SARDAUNA JAN 15 – WE SHALL NEVER FORGET

The line in our National Anthem “The Labour of Our Heroes Past Shall Never Be in Vain” apparently does not refer to “our’ heroes such as Sardauna, Tafawa Balewa, Maimalari and others who were callously murdered on January 15, 1966. The day has effectively been ‘buried’ inside ‘Armed Forces Remembrance Day’, noble though such a commemoration is. One would wish January 15 were called ‘National Heroes Remembrance Day’ so that our young ones will remember all Our Heroes Past alongside our fallen soldiers – and may Allah forgive them all and continue to console their bereaved.

On the occasion of the 54th year since those one-sided assassinations of our leaders, we today remember Ahmadu Bello Sardaunan Sakkwato, Premier of the Northern Region. The following are abridged reminiscences of late Grand Khadi of Northern Region Shaikh Abubakar Gumi (died 1992) from his biography “Where I Stand” as told to our senior colleague Prof Isma’ila Tsiga of Bayero University, Kano (at pages 112-118). Grateful to Suleiman Abdul-Azeez (spokesperson of Coalition of Northern Groups) for sharing:

Around 4am on Friday, the telephone rang. It was Alhaji Isa Kaita, Minister for Education in the Northern Region; he wanted to let me know there had been a coup and the Sardauna’s house had been attacked by soldiers. He had spoken with Major Hassan Katsina who explained that he was actually at a meeting with the rebels at that time. Alhaji Isa concluded with the request that I should go to the Sardauna’s house and assess the situation.

I got ready and said my dawn [Subh] prayer and went out. I found the residence of the premier completely destroyed. It had been shelled and burnt; strings of smoke were still rising into the air from some sections. There was destruction everywhere. A few soldiers stood idly with weapons in their hands. All was quiet. I walked into the house silently and found the body of Sardauna lying on the ground in the courtyard. He had been shot a number of times. His wife, Hafsah, was also killed with him.

I arranged for their bodies to be taken to the house of the Sultan in Kaduna which was a short distance away to prepare them for burial. Details of the incidence soon got round and gradually a little crowd of senior government officials and other sympathisers assembled. It was then announced that the Sardauna had requested that on the event of his death he should be taken to Wurno and buried beside the grave of Sultan Muhammad Bello, his great-grandfather. But I explained this could not be carried out as, in Islam, martyrs are always buried at the site of their death. I felt that was the highest honour we could accord the Sardauna – to bury a martyr where he fell.

With all the preparation completed, we set the body in position for the burial prayers. I stood in front to lead the prayers while the rest of the people formed neat rows behind me. There are no ceremonies to observe during burials in Islam. It was altogether a very solemn and touching occasion. For me, it was the end of an era which I could not possibly forget. I had been lucky to know the Sardauna and help influence a little of his life. Reflections of this day and many others came back to me as I stood over the fresh earth marking the grave after the funeral.

I was in the office late in the morning when a military van pulled up in the premises and soldiers came down and were shown into my office. They explained that they had been sent to invite me for a meeting with the leader of that morning’s coup, Nzeogwu. I was to go in their van, they said, although I could ask someone to follow in my own car so that he would bring me back after the meeting. I got up and went with them as they requested, while my driver drove behind us.

We arrived at the military barracks housing Nzeogwu’s soldiers which had by now turned into a beehive of activity. There were many soldiers on guard, weapons firmly in their hands. There were trucks parked in front of the offices; a few others came in and went out. Except for the noise of the vehicles and occasional exchange among soldiers, all was quiet and business-like. No one spoke to us as we parked and walked into the building. Eventually, I was brought before Nzeogwu and he received me with no ceremony.

First of all, he wanted to know where we had hidden the weapons which we were said to have imported into the country. The question really surprised me and so did the tone in which it was asked. I had not met Nzeogwu before, and had never dealt with him in any capacity whatsoever. I therefore felt I had to seek further information from him before I could answer him. He explained that he heard we had bought many weapons from the Middle East, which we planned to use to wage Jihad against non-Muslims in Nigeria. That was why he now wanted to know where we kept them, he said.

In my prompt response, I told him that as far as I was aware, no such plans had ever been considered by any Islamic group in this country. I spoke with authority because I was the closest adviser to the Sardauna on religious matters, and at no time did he visit the Islamic countries in the Middle East without me, since I became Grand Khadi. I had never known him to have discussed war in Nigeria, much less purchase weapons.

This prompted Nzeogwu to take me to task concerning my own appointment. He could not understand, he said, why there had to be a separate court for Muslims outside the country’s judicial system. After all, Muslims were also Nigerians, and must, therefore submit to the law of the land like everyone else. ‘As for Grand Khadi, of what use is he, since there is already the Chief Justice?’ he concluded.

‘Well,’ I answered, ‘In Islam, there are very specific laws in respect of all social matters which must be observed correctly. They include those concerning marriage, divorce, rights to offspring and inheritance. In this regard, only an Islamic court, with a judge versed in the science of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s traditions, could properly administer such justice. As for my position, it is only a natural complement to the Area Courts. The appeals that come to me cannot be handled by the Chief Justice because he has no knowledge of Islamic Law.’

Allahu Akbar! May Allah forgive them all.