NOUR S. HANGA ([email protected]) (Chairman Organising Committee MSS IVC Kano 2019 where Dr Habeeb was Chairman Medical): “He was a good man. Although I worked closely with him only once, I admired his resourcefulness. Once in the middle of a meeting he wanted to excuse himself, as other members sometimes did, but I would not allow him. I said to him: ‘You cannot leave because your contribution is always valued.’ And he replied: ‘Chairman, if you say my contribution is always valued, I will stay.’ His words for saying goodbye to me, at the committee’s concluding meeting, were: ‘Now we know who Nour Hanga is.’ Those words have acquired a different rhythm in my ears now that he is gone.”
HALIMA SALISU KABARA ([email protected]) (was Matron in-charge ICU, AKTH): “Where do I start to make you understand what this Bawan Allah meant to me? When I had a heart attack in 2007, he took care of me till my discharge from ICU. On my return from treatment in Saudia, I introduced ‘Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers Course’ to the hospital. He was among the few doctors who were trained and accepted the responsibility of disseminating the skills with enthusiasm. He later became the best Trainer, and Coordinator of the Training Center, until his demise. The last time I was ill, he was so disturbed and concerned that he was close to tears seeing me ill! He called me ‘Anti’ instead of Matron; he was like a son, a brother to me.”
HASSAN BABA ([email protected]): “He was always keen to help without publicity. Very humble and sociable. Before you would say Salam to him, he would beat you to it. What a great loss!”
NEFISAT UMEKA ABUGU ([email protected]) (Ameerah MSS UNN Nsukka who was at Kano IVC 2019 with late Dr. Habeeb): “On behalf of MSSN UNN Chapter, I convey our condolences to the family of Dr. Habeeb and the entire people of Kano State for the loss of a brother and uncle. During the Kano IVC, he was dedicated, hardworking and easy going.”
NURA ABBAS ([email protected]) (Health Services Section, Islamic Dev. Bank, Jeddah, KSA): “He was an exemplary icon of selfless community service. I’m grateful to have worked with Dr. Habeeb and AKTH Anesthesia/ICU family in lifesaving CPR programme. He was a person who forgets himself to serve the community. Being part of various committees serving as a member or chairman provided him with no time for the luxuries of this world. He was spiritually active, morally simple, educationally sound and socially sympathetic. His life, though short, was full of legacies.”
HASSAN LAFIAGI ([email protected]): “He was my mentor, brother, friend. He never tired of assisting the needy. Sometimes I would wake him at 2am to see indigent patients at A&E, and he never turned down such requests. After an hour or so, he would call back and say: ‘Mallam Shaba, I have seen them.’ He used his personal money to repair IMAN AKTH bus and fuelled it sometimes. He gave me money to buy carpets for the new A&E AKTH Sister’s Masjid. Ya Allah, he has done so many things!”
JAMILA TUKUR ABUBAKAR ([email protected]): “He was always keen to invite colleagues to educational events. (See screenshots of our conversation of Dec 13, 2019): HABEEB – ‘I hope you are coming to the IMAN-organised Addiction Prevention Programme at Orthopedic Hospital 9am tomorrow.’ I HAD REPLIED – ‘Thank you very much, but sadly I have morning duty tomorrow. Next time in sha Allah.’ What a good man!”
SALISU MUHAMMAD ([email protected]): “Your Memory will forever remain in my heart. Habeeb was for all. A real Bawan Allah mai tausayi, mai taimako. Two days to his death, our last meeting, he had said to me: ‘Mallam Jella na gode, na gode.’ He was always grateful for even the littlest things.”
SAEED UMAR AHMAD ([email protected]) (IMAN Secretary Orthopaedic Hospital): “He and I were as ‘birds of a feather flock together’. I first met him as IMAN Coordinator in 2017; then in Kebbi in 2018; then in Katsina in 2019. Whenever we met, we always asked each other similar questions. He was at our hospital for a programme barely a month before his demise. He was to me and others an example of a great man.”
HAUWA ABDULLAHI MUHAMMAD ([email protected]) (Haematology, AKTH): “I will never forget what he taught me in his lecture on ‘CONTENTMENT’. I learnt a lot from him; and it has kept me going.”
HAFSAT SHEHU ([email protected]): “He was a very jovial person, full of humility. One statement of his that stuck to my mind was: ‘Let’s use ordinary water for alwala and prayer because using ‘Roba’ water (SWAN etc) for ablution is extravagance (almubazzaranci), unless absolutely necessary.’”
ABBATI DANKANTI GUMEL ([email protected]): “His death reminds us that however loved, death is inevitable. For those who accumulate wealth, they should remember nobody is buried with it, legally or illegally acquired. Therefore, the only solution to meet Allah peacefully is to copy and paste what good people like Dr. Habeeb did before their demise.”
ADO G. ABUBAKAR ([email protected]) (Medical Lab Scientist): Farewell to a beloved, humble and God-fearing brother. A great loss to Kano masses, the rich, the elites and Nigeria. A humble and workaholic anaesthesiologist of high repute. As his name implied, ‘Habeeb’ (Beloved) was loved by all. Allah knows best why he had to leave us so early. He was a needle in the haystack, a cheerful brother, a symbol of inter-professional unity. His simplicity and humility are written in gold, and shall forever remain a reference for all health professionals.”
YAKUBU MOHAMMED ([email protected]): “May his soul rest blissfully in Jannatul Firdaus. Dear Columnist: An elegy in memory of the other doctor, Ummu Kulthum, would not be out of place.”
FROM THE COLUMNIST: “Salam Yakubu. Thank you very much. Do you happen to know late Dr. Umm Kulthum’s relatives? Kindly help get us in contact with them. Mun gode.”
