Life, legacies of Major Nura Hamza

Major Hamza, who had provided free medical services and free education to vulnerable members of the community, died alongside the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru and 10 other military officers when their plane crashed near the Kaduna International Airport on May 21, 2021.

Daily Trust Saturday gathered that through Hamza’s philanthropic activities, he impacted positively on the lives of widows, orphans and other members of the community.

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Our correspondent reports that he established the Kawo Islamic Hospital and the Kawo Islamic Foundation because of his desire to help the less privileged.

Though a Major in the Nigerian Army, he solely established the hospital which has three branches and a foundation. The hospital presently has over 100 staff while the foundation is taking care of the education of 300 orphans.

“He distributed food items to staff and other members of the community during the last Ramadan and Sallah celebration; little did we know he was bidding us farewell,” the Administrative Officer of one of the hospitals, Aisha Abdullahi, said.

The Kawo Branch Manager of one of the hospitals, Abdullahi Musa, said Major Nura will be greatly missed.

“The late Nura was the founder and Chairman of the hospital which started from a small branch in old Kawo to two other branches in Rafin Guza and New Kawo. He has been a father to many and his loss is irreplaceable,” he said.

He noted that the three branches of the hospital provide all services a primary healthcare centre can provide, saying “When the case is beyond us, we refer the patient to a bigger hospital.”

“The old hospital has a 20-bed space capacity while the new one has 200-bed space capacity and was solely funded by the late major. Some patients are given subsidy while others are treated free of charge, especially orphans who are unable to pay the bills,” he said.

While describing the deceased as a person who Allah has blessed with a philanthropic spirit, he said the late major showed empathy, liked having people around him, did not discriminate and tried to help people out of their predicament to the best of his ability.

When asked what plans they have on the continuation of the hospital, he said, “He kept reminding us that this initiative was for charity and he would want it to continue even after he is gone. So, even though we are pained by his death, we are hopeful that we will continue on the good foundation that he has laid.”

He called on well-meaning Nigerians, corporate and Non-Governmental Organisations to make helping the less privilege a priority in order to take vulnerable families out of poverty.

A childhood friend of the late Major who is also a board member of the foundation, Usman Umar, said before the hospital was established, they were engaged in voluntary works like paying hospital bills and sending orphans to school free of charge.

According to him, “We then suggested to him to open a hospital and he bought the idea. Later, he established the foundation.”

Usman who has known Nura since they were at L.E.A Kawo some 42 years ago, explained that coming from a vulnerable background, struggling through school and growing up without the love of his parents; Nura was motivated to establish the hospital and foundation so that other children do not go through what he went through.

He assured that the Board of Trustees is making efforts to see how the foundation and the hospital will continue to survive saying, “Even though the foundation does not have a physical structure existing presently, there are about 300 selected orphans whom we are catering for their school fees in different schools scattered around Kawo.”

While noting that the biggest challenge is the survival of the legacies the deceased has left behind, he noted that the board is considering opening an official account for the foundation which will be used to steer its affairs.

An attendant who has been with the hospital since it was established in 2015, Jummai Adamu, was too emotional to speak with our correspondent. The 60-year-old woman is said to have benefited from many charity initiatives by the late major.

Sa’adatu Yunus, an antenatal staff who has been working in the hospital for five years, described the deceased as a kind and generous man who listens and attends to people’s problems.

“I was so shocked to hear about his death and I did not want to believe it because I have never met anybody like him. He is the type of person that will go to any length to solve your problem to the best of his ability even us, staff.

“During the Sallah celebration, he distributed food items for us and just recently, he changed the uniforms of staff in the three branches of the hospital free. I keep wondering who will continue with the good work that he started,” she said.

Our correspondent also visited the family home in Unguwan Dosa area of the state, but his wives Zainab and Maryam were too shaken to speak. He left behind eight children; the oldest is 18 years old while the youngest is less than 40 days old.