BACKGROUND CHECK
BACKGROUND CHECK
Umaru Babura was born on August 17, 1917 in danbatta province, to Abdulazeez and Hauwa Abdulazeez Bafodiyo.
Umaru Babura was born in danbatta near kano. His original name is Umaru Abdulazeez, which was changed to Umaru Danbatta and finally Umaru Babura. In the days of British colonialism in Nigeria, locals were encouraged to name themselves after their villages or towns , as part of their divide and rule strategy. Umaru was therefore renamed Umaru Danbatta after the head quarters of the Dambazau clan at Danbatta. However, when Umaru went to primary school he realized that there was another boy bearing the same name as he , so he decided to change his name to Umaru Babura after Babura a town where his uncle and guardian Muhammadu Dikko was Dokaji of kano and the district head. Umaru was asked why he changed his name , he said that he did not want to share accolades with anyone by virtue of having the same name and surname.
Umaru’s father Abdulazeez Bafodiyo, was the grandson of Dabo Yunusa,who was the de-facto leader of the Dambazawa clan. Dabo yunusa married the daughter of Shehu of Borno(ya gana) who gave birth to the grandfather of Umaru also known as Umaru and Abdurrahman the grandfather of his first wife salamatu. His father, Abdulazeez, was the grandson of mallam Yunusa Dabon Dambazau who died in 1845. His mother, Hauwa, was the grand-daughter of Suleiman Dabo, the first Fulani emir of Kano, who held sway from 1807-1819. Both his parents belong to leading Fulani clans. His father passed on in 1919 when he was barely 2 years old while his mother died in 1923 when he was 6. Therefore Umaru was adopted by sarkin bai Abdulkadir who became a doting father figure to Umaru. After the death of sarkin bai Abdulkadir, Umaru was adopted by his uncle Dikko , who was district head of Babura and who became the 5th sarkin bai and in charge of Danbatta district. Dikko placed Umaru under the care of and supervision of his first wife Asmau ( umma). Life in the Dikko residence wasn’t a bed of roses as expected in most polygamous abode especially when one orphan. While fighting to attract and maintain the attention, Umaru had to also compete with other orphans and a lot of extended family members for care and affection. He had to sometimes sleep in a rumbu and he had to walk bare foot for a number of years , and sometimes would go to school hungry, but he was hardworking and obedient and above all , he never complained beacause he has enormous faith in Allah and belived that things would get better one day.
Umaru was well learned , both Islamicaly and western education.
EDUCATION AND FAMILY
The feeling of being exposed to western education elicited some excitement in Umaru which he kept under control and to himself.
He was approaching his seventh birthday in 1924 when he begun his elementary education at shahuchi primary school kano, he was very lucky because at that time a few northerners had any contact with western education in fact in the entire northern region with a population then of over 9 million, barely 500 people were receiving any form of formal western education. It so happend that the British colonial government had instructed all District heads to nominate the eldest child in their household to be enrolled in school. Fortunately for him his guardian Abdulkadir did not have a child at that time so he was nominated to fill the void in Abdulkadir’s household. He was privileged to be attending school under a scholarship. Even though he has to walk a long distance to school, as years went by he later enjoyed the privilege of joining his uncle’s carriage, or sometimes ride on a horse back to school.
Umaru soon proved to be a diligent and hardworking pupil; he fitted right into the western education-orientated school setting, and his academic skills soon began to show, as his grades continued to improve each passing year. He was very attentive in class and his teachers noticed that despite his quiet and reserved nature, he possessed a bright and sharp mind and his indelibly ingrained sense of discipline did not go unnoticed by his teachers and contemporaries.
His determination was remarkable, his self motivation despite his circumstances helped strengthen his character as he grew up to be an industrious adolescent.he had almost finished memorizing the entire Quran and was looking forward to graduating from primary school with top grades, with the hope of enlisting in one of the middle schools, he got admitted into the kano middle school in 1927 and graduated in 1932.
The years went by quickly and soon after Umaru passed out from middle school with remarkable results, within a couple of months, he secured admission into the elite Kastina higher college (Barewa College) in 1933.while at Kastina college Umaru made many friends one of whom was musa yar ‘adua, who later became Tafidan Kastina and minister in Lagos capital territory during the first republic. Musa was the father of late president if Nigeria; Umaru Musa Yar ‘adua, who died in 2010 while In office. Umaru Babura and Musa Yar ‘adua were life long friends and always kept in touch. They had one trait in common : they were both consummate farmers and both were kind hearted, simple and unassuming gentlemen. Umaru passed out of Kastina College in 1938 and soon gained admission into the school of agriculture, samaru now part of ABU Zaria. He graduated in early 1939, just before the start of Second World War. This also marked the beginning of his work career in the Ministry of Agriculture,northern Nigeria based in kano. Much later when his career was on solid footing in kano, he received a scholarship to attend a short course on local government administration in the UK, and a few years later he enrolled at ABU to undergo a course for Native administration Councillors.
Umaru Babura got married to his cousin salamatu yalwa shortly after middle school. Umaru and salamatu were close relatives. Her paternal grandfather Abdurrahman ( mallam goshi ) and Umaru’s grandfather Umaru were both children of ya gana the daughter of shehu of borno. Salamatu’s mother Asmau also known as umma, was the grand- daughter of the great Fulani jihadist Usman Bin Fodio. Umma’s father yusuf dan sokoto migrated from sokoto and settled on Danbatta. Umaru Babura and salamatu yalwa Dikko we’re therefore first cousins. Salamatu yalwa popularly known as the mother of the dambazawa dynasty, passed away on the 15th march ,2009 at the ripe age of ninety. Survived by nine children and over a hundred grandchildren. In 1946 sarkin bai Dikko passed away living 7 children who Umaru gave all his support . He adopted Mohammed Dikko , the son of his cousin mai sudan and many others.
Umaru was appointed Councillor of Agriculture and Natural Resources he later rose to the rank of Wakilin daji In 1963 and was appointed the first chairman of Danbatta local government when it was created in 1976. Dikko family remained intact and cared for even after his death. A clear instance was when Umaru nominated Kabiru the son of nafi his cousin, maisudan’s son Abdulazeez and one of his child, Muhammad the former chief of air staff, federal republic of Nigeria as the beneficiaries of the three educational scholarship slots given to him by the sardauna of sokoto to study in Egypt. The slots were given to sardauna by Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt in 1963. It was only when Kabiru’s slot was declined by his grandmother that he was replaced by Ali, umaru’s son.
Salamatu gave birth to a son in 1945 who was named Lukman by sarkin bai Dikko, lukaman died at an early age in 1946 at that same year salamatu gave birth to a baby girl who was named Hauwa after Umaru’s late mother. After a couple of years she was sent to live with salamatu’s elder sister who was childless at the time having lost her only son. In 1948 salamatu gave birth to a second child who was named Abdurrahman, in honour of sarkin bai Dikko’s father Abdurrahman (mallam goshi). A succession of children followed after the birth of Abdurrahman. They include Aisha Umaru Dikko (jimmai) ,Ali Umaru Dikko, Muhhammad Dikko umar (named after sarkin bai dikko ), yusuf umar, bello, Asmau and Nafi. These were the surviving childrenof the 1944 union between salamatu and Umaru.
In 1946 Umaru met and married magajiya (Fatima) who lived with salamatu in Barikin dole like sisters. Magajiyas first child Mairo was born in 1948, she was only forty three days younger than Abdurrahman. While salamatu looked after mairo as her own child magajiya looked after Abdurrahman as her own. Her second child named ahmadu died at an early age. Khadijah was next, then rakiya then Umaru was born a few months after Muhammad Dikko umar after Umaru’s appointment as wakilin waje In 1953, sadly magajiya died seventeen days after the birth of Umaru.
After the birth of Abdurrahman and mairo another marriage took place between Umaru and Khadijah (danda) who was survived by six children.
He was later appointed as sarkin fulanin ja’idanawa and councillor for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Being a member of the inner circle of the emirate and a member of the council, he was expected to marry from the royal family of kano . Soon a proposal was made by the emir for Umaru ti marry the daughter of Abdullahi Bayero salamatu Abdullahi bayero ( gwaggo Fulani) This proposal came after the death of his beloved wife magajiya on 8th February 1957. Umaru promptly accepted without hesitation as a mark of respect to the emir. They were blessed with 5 children. At the time the offer was made to Umaru he was in the process of proposing to Amina who consequently became his fourth wife and the union was blessed with six children.
Polygamy is a practice rooted in Islam and part of a cultural tradition for a well-to-do individual and traditional title holder in most parts of northern Nigeria. Keeping concubines is also permissible in Islam. So in addition to four wives Umaru also had a handful of concubines, the first being chima followed by nana, buga , hassana and binta ( ‘yargwisa).
Umaru who was an only child and who struggled through many hurdles was survived by 47 children and over a thousand grandchildren and hundreds of great-grandchildren. And also many of his relatives and extended family members lived in his residence. This was attested to by the fact that during the 1963 census, a total of 99 people were counted as residents of his household.
11 years into the 21st century, his children are all grown up. Some has reached the peak of their carriers while some are at their early stage. His first daughter Hauwa was the only child that was not formally educated. Umaru’s second and eldest male child Abdurrahman remains the patriarch of the family. he was a successful banker, while his second eldest daughter mairo was married to the emir of ringim Alhaji Sayyadi Mahmud,his third eldest daughter Aisha ( jimmai) was happily married to Umaru Ahmad out of all odds Umaru Babura as a core northerner in the ultra-traditionalist , conservative, islamic setting of early Nigeria, sent his female child to school 900 miles away in the southern part of the country. The fourth most senior daughter of Umaru Babura attended Queen Elizabeth Secondry School at Ilorin , she was married to Professor Dahiru Yahaya , she worked with kano civil service for 25 years and rose to the peak of her career as a permanent secretary, she became the National Co-ordinator of Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA).
Rakiya was married to a famous businessman In kano Jafaru Yunusa.
The second most senior son after Abdurrahman was professor Ali umar Dikko was the first human physiology doctor of letters and professor in the Hausa Fulani race and also the first to earn a Ph.D in the same field. The third most senior son of Umaru Babura was Air Marshal Muhammad Dikko Umar CFR, he was appointed as the 17th chief of air staff on 8th September 2010.while umar Abdulazeez his fourth eldest son who worked at the ministry of health in 1972 and went through the service stages, trained and worked hard to eventually become a zonal director. While yusuf Umaru Dikko was a successful engineer, he joined the kano ministry of works rising to the rank of senior technical officer. DR. Bello Umaru Dikko , a medical doctor and a holder of a Ph.D and M.B.B.S ., served as a chief consultant obstetrician and gynecologists. Umaru Babura ‘s biggest achievement outside his career is the success attained by members of his family, education was the one area that Umaru Babura took seriously, knowing the role that education had played in his career, life, and knowing that without education his life would have been remarkably different. Umaru Babura’s family was central to his life and the bonding, closeness and openness was obvious even to strangers.
HIS YEARS OF SERVICE
Umaru Babura was barely 23 when he joined the Northern Nigerian Civil Service In 1939. Umaru Babura then joined the Northern Ministry of Agriculture immediately after finishing his course in Agriculture at the institute is Agricultural studies ABU Zaria in 1939. He was appointed as Agricultural assistant II before gaining promotion to Agricultural superintendent , where he helped to formulate policies on agricultural matters which also include animal husbandry issues. His good work did not go unnoticed by the kano Native Authority and his career took a turn for the better when he was offered the prestigious position of wakilin waje in 1953 . Wakilin waje literally means Emirs representative in charge of no indigenes who reside outside kano city.
One of the traumatic periods of Umaru’s life was in 1953 kano riot which occurred in response to maltreatment of Northern representatives in Lagos when the issue of Nigerian independence was discussed. This happened when he was Wakilin waje. The 1953 Federal Parliament Crisis which occurred in Lagos jolted a lot of people and caused some apprehension and tension in many parts of the country and kano was no exception. Umaru moved quickly to calm the nerves so that the crisis in other parts did not filter into kano.
Sometimes later, while in the Uk on course of studies his family missed him so much especially Abdurrahman and mairo who had always been close to him. But in his absence, his Deputy Mr. Egbe helped to stabilize the family by playing some minor but soothing roles such as getting the children their regular ice cream. Umar returned from England and brought a lot of foreign gifts . He also brought back some cutlery and took pleasure in introducing his family to the rudiments of British culinary etiquette.
Upon his return from the UK, he was appointed Sarkin Fulanin Ja’idanawa and councilor in charge of agriculture and natural resources in kano emirate, this position was equivalent to a commissioner in present day Nigeria. Umaru became influential and powerful within the native Authorities in fact the native authority in itself was a very powerful body as it sometimes gives out loans to federal government to pay salaries. Umaru Babura was appointed as councillor in charge of agriculture and natural resources and in 1960 1st October Nigeria was granted independence. Before then Umaru Babura’s name had cropped up in many quarters as to what specific role he was to play, and it was getting clearer by the day that he should go for an elective post , specially offering himself as a candidate for membership into the Northern house of assembly and representing Danbatta constituency in 1956, he was elected after a hefty campaign. In fact he was actually adopted with very little opposition, he won the seat with a large margin despite the fact that Danbatta was a stronghold of the Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU), the opposition Northern party. He had the title of suffix MHA( Member Of the House of Assembly)
MINISTER IN THE NORTH
In 1961 Umaru Babura was appointed as the first Minister of Establishments and Training . As Minister of establishments and training Umaru also acted as the chairman of the Northern Nigeria scholarship board.at that time over 3000 students received scholarships.
After serving for a couple of years in the ministry of establishment and training he was deployed to serve as Minister of Social Welfare and Co-operatives In 1964 .
January 15th 1966 the first coup took place. Umaru Babura’s children and other relatives living in the Ministers quarters kaduna heard the sound of gunfire. After a meetin with the coup leader Nzeogu. Which the nothernization policy and that the ministers are free to leave to their respective hometowns.
He returned to his home after the January coup of 1966 and engaged himself in the local administration in Zaria then in 1981 he was appointed chairman police service commission subsequently appointed sarkin fadan zazzau.
Umaru Babura after a routine medical exam he found out that he had diabetes and enlarged heart.
By early 1980s Umaru’s condition became severe as both hypotension and diabetes had weakened his kidneys which were no functioning optimally. His family were extremely worried about his deteriorating health and also his subjects were also perturbed by their district’s heads health. His family members trooped to Zaria to have first hand information about his health. His medical condition had deteriorated so drastically that he was experiencing renal failure ( uremic thrust). He assembled his children by his hospital bed and gave them his last words. He finally closed his eyes for the last time. He passed away at exactly 10. 45 p.m on Saturday 17th March 1984 with some of his children by his bedside. He was taken to Abdurrahman’s house in Zaria for the Islamic ritual birth, the family escorted the body early the next morning to kano for burial in ungogo at the spot that he chose to be buried when he was a serving minister.
Today, his family is just as united as he had left them. Alhaji Umaru Babura left behind children ,grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the memory of this great man, this humanitarian, who contributed so immensely to mankind; who lived a good life and left a fantastic legacy; who lived a good life and left a fantastic legacy; who was a true model worthy of emulation; will always be with those who know him