Suleiman Mohammed: We will miss your smiling face

In-house, many of my colleagues wrote tributes to Suleiman, but I still find it necessary to pay tribute to the man who was ever willing to encourage me in my work. As fate would have it, when the management decided to start an in-house newsletter (Trust Bulletin), Suleiman was made the editor. Other members of the team included myself as Production Editor, Alhassan Yusuf, Safiya Soda  and Lubabatu I. Garba.
Yes, people die in ways that are very easy to accept or at least understand – through accidents, after sickness, old age, etc, but the manner in which Suleiman died was too complicated to comprehend. This is because many have seen him come to the office on that fateful Thursday and had no premonition of what lied in wait. Suleiman left the office to do some transactions at the bank, but he was never to return to the office. Suleiman reportedly slumped after opening his car door and was pronounced death minutes after at a nearby hospital
Nobody knows when his time will be up. This is known to Allah alone. Some babies die at birth, and some people live to be over 100, but nobody knows for certain. We have had instances where medical doctors will write people off only for same people to outlive the doctors! Like I said earlier, nobody knows when they will die or how they will die.  That is exactly what transpired between me and Mallam Suleiman a day before he died.
I also remember, on  May 27 when I bought a new bicycle and brought it to the office where I parked it between the Toyota Jeep of the Deputy Editor-in-Chief Malam Mahmud Jega and the late Managing Editor’s brand new   Mitsubishi. Unknown to me, he noticed the presence of my new bicycle. The next day when I arrived office and was trying to chain the bicycle, I didn’t realize that he was inside his car but I heard him open his car door and said “so you are the owner of this bicycle I saw yesterday?” And I said yes.
He showed interest in the bicycle and even asked me some questions like how many minutes it takes me to arrive at the office, the route I was following and so on. He also told me that he had wanted to buy a bicycle for his son but was afraid of reckless drivers in Nasarawa and Abuja. He advised me to be watchful of reckless drivers and always ride with caution.
A day before his death, at about 10 pm, we ran into each other on the staircase.  I was on my way down while he was on his way up. He asked me about my bicycle saying “Hussaini, how are you enjoying your new Jeep (my bicycle)?” I said “Sir, I am really enjoying the ride and thinking of joining a cyclists club in Abuja. I told him that I even have a torchlight which I use at night and narrated a recent encounter I had with the police. I was on my way home when they stopped me and asked whether I was doing a form of exercise at that time but I told them that I just closed from work and they all laughed. He also laughed and went straight to his office. That was my last encounter with him.
Indeed, one of the many things I will never forget about Malam Suleiman was his characteristic humility. He was always wearing a smile on his face. The late managing editor was a good listener and seems to have a solution to almost all the problems you can take to him. Also, anytime he was going down to the mosque to pray, he would call my attention.
I first met Malam Suleiman about 10 years back when I joined the Daily Trust Newspaper. He was sitting on his chair in the newsroom, busy receiving fax messages from across the states and editing some stories at the same time. In those days, very few people were using email. I worked with him at different stages, which made me to see him as an Editorial Scientist due to his efficient nature.
Jega in his tribute to Malam Suleiman on Monday explained narrated the kind of discussion they had ranging from his days in Lagos when he used to source for newsprint for Media Trust Ltd to other issues. I believe myself and Suleiman Sahabi, the current Senior Production Manager in Kano, know better as far as receiving newsprint was concerned.
What amused me most was how the late Suleiman kept monitoring on phone the goods from Lagos to Abuja, where we worked as a team.  Early in the morning after going to press, while we were yet to get our own press, he would call me to brief me about the movement of the goods, with some instructions about how to handle and upload the goods without damage, more especially at that period of time we did not have our own forklift.
Sometimes I would have to go and source for labourers on the street to help upload the newsprints from the trucks. One day, I reported to him that I was finding it difficult to pay the labourers due to bureaucracy and I was amazed at how he solved the problem. From that time, whenever the trucks are coming, he would call to tell me the number of newsprints to be expected and that enabled me to calculate their payment and process the payment ahead of their arrival. Very few knew about these extra works we put in addition to our primary assignments and Suleiman never tried to make a capital out of it as so many would.
I also remember three weeks ago, Malam Suleiman and I met at one of the new generation banks.  He had already finished his transaction, while I was about to enter the bank.  I joked with him “Haba Oga why didn’t you send me to the bank? He smiled and said, “No problem, I just wanted to walk, I didn’t even come with my car, I trekked from office.”
As my neighbour in the office, one day he called me to his office and brought out a new laptop computer which he asked me to help him with some software installations. He asked me if I knew anything about the laptop and I said I didn’t. He told me that it was the laptop given to him by the company as gift after putting in 10 years of service, but that he decided to keep the laptop for his daughter Sadiya. He told me that he planned to give it to her when she gets admission into the university.
Malam Suleiman’s simplicity was never in doubt. When the letter for my last promotion was released, he personally brought it to me. Initially, I thought it was a query from the management. But when I opened the letter I realized that it was a promotion letter and I went straight to his office to show him. He was very happy for me and even teased me saying “You must wash it.” Allahu Akbar.
Malam Suleiman, your death has made to take a more critical look at life. Indeed, every soul shall taste of death. We pray to Almighty Allah to guide us into making good use of our time, bearing in mind that one day, sooner or later, we will also die and return to our Creator.
May Allah spare you the torment of grave and the punishment of hell fire. May He overlook your shortcomings and reward your numerous good deeds and make your grave a portion of Paradise. Finally, may Almighty Allah guide those you left behind including the numerous orphans that were under your care.