Abdullahi Bilya Rogo, two years after

And for many of us in the employment of the Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Trust newspaper titles including Aminiya (the Hausa vernacular paper), the year 2011 started on a bitter note. Just four days into the New Year (January 4, 2011) we lost our colleague and friend Abdullahi Bilya Rogo, who was full of life.

To me, personally, the death of Abdullahi Bilya, popularly referred to as Rogo, was painful in more ways than I can really pen down in this tribute. No doubt, there are many things that still stand out about his personality even in death and which need to be stated for posterity. This is because I, as a person, have had the privilege of working with, and learning a lot from, Rogo who was my colleague and friend for many years. He was also an adviser, who was always there for me to offer good advices. I will forever remain grateful for that and I pray the Almighty Allah will reward Rogo, accordingly.

I am also using this opportunity to thank the Almighty Allah for keeping me up to this day and for giving me another opportunity to write yet another tribute to Abdullahi.

Rogo passed on at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano as a result of injuries he sustained from an auto crash, which occurred in the heart of Kano metropolis. He was a man who had a visible enthusiasm for life and for people. He treated people with the best of respect even if they were strangers whom he had never met. He was a computer wizard who allowed his work to talk for him and was always one of the first to adapt to changes by trying out a new piece of technology.

My intention in this piece is to once again pray for the repose of his soul, hoping that some of my thoughts about him will equally prompt prayers from others who knew him. Indeed, as a testimony to the kind of person he was while alive, there were torrents of prayers on his Facebook wall minutes after the news of his death in a car crash broke.

In one of his postings on the late Rogo’s page, a former colleague Aliyu O. Musa recalled a memorable moment they shared when he wrote the following: “Mutumina Abdullahi, I just recalled our trip to Jos (after production) on an Eid eve late at night in 2003 and nearly crashed into rail crossings on three occasions. Lol. You were unfamiliar with the route, but I was too tired and fast asleep. We managed to make it just before midnight and rushed back to Abuja next day after Eid…! Allah Ya gafarta maka. Still can’t believe you’re gone, but we’ll meet on that glorious day at the gate of eternal bliss, insha Allah. Adieu dan uwa.”

At the time of his death, Abdullahi left his wife and daughter as well as many other relations behind. He clearly loved his family and always tried his best to make them happy and comfortable. While he was at the head office in Abuja, before he was redeployed to Kano regional office as a senior computer operator, Rogo used his spare time to generate more income (as the quintessential Kano man that he was).

Today, Rogo’s daughter Fatima (also known as Intisar) is already a pupil at an Islamic school. And the last time I spoke with her mother indicated that Intisar is very brilliant just like every parent will wish for their kid. I therefore pray that Fatima will grow into the brilliant and respectful child that you would want her to be, may the Almighty Allah also guard and guide her through life, and I also pray she grows to be the pride of her parents, her family and her creed as well as humanity in general.

I remember a Hadith by Abu Qatadah, rahimahullah, who reported that Allah’s Messenger, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “the best that a man can leave behind after his death are three things: a righteous child who offers du’a for him, an ongoing sadaqah whose rewards continue to reach him, and a knowledge that continues to be implemented after him.” [Ibn Majah, and others. Verified to be sahih by al-Mundhiri and al-Albani]. May Fatima be the righteous child that will constantly offers du’a for her late dad.

Rogo was a Senior Operator, Pre-press at the Kano regional office. Rogo had been working with the company for eight years.

Born in 1973, Malam Rogo attended Ruma Sabon Gari Primary School in Rogo, Kano and Government Teachers College, Gwale. He later obtained a diploma at the Federal College of Education, Kano. He was at the University of Abuja and Bayero University Kano for further studies and worked with Abacus Computers before joining Media Trust. May his soul continue to rest in peace. May Almighty Allah accord us the living a peaceful end, amin.

Mohammed is a staff of Media Trust Limited, Abuja.