks in their education – having both learnt home and abroad. And as many educated men portray today, yestermen and these currents from yestermen, may have just got the best of everything – good minds, good hearts, good discipline, good training, good women, and good children.
And as true sons of their fathers, they never lost their sense of all those goods but they are more humbled by them, for the simple reason that it was not their idea but God’s mercy. Even at that, God looked into their good hearts to make it. This is reason that at their ages, both men still radiate good looks, high spirit, command good respect and can still expect anything in life any other man expects, even if by nature of their graceful ages, they must have lost shreds of one, two tastes.
What is more for their type at their time and stage? What else do they need to taste in a life well spent, afterall, with all their distinctions, some of us clean them from more harm still and put them on the tracks of more piety and reverence, to clean more of their little sins, because of hellbent misconceptions we choose to hold on to them, and denying all the cherished enviable that should ginger and light up our own paths. Both men are hatetargets of some persons for reasons that should never be personal.
Envy is terrible. It is worst among men. It destroys the bearer and ensues for the target. God bless the enviers. Gowon is held by dents of the civil war by the Igbos who are bent still against the unity of the country he lives for and symbolises. The call for the scrap of the NYSC must be an utter of their lip because he founded it, even when they use and abuse it by overage, more than any other tribe. If you get the list of General Ibrahim’s finding on fake corps members, sure will gape.
Mamman is their natural enemy, owing to his blood links with the man who suffered most, all his life from the evil of their hands, again, due to his role in the Civil War, and yes, for winning an election in which they shot themselves in the foot and yet blame is always on others’ doors and not at theirs. PMB and anything about him – including yours faithfully’s admiration and loyalty to the man.
Hatred is dangerous. It rules out every sense in the bearer. There is nothing one can do about it to help the hater, much as you pity them, or remove it for all, from the mind of the hateful. The uncle cannot change the stamp of blood relations or even his provident, agelong closeness with the nephew, and men who suffer from fake ties and relationships of lies all their lives will only hate what they envy in their chosen hatees for as long as they live.
Mamman is also hated for his role in saving the life of a man who was sentenced by the lips of fellow men, in those dire health and life risks, for staying in the house to take care of, and protect, him. And how much is one who looks after the life of the President paid. For a wealthy man, what is Mamman’s gratification, do you think, for living in the Villa? It is a small act of a simple, common northern value: “I will spend the rest of my life to stay with my brother and to protect him.
What is the value of all he does to help and advise the nation’s President at a desperate time men can sweep any valuable off, in process to get power to disrupt democracy and confuse the polity just to get political office, influence or hegemony to service egos and selfish, wayward, corrupt, misguided and evil life in outright neglect, disregard and gross disdain and contempt to common good and national interest.
For Mamman, it is like, “I will not let evil men harm my brother in the process of their tolled ambition to power and wealth.” See what he ended up doing? He gave the nation its lost spirit back. He ended up being the drive of all the FGN is able to do so far. Do not disregard good intention and sincerity of purpose ever. When I watched the floor of goodwill and accolades on his birthdate, it was no surprise. Thank you, Sir.
Daura is one of the few good men we have around who offer great, invaluable service to the nation many public office holders fail to give. How more ingrates can we be? For most of all the bad times of political turmoil, we bore shame of the shameless to no avail and gratitude, until now when any more bearing of more shame for the shameless, we realised, can only do more disservice for the same shameless, for in our common spirit of federal balancing, we want the road to 2023 to be shorter for them, so they do not lose out again, at least not as total. They need something to hold to in order to belong.
It is called human or national service, patriotism or love, all of which are no value to many individuals or groups who disrespect this government. True servants of the system are hated across and that only fuels the hearts and the spirit for them to do more, because providence is of no regards to the whims of the wicked few. Its ember can only fan out the caprices of the callous selfish. It is the milk by which the needy feed. And it is natural that human service is like that. It is free. It is not appreciated. Only most public servant get paid for doing less or nothing.
Gowon is Christian. But his values are cosmopolitan and superior to most men. In the wake of the Civil War endemics, he was advised by Muslim friends to invite late Sheikh Ibrahim Inyass of Senegal, God be pleased with him, to pray for peace. And he did with a heart and selfless intention. It worked. The war ended. By the Saint’s prayer, providence or whatever, the new peace was for all. ‘No victor; no vanquished’, he said. It was goal scored.
And in his typical value of gratitude, Gowon held on to the Sheikh’s friendship in high esteem, to keep him close, the differences did not matter. It was for good, true reasons of human bond. It is said that for the influence of the Sheikh on him and the words they shared, Gowon has been able to keep his image, respect and integrity intact all the years, inspite of the murky field of issue taking politics in Nigeria, issues for no reason of common purpose but hatred.
That would be impossible today, because of the hijack of religion as tool in the hand of a secret groups in the public and political service, used to divide, intimidate and harass anyone against the service of selfish interests of the powers in charge, who define ties, loyalists and reinforce their overriding economic interest in theft, abuse and mismanagement of public funds in neglect of majority interests.
Such secret cult groups have become the hidden hands behind the evil plots, intimidation, schemes, threats and system jeopardy that withhold service delivery back in ministries and MDAs.
Mamman and Yakubu are central pillars of the nation and inspirations to PMB and to all of us. They are good humans every good human must love. May they live more to give more wisdom and good example.
Hassan Alhaji Hassan can be contacted on 08032829772/08050551220 (text only with full names and address)a[email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
