Tribute to Yima Sen

Professor Yima Sen who died at the age 69 last week Tuesday is variously described as a political activist, writer, researcher, mobilizer, social crusader, humanist, a leading intellectual of leftist bent, with a gargantuan intellect, and incisive knowledge. I knew him as an embodiment of all of the above attributes. I came to know Yima Sen when he served in the State House as a Special Assistant and a part of the strong Political Think Tank put together in the second term by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

The group used to meet every Tuesday within the precincts of the Presidential Villa in the Vice-President’s wing. Composed mainly of his special advisers and assistants, the Think Tank was chaired by the well-known ABU Zaria Professor of Political Science, A D Yahaya, with members such as Prof Mike Kwanashie, Lawal Jafaru Isa, Dr Umar Ardo, Nath Yaduma, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim and Dr Ajuji Ahmed.

Tuesdays were deliberately chosen as meeting days, I guessed, to allow members deliberate on issues of the week and of the moment, so as to advice the vice-president as part of his preparations for the weekly Federal Executive Council meetings that usually held on Wednesdays. Myself as the director in the office and my staff were the secretariat of the meetings throughout. I recall that Yima Sen stood out by his wholesome contributions. He was always well prepared. He could be both pragmatic and academic but on the whole you knew he was honest and practical. Yima, having served in the State House during the President Shehu Shagari era, as a political aide, had plenty of experience and insight to share.

But in the 3rd Republic, it was a tough time serving in the office of the vice-president especially during the second term when issues of succession had come between President Obasanjo and his deputy leading to a divided house.  The State House became a hostile working environment for the political aides of the vice-president. They were deprived of the most basic working tools yet many of the political aides of the vice-president stood loyally by him till the end.

Yima Sen was one of those who never wavered and consequently was one of the eight special advisers/assistants of the vice-president that were fired by the President in that infamous night of the long knives of Thursday of June 22nd 2006. Of course most of those disengaged in the State House were transferred by the vice-president to various political offices outside the Villa on their previous salaries and allowances.

Yima Sen was an enigma of massive proportions. At a time when the minority ethnic groups have many issues and grievances against the majority groups in the North, Yima had been a softening element, taking a leadership position to harmonize rather than engender friction. Apparently, he was the kind of person that cannot be pigeon-holed. He was proud of his Tiv and Christian identity and could speak passionately for their rights whenever and wherever the occasion arose. He was also proud of being a Northerner and he died as Director-General of Northern Elders Forum (NEF) espousing overall northern interests at every opportunity.

An uncommon national bridge-builder he had lately even bridged the gap between other kindred group such as the Afenifere and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, attending and participating fully in their events, creating a common platform and reducing rancour.

It was only much later that I found out that Yima Sen came from a background of political agitation. His father, a parliamentarian in the 1st Republic, was of the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), the political party that gave an effective voice to the minorities in the North, then, that was dominated by the Northern People’s Congress (NPC). Yima was nurtured in that environment. He later attended University of Lagos and did the National Youth Service Corps in Enugu. Most of his post-graduate studies were in the USA where he was associated with the Black Panther Movement and such other groups agitating for minority rights.

Thus it is understandable the pain caused by the loss of Yima Sen. Those who have known and interacted with him over the years have been pouring their grief. Here is a sample:

Mohammed Hayatuddeen: ‘The premature and sudden death of our dear colleague and friend Yima Sen has come to me as deeply distressing and traumatic. A patriot, a frontline warrior in promoting Northern causes, Yima brought dazzling brilliance, relentless energy, clarity of thought, abundance of courage and independent judgement to his various endeavours and yet he did so with huge doses of humility and touch of class. Those of us who spent almost a year working with him on the NEF Think Tank cannot muster enough words to speak to the fine qualities of this remarkable human being whose great deeds as husband, father, university don, internationalist, and activist will long live after him. May the gentle soul of our dear Yima rest in perfect peace.’

Bello Maccido, Wakilin Sokoto: ‘He was a great gentleman a true patriot and a sincere Nigerian. Nigeria has lost a patriot. I feel pained.’

Dr Suleiman A. Ndanusa: Prof Yima Sen was a good man, a cerebral intellectual, a proud Northerner, courageous and a patriot. May his gentle soul rest in peace and may the fruit of his kind heart, his good deeds and our prayers coalesce into the calm tranquillity in heaven. Amen.