Managing the lockdown in Abuja

Until the speech of the President on Sunday night, I never believed that Abuja or any other city was going to be locked down as it has happened in many parts of the world. I was so carried away in that bubble that when some prankster passed a message to my WhatsApp portal that Sunday afternoon that the FCT Minister would not countenance closing down the city, I didn’t do a due diligence before innocently sharing this fake news. A few hours later, the President spoke and closed down the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States as from Tuesday night.

The next day bedlam was let loose on Abuja. There were frenetic activities all around as markets, supermarkets and banks were swamped by residents preparing to stock up on money, foods and other essential items. I didn’t know the extent of the turmoil until when I sent my son to refill a gas cylinder. On arrival at the vendor’ shop in Wuse Zone 4, my son promptly sent me a WhatsApp picture of cylinders in a queue of several metres that would take some hours to dispense. The reality was further forced on me when I went round some super markets in Wuse 2, hoping to pick up a few necessities only to be confronted with long queues.

It was on that beat I ran into a colleague standing at the tail end of one of the snaking queues in one of the supermarkets. I struck up a conversation with him bemoaning our present predicament. He appeared nonplussed. He reminded me that this was déjà vu – just like old times, recalling those dark days of 1984/85. Those of us who lived through those times would recall hard-up citizens queueing for essential commodities. But as I reasoned with him that that mess was inflicted on us by an unyielding military regime forcing an outmoded price control regimen on us. However, this one is as a result of the realisation that the nation is a part and parcel of the universe that is in danger of being wiped out by the invidious coronavirus. Clearly now, we are all in step with the government to do all the needful to save us from the vicissitude of this abominable virus.

The next day, Tuesday, the lockdown finally unfurled and surprisingly it was effective. I live in the area of Abuja that never seemed to sleep. Our street rolls down to Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent and is hemmed by both IBB and Shehu Shagari highways. The screeching of vehicle tyres was always a constant irritant. But as the zero hour approached in the night, silence gradually fell all around us. The silence increased with the sign of dawn until at daylight it became total. From thence on, there was hardly a vehicle moving till probably in the afternoon when people realised that they could walk to the shops for necessities. Then there was a buzz here and there but hardly anyone in sight. I walked out in the evening to pick out a few things from the stores in my vicinity that were allowed to open and I was surprised to find them bare of customers.

It was like that for the rest of the week. There was a citizens’ compliance with hardly the need for the law enforcement agents to bring out the whip. There were stories passed around in the social media of uncooperative clerics who insisted on holding services but I am glad they were quickly and firmly dealt with, even-handedly.

Dr Sa’ad Usman 1949-2020

Dr Saad Usman, lecturer, banker, Secretary to Kaduna State Government, and Emir of Jere died last week. These eulogies were written by his friend, Dr Shamsudeen Usman (former Minister of Finance), and his senior, Ishaya Dare Akau (former Chairman SURE-P), who both first met him in Government College, Keffi (GCK).

Inna lillAh wa Inna ilaihi rajiun! A Tribute to my Dear Friend, Dr. Sa’ad Usman.

First, we shared the same surname and initials, though not related and we came from different States. We were classmates from 1963-67 in Keffi Govt College and then in King’s College (KC), Lagos, 1968-69. In KC, he and I were doing exactly the same courses.

It was because of Dr. Sa’ad that I studied economics. I didn’t know what economics was! But throughout our last year in KC, he kept saying that he would study economics. Those were the days before the establishment of JAMB, when students were free to apply to any and all universities. So we both agreed to apply to University of Ibadan (UI) and ABU for economics.

When our A level results came out, I was admitted to both UI and ABU to study economics. In Dr. Sa’ad’s case, ABU gave him economics but UI gave him French. I had paid my admission deposit to go to UI when, 2 weeks to reporting, I got his letter saying that he wasn’t going to UI, but ABU (because of economics, of course!). So I rushed to ABU to meet the deadline for accepting my admission and pay the deposit!

In ABU, we were not only course mates, studying the same subjects, we were roommates in Danfodio Hall, as well, in the last 2 years of our course. I recall how people wondered if we were brothers, when they came to our dormitory door and saw the names of the occupants as: S. Usman and S. Usman.

We were also contemporaries in the UK during our Masters and Ph. D programmes; he studying in Glasgow and I in London.

In our working lives, we also crisscrossed each other as lecturers in ABU, working for our different state governments and in the banking industry.

Our families, naturally, are also very close.

Sa’ad, who had now become the Emir of Jere, met with a tragedy about 6 years ago. On his way to Abuja, he came upon an uprising in his domain.

Given his peace loving nature and as the Emir of that area, he stopped in an effort to calm the situation. Unfortunately, some of the disputants turned on him and attacked him and his security people. The attackers, in fact, left Sa’ad there thinking that he was dead!

After a year plus of treatment in Nigeria and the UK (and a great tribute in arranging and funding the treatment to Sa’ad’s nephew, Sani Sidi), Sa’ad recovered physically, but never fully regained his mental alertness, as the injuries he sustained were to the head and brain.

I visited him twice in the UK and several times in Kaduna, but he never ever fully recognised who I was.

I remember being up in tears, the first time I saw his condition in a London hospital.

I woke up this morning to the shocking news of his death!

It’s really a tragic loss to the family and all of us that knew Sa’ad. The testimonies from other friends and classmates all refer to him as friendly, affable and ever smiling.

May Allah bless his soul, and give succour and the patience to bear the loss to his family.”   Dr Shamsudeen Usman.

“Dr Saad came to GCK Kaduna House in 1963 when I was in Form 4. A very unassuming and respectful young man, he rose to play many important roles in the life of our nation, and especially our Kaduna State. He was humble to a fault. I remember one occasion we held in Sheraton Hotel in Abuja when I arrived after he was already seated and there wasn’t any extra seat for me. Saad even in his royal robes jumped up to give me a seat in deference to his senior. When I declined, he insisted he would stand until someone came to my rescue and offered their seat. That was in the true tradition of Keffi. May his soul rest in peace.”   Ishaya Akau.