Late Deputy Commissioner of Police Abdulkadir Gana benefits his family even in death.
People who knew him and those simply know the Abdulkadir Gana family always make reference to them in terms of discipline, piety, humility, humbleness, which we owe to ALLAH (SWT) having made our father instrumental for such an upright and close-knit family despite the large number.
I was barely 10 years old when my father answered the ultimate call 25 years in 1990. The uniqueness of his personality remains fresh in my memory. I am yet to see another.
I remember he maintained the same routine throughout his life time; going from home to work and back home, day in day out. His wives and children were the only friends he had’ except for the cordial relationship with his colleagues and associates in the office.
Though he rose to a respectable rank in the police force, he never amassed wealth nor sought recognition; but maintained a low profile in all his dealings with people. For his tenacity and doggedness to uphold the truth, many times he had many adversaries and setbacks in his career. Mostly, it was due to his firmness and refusal to be manipulated to conspire in shady deals. Though I was a little girl at the time, I can still recall he always repeat that no child of his will join the police force or study Law for a profession. His reason that although, the police force is a noble profession, but that officers and senior personnel have adulterated its core values. This is to show how long corruption and illegalities have infiltrated the Nigerian Police Force.
How many families enjoy a sit out (a family time of sort) most evenings with the family head being at the center of it all; snacking, loving, sharing, caring, laughing until the children start to fall asleep? Perhaps in the villages, perhaps not! Such was my father; a tradition which has kept the Abdulkadir Gana’s family a close-knit one, which we still practice till date. It was during such a family time months back when Boko Haram captured Gworza and its surrounding villages, that our mothers were recounting stories of the family’s sojourn to North-Eastern towns of Gworza, Potiskum, Maiduguri, on transfer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the time, my father was the paymaster for that locality, a position he held for more than 10 years. Due to his honesty, dedication, hardwork and trustworthiness, he remained a paymaster even as a Superintendent of Police.
Our mothers narrate to us when it was pay time, my father could stay late at work sometimes till 1 am until the last man on the queue received his salary. When asked why he took so much trouble, his response always was that personnel were bound to be paid that day and should be paid. Time constraint or not, if he could make that sacrifice, then why shouldn’t he? This he always backed up with the Islamic teaching which recommends that workers be paid their dues before their sweats dry off. He rendered immense assistance to numerous people but never let anyone knew about it; not until his demise did many recounted how he had impacted positively on their lives, financially and otherwise.
Once I was having a chat with mum and she said to me, “With your father, no one could backbite nor slander another”. She said if you go tell him something about anyone, he would rather call on both of you and ask the complainer to recount what he/she had said to him earlier, in the presence of the other. And if any attempt is made to slant the story, he would interrupt and ask you to correct yourself. That way, he discouraged in totality, such habits in the family which made for a solid foundation in our family till date, even though the main pillar had been absent for a little more than twenty five years now.
Colleagues, friends, and associates often accuse me that in as much as I was hardworking, dedicated and smart; I was too frank, straightforward and open-minded to a fault. In response to them, I just smile and say to those who appreciate and care to listen that those are special qualities I’m lucky to have inherited from my father. He was highly principled yet empathetic; a disciplinarian and very accommodating.
He stopped at nothing in ensuring that we had qualitative education. I remember clearly he always said to us that the only legacy he would bequeath to us is education which will be a guide to lead a righteous but fulfilled life. He always admonished us to be moderate in everything we do in life, to always be within the confines of Islam and morals; quick to reminds us of the inevitability of death however long anyone may live on earth.
Alhamdullah! Today, the baby of the house which life never gave father the opportunity to meet one-on-one as she was only five-days-old when he died in an accident coming home for her naming ceremony, has long completed learning how to recite the glorious Qur’an and is now a graduate of Chemistry. Indeed, “Which of the favors of ALLAH (SWT) can we deny?” (Qur’an). May ALLAH (SWT) honor him in death as he had honored all around him during his brief sojourn on earth (AMIN). Miss you so very much dad.
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