When preparation to bring his body home reached top gear the whole state stood still, all shop owners both in the markets and outside in the city willingly closed, and both the indigenes and citizens of all hue and of all religious, ethnic and other divides aligned in the devastation of a great loss of a man that was a father to all manner of people who crossed his path and even those who felt the shower of his love, philanthropy and accessibility through the testimonies of others. The city of Maiduguri literally slumbered as it awaited the arrival of the body of a man that had won the hearts and minds of people in Nigeria and across the borders through the power of his kindness and total commitment to peace and progress.
The crowd was unprecedented, the unanimity in the loss was electrifying, the genuineness of love for him was equally edible, the tears from all eyes were touching and the fear for the future and what it would look like was unmistakable. By the standard of the power he exuded and the goodwill which were freely given to him, he would have been among the richest traditional rulers in the country. But because he had shown time and time again that he was not, in the least, in need of wealth and its trappings, everything that came his way he there and then dashed it out to the needy. While giving out, the face or faces of the beneficiaries or where they came from was of no consequence to him.
That was the indefatigable Alhaji Shehu (Dr) Mustapha Umar El-Kanemi, the 19th Shehu of Borno, Chairman of the Borno emirate Council, Chairman of the Borno state Council of Chiefs and Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt who died on Saturday 21st February 2009 and was interred the next day Sunday at a record attended janaeeza. He lived simple, behaved simple, related with all manner of people very simple and ruled with smiles, love, peace and carrot; there was no time that he ever used a stick, yet there was never a single time that he failed to prevail. He judged people only through the content of their character and demonstrated an ability to make an impression on people, was an attentive listener and untiring solver of the most trenchant problem. The fact that I am an indigene of Kebbi state who has related closely with the late Shehu since 1986, served as his unofficial Media Consultant, observed him closely all through these years and came to the conclusion that he was a rare gem who totally devoted himself to doing good was an indication of his large heatedness. He was the one single reason why I felt at home in Borno state and stayed this long because he made sure I lacked nothing and took me and my family into the inner recess of his household. He was a father to me and a grandfather to my children whom he took the trouble of knowing personally.
He was accessible to a fault. When I wrote a tribute on these pages soon after his demise, I described him as the most accessible traditional ruler in the country. I meant every word. Because of his openness, his palace became a sort of a Ministry of poverty alleviation as hungry, abused, harassed squalid and job seeking people made the palace a place to run to and quickly get solace. He ran a true peoples bank where the poor needed no collateral, political leaning or a god father to access not loans mind you, but handouts to feed and attend to other human needs. He effectively dealt with the twin problems of hunger for the hungry and lack of job or capital to start a business or lack of a godfather to pursue education or contracts. No one that came into his palace left without a smile as he does not discriminate on the basis of human frailties. He was a giver twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and the year round, showing no trait of anger, irritation or tiredness as long as he was well and awake.
The home of peace which Borno adorns got meanings only through the image of the late Shehu and in truth those who take pride in flaunting these peaceful credentials do so in the personification of the image of a traditional ruler who was always at hand to promote peace, good neighbourliness and tolerance, virtues which he spent all his life preaching and which everyone identified him with. His life was such quit and dignified that even with my closeness to him I could not convince him to grant an interview to any medium of communication. He preferred to do his thing quietly without attracting undue attention or limelight to it.
He made the quietness up with a restless search for peace and development as well as bringing succour to the countless number of people who thronged his palace daily for sustenance. His death marked the death of an institution that succeeded in reaching out to people and impacting positively in their lives. He has left a vacuum that is just not difficult but totally impossible to be filled. Those of us that felt his absence take solace in the fact that he lived a good and generous life that was in consonance with the commandment of his creator.
BK Ahmed wrote this piece from 114 Kashim Road, Maiduguri and can be reached at [email protected]
