A tribute to a great friend: Umar Khayyam Bamalli

This time marks a year to his death. I think it would be nice to say what I knew of him. Most people that knew him would agree with me that he had a congenial personality.

Umar was born in Glasgow, on March 11, 1974. He started his primary education in Kaduna Capital School. After completion, he proceeded to Federal Government College, Kaduna and Adesoye College in Ilorin, finishing in 1992.

During that summer he left for Britain to start his A-levels at the University of Reading before moving to American Intercontinental University in Houston. He returned to Britain and enrolled for grad school in AIU London. In December 2002, he decided to settle down in Nigeria. He went for his national youth service assignment in Abuja. He came back to Kaduna, his state of origin, to live the last chapter of his life until he had his last breath. He died on August 26, 2009.

Umar lived in my heart as a near and dear brother. I found him to be very friendly, bright, sociable, kind, eloquent, brave, charismatic, confident, funny, and exceptionally humble. He had a great deal of wit, which invariably made him a funny guy. He was real and was good at what he did.

I knew Umar about three decades back. We were family friends, and that’s how our friendship and brotherhood blossomed. I remember as kids, we always exchangeed visits, along with my brother Hassan, Ahmed DH Abdu, Mohammed Baba’ye Inuwa just to name a few. We would play video games like Atari 520st, commodore64 and watch movies and cartoons. I can’t help but remember a cartoon he had named cartoon5 that was filled with different cartoons from the likes of bug’s bunny to Go-bots.

Our childhood days were so pleasant, filled with fond memories, especially when he was around. There was a time he wore a long kaftan with cowboy boots and we went to “Nibbles” which used to be a popular snack joint in Kaduna in the late eighties.

My favorite memories of Umar are many. I loved the laughter, and especially loved being in his presence when he was a “spoiler” to so many guys. He really did have an incredible talent. I remember back in 1988, I came to visit Umar’s brother Aminu with my dearly departed friend Mahmood Abubakar. We rode on our BMX bikes to their home. As we stepped into his house to relax for a while, suddenly our bikes were missing because Umar and a friend had ridden off with our bikes, roaming the streets.

Umar was pretty much just goofing off and trying to have harmless fun. The ride was not a pleasant one, because the tyres had problems due to lack of air. Umar and his friend were not happy about their ride. I hope our friend does not mind I mention him, he is today Major Mohammed “Baba’ye” Inuwa, an officer and a fine gentleman.

Most of the time, he was always in a good mood and very friendly. It was like he was your best friend. He was always full of energy, he was a great guy to hang around with. A friend of ours said, he never saw him weak or feeble. It was like the energy sort of radiated from him. He was also eager to help you whenever you had a problem.

Basically, he was a great person. His life force was dynamic.

At least, that was my experience with him. I miss him a great deal, but his memory that I have will always remain with me. I think of him a lot and remember him during the times we spent together, especially our childhood days. One minute you would remember an incident with him or something he did and you can’t help but burst out laughing, while the next minute you reminisce about another moment with him that would make you cry.

In the early hours of 26 August 2009, the day Umar passed away, I woke up feeling gloomy, thinking to myself what was bothering me, after a little while I was back to my cheerful mood, only to receive a call from a friend relating to me that Umar had died that morning due to a brief illness. It was surprising and I sunk deep into sober reflections.

His death tore a piece of me, left me in agony. I went to his home and found his brother Aminu, praying for him in the mosque of their home, as his corpse lay on the floor of the mosque. I was told Umar had fallen ill and died after a brief illness, he was 35.

I recalled the last time we met, about three weeks  before his death at a friend’s wedding, where I even teased him saying one by one our friends were getting married; seems we were the last one’s left. I told him, “Umar, you are the next in line”, meaning to get married, he just smiled back. I did not get much time to spend with him, because he left early.

During the wedding, he appeared calm, serene and happy.

I think that was the last social event he attended. Many of his friends were there, and it was sort of like a re-union and to say goodbye to many of us that attended the wedding. His burial was attended by a great number of friends and family relations. People came from Abuja and Kaduna to witness him being laid to rest in Zaria. I saw friends crying and others devastated as we had all lost someone very dear to our hearts.

I bid farewell to my beloved brother and unforgettable friend. It has been wonderful to share this space in time with him. As a friend and as a brother he has given me and many other friends, a wonderful and cherished friendship.

I ask anyone that reads this to remember Umar and others that have preceded us in death to make a special du’a (prayer).