Justice Shehu Atiku: A friend’s tribute

I first met and became friends with Justice Shehu Atiku, former Chief Judge of Kano State, who died on September 27, 2020, during our childhood years in the late 1950s.

Our family houses were one street apart at Unguwar Gara, close to Kwalli Police Station, later officially renamed Unguwar Gini after a house numbering exercise in the early 1960s.

• Tribute to my beloved grandfather, A.A. Haruna
• My ‘TorMentor @ 60: A Tribute to Professor Ernest Ojukwu SAN

I was on Malam Maude Street (now known as Bala Kwakwa Street), while Shehu lived behind School for Arabic Studies (SAS) in the house of a compassionate NPC politician, Malam Atiku, who was the chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in the First Republic.

In December 1959, children in the area, including Shehu and I, were enrolled to start Kwalli Primary School as pioneer pupils in January 1960.

The school was part of the educational revolution taking place then, and spearheaded by Alhaji Ahmad Rufa’i Daura, the Education Councillor – equivalent to Commissioner of Education today – for Kano Native Authority (NA).

The NA was designated as provincial government during colonial rule.

Thus, there were 13 provinces and NAs in the northern region at the time.

To address the urgent need for formal schools due to increased population, Kano NA in conjunction with the regional government set up at least 25 new primary schools in 1960 in the metropolitan area alone.

Kwalli Primary School was one of them.

Right from day one, Shehu was a very serious pupil.

He was the brightest in the class.

By the end of the year, he took the first position in the exams and maintained that position up to 1966 when we finished Class 7.

He proceeded to School of Arabic Studies in 1967 for his Grade Two teachers’ certificate.

One incident I wish to recall at this juncture is that unlike most pupils during exams, Shehu never cared to cover his answer sheet.

And so, when we went to write the Common Entrance Examinations at Dandago Primary School in 1966, he sat close to a pupil who usually came last or second to the last in exams.

That pupil copied all the objective exam answers from Shehu’s paper.

Surprise, surprise! The boy did not only pass the exams but was considered good enough for admission into Birnin Kudu Secondary School, then one of the two premier secondary schools in Kano Province.

Today, that boy is a PhD holder and has been living in America for over 40 years.

That incident is indicative of Shehu’s carefree attitude to life even as a teenager.

In that way, Allah (SWT) used him as a means of helping that boy to fulfill his destiny in life.

Shehu Atiku was more than a classmate to me; he was my tablemate.

Before we got to Class 5, four to five pupils were arranged on benches under long tables with three inkpot holes.

In 1964, two-seater tables and chairs were brought to the school and Shehu became my partner on the table until we finished school in 1966.

That partnership resulted in an intimate relationship between us.

I was always calling on him at home.

The regular visit made me notice something that changed life.

I got inspired by what I saw. He and one Yusuf who was older, said to be an Igbo boy adopted and brought to Kano by Malam Atiku, were always studying whenever I visited – whether it was during the day or night.

I suppose Shehu himself was inspired by Yusuf.

In fact, on many occasions, I saw Yusuf using lantern to study when there was no light in the house.

Malam Atiku’s residence was the only one with electricity supply in the area at the time.

I then realized that this was why Shehu came first in our class and got the impetus to emulate both of them.

Indeed, that was the turning point in my educational pursuit.

Shehu had a wonderful sense of humour.

He laughed a lot and made the class laugh with jokes.

He was particularly noted for making jest and giving nicknames to classmates.

A particular case was a nickname he gave Muhammad Yusuf, also known as Muhammadu DanYarabawa. Shehu changed that to “Muhammadu Dan’Yarbanye”! That stuck until we passed out.

In 1972, he did his pre-degree course at Bayero University Kano and got admission to read law at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria from 1973 to 1976.

He was course mates with Justice Abdu Aboki, the newly appointed Justice of the Supreme Court.

After attending Law School in Lagos, Shehu did his NYSC (1977/78) in Gongola State, later renamed Adamawa after the creation of Taraba State from it.

He took up an appointment with the state ministry of justice in June 1978.  In 1979, he went for a legal draftsman course in Kenya, after which he served as the first legal draftsman for the Kano State House Assembly from 1980-83.

In 1984, he returned to the ministry as a legal draftsman and was promoted to Director in 1986.

Shehu became Solicitor-General in 1988, and by 1990, he was sworn-in as a High Court judge.

He was also sworn-in as Chief Judge of Kano State in 2008, served in that capacity for about eight years and retired in 2015.

During his service years, he was appointed chairman of Kano State Judicial Service Commission and member of the State Shura Council.

He was also a member of the following national bodies: National Judicial Institute, National Judicial Council and the Body of Benchers of the Supreme Court.

He also headed a Failed Banks Tribunal during the Abacha era.

The late Chief Judge was humble, approachable, kind and considerate, he was a man imbued with immense patience.

He hardly lost his temper. Despite his social standing, he never forsook a friend and always helped those in need.

As chairman of the bank’s tribunal, he was adjudged as incorruptible as he refused to compromise his principles.

Years back, he suffered from a stroke and his speech was impaired.

But through sheer determination to perform his duty as a judge as best he could, he learned to write with his left hand.

He was able to manage the situation until he retired five years ago.

Born on January 10, 1950, the late Chief Judge was aged 70 years and eight months.

He was survived by a wife and eight children, four males and four females.

May Allah grant him eternal rest in Aljannat Firdaus, amin.

Ado is former Editor-in-Chief, Triumph Newspapers, Kano ([email protected])