‘Dad didn’t bend rules for his children’

Balarabe Rabiu Bako is the fifth child of Alhaji Muhammadu Rabiu Bako, a veteran broadcaster who worked with the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) between 1962 and 1985. In this interview, the banker-turned-businessman shares his childhood memories and how his father taught them to get things right. 

Daily Trust: What type of relationship did you have with your dad?

Balarabe Rabiu Bako: We have a father/son relationship but we are business partners and have several businesses that we both invested in. At home, we maintain the father/son relationship but in the business field, we focus more on the business aspect of our relationship like what we have to contribute individually to make the business grow.

DT: Are there some notable traits you would say you inherited from your dad?

Balarabe: Yes, in terms of how he dresses. People tell me that my dad likes to be well dressed and when he was young like me, he goes for nothing less than the best. Also, he likes eating meat, which I can say, runs in our lineage because virtually every Bako likes eating meat.

DT: What is your dad’s habit you like emulating?

Balarabe: My dad is known for probity as well as trust, and he always stands for what he believes is right. No matter who you are, he will tell you the truth to your face not caring how you feel about it. 

DT: Was he a strict father or the lenient type?

Balarabe: He was a very strict dad. When we were little, if he learnt that any of his children absconded from either the Western or Islamic school, he would be furious and eventually punish the person. I remember when he was in Ibadan, whenever my older siblings learnt that he was on his way back, they will all behave well but as he advanced in age, he became lenient.

DT: How old is he now?

Balarabe: He is 74 officially, but he is way older than that because when he was born there was no standard documentation of birth record so we don’t know his actual age.

DT: Has your dad being a veteran journalist opened doors for you in life?

Balarabe: With regards to admission, I will say no because I got admission in a polytechnic. Then I was qualified to apply for business administration but I did not go at the right time and that made me switch to secretarial studies. At that time, Dr. Nura Yakubu was the rector. When we went to his place, he told us that we were late and the only available option was to apply for secretarial studies because there was no more vacancy for business administration. Dr. Nura told my dad if he was okay with it, he should take me there and because he is an upright person, he did not cajole Dr. Nura to bend the rules to accommodate me in business administration. You know we (Nigerians) have the mindset that when you study a good course, you will have a better life, good job and so on. And with the course I studied alhamdullilah I still made it in life.

Also when I got employed in a financial institution, there was nothing like his influence because employment in a bank is strictly on merit. I did not use his influence to secure a job, but later when I left the bank for business; I enjoyed several privileges for being his son. When I mention my name, most of the people I meet would ask if I am related to him and when I answer in the affirmative, opportunities come from different angles. It also helped me a lot while I was with the bank in Abuja because I generated a lot of deposits and rose to the rank of regional manager.

DT: Why did you not follow your dad’s footsteps by becoming a journalist?

Balarabe: Initially I started but everyone has his destiny. I started with the same organization he worked with (FRCN), but along the line something happened which made me deviate into banking.

DT: What is his favourite food?

Balarabe: He prefers typical Hausa food, which is Tuwo. If you give him tea in the morning, he will refuse but if you give him dumamen tuwo (warmed tuwo), he gets excited and wants to eat more.

DT: What has he been doing since retirement?

Balarabe: He is into farming. He has a farm which he employed people to cultivate for him though it belongs to his elder brother. The farm is in Buruku. Unfortunately, due to insecurity, he has stopped going there.

DT: If your dad was not a journalist, what other profession do you think he would be good at?

Balarabe: I don’t think he would have been anything other than a journalist because anytime I discuss with him, he would tell me he had aspired to be a journalist since he was a little kid. He said when he was in primary school, his desk had a small opening and he would insert a stick in it mimicking one of his favourite newscasters from Borno by reciting his book while claiming to be reading news.

DT: He ventured a little into politics after 35 years of journalism, what positions did he hold?

Balarabe: Immediately after he retired, he was elected as the Kaduna local government chairman. Then, the local government had not been divided into north and south. He contested on the platform of the defunct NRC, from there he joined the UNCP, DPP and presently he is in PDP. Though he is not too active in politics like when age was on his side but he is still active at the national level.

DT: When he was working as a journalist, was the family scared of his safety?

Balarabe: No, because there was no such thing as insecurity. Nigeria was peaceful then. When he was posted to Ibadan, he used to travel by road; leaving Ibadan at 5pm and arriving home by 3am in the morning. On transit, he will buy all sorts of fruits common to the southwest. We were never afraid of his safety.