‘Saude bade us farewell’

Earlier, the sad news of Saude’s death  has reached me on the fateful day (Wednesday  August 30, 2011) through her younger brother, Abubakar telling me that Zaria (as we fondly called her) was involved in a ghastly accident on the Kaduna/Abuja way and she died at a hospital in Kaduna.

She was on her way to Abuja to meet customers’ demand of supplies of women jewelleries and other women wears she was dealing in but that would never happened as she did not make it because she met her death on the way.

Her end was heard of via her mobile phone which until her death was stuck in her hand bag which was used to traced the last people she called with it.

The last call she made was believed to be to her elder sister, Hajiya Binta; though there was no evidence that the call went through, because Hajiya Binta said she did not communicate with the late Saude  around that period.

Probably, she had called which did not go through or that she snapped it before connecting. However, details of her calls as was recorded in the phone showed that she made the call.

Her friend was, however, the last person to speak with the late Saudatu as the friend mentioned that immediately they left Kaduna, Saude called telling her that they had now left Kaduna and were exactly at a certain village the friend said she could not recall.

It was immediately after this call that Saudatu attempted to call Hajiya Binta but failed and it is certain that it was around that time that the accident occurred, because people who arrived the scene of the accident said it was just after that village that the accident occurred.

Hajiya Saude, along with two other passengers travelling in the car, died. The driver was reported to have died on the spot while she and the other passenger died after reaching a  hospital in Kaduna.

Meanwhile, weeks before her death, Hajiya Saudatu was reported variously to have been acting strangely as if she knew her days on earth were numbered. For instance, at the beginning of Ramadan, she came to my house one day to visit us. When she came, she told my wife that she decided to pay us a visit because it had been long she visited us.

She was even consoling my wife for the long period she did not  visit her.   Saude even inquired about our kids’ whereabout, because she wanted to see them. My wife told her that they were playing with other children in the neighbourhood.

She insisted that they must be called because she came on a farewell visit to her children as she will soon travel. My wife did not object as she ordered for the kids to come back home. When they entered and saw her, they all jumped and hugged her in jubilation.

Hajiya Saudatu was sobbing out of joy according to my wife as she was saying that her children were still loving her after that long period. She prayed for them and my family too and began to lecture my wife on the pertinence to live with her husband and everybody in harmony. Peace, according to her, is key to good life here and in the hereafter. I was not at home when she visited us, but my wife told me that when she was going, she kept reiterating to her that she must pass her good tidings to me and that she should also tell me that I should always remember her in my prayers.

These were the words she had been spreading to almost all the people she was opportuned to meet during the last days of her life. Unknown to us, our sister was indeed bidding us farewell to the great beyond, because we are used to all these from her all the years God joined us in this world together.

Hajiya Saudatu has been exceptionally good in relating with people honestly and whole heartedly irrespective of who the person was to her. She made no enemies in her life as she used to forgive when offended even before she is asked to.

For generosity, Saudatu remained a leader till her death as nothing materialistic is beyond giving out as she used to say ‘when I came to this world, I did not come with them and I am not taking them with me to the great beyond. The great God that give me knows best if I should or I should not get’.

Fortunate enough she left behind ten lovely children and all of them copy these good features of their mother. Patience, hard work, humility, respect, kindness, generosity, friendliness, brilliance and above all faith in Almighty God.

All these features are truly replicated in these children and I am sure whoever deals with her grown up children can easily attest to this and the young among them are growing to in the same manner with their seniors.

As her corpse was being prepared for burial, her mother came closer to her and said, “Saudatu, I am your mother and you are my child, if you ever offended me as your mother, God should be my witness I have forgiven you.” When I personally went to condole her father, these were the words he kept repeating and I was answering him amen, amen until tears started rolling down from his cheeks.

No wonder unprecedented number of people came to condole the family for a great person is lost. Some of them I know did not know her personally but they were there because they enjoyed a relationship with either a member of her family or someone close to her or her family.

We will forever remain prayerful to God to grant her eternal mercy until we meet her, for we are sure the good God that created Hajiya Saudatu is a merciful God who loves his creatures more than the way a mother love her children. Adieu, Hajiya Saude Bello, till we meet again.

Nasir writes from Kano.