LESSON FROM HABASHA Part 1.

BY

Umar Saleh Gwani

Recently on working visit to Abuja and Kaduna I had cause to stoutly defend the reason why I chose to
live and practice my ICT consulting business and training in Bauchi. The answer I always give with
confidence and without any shred of doubt, is Bauchi is a lovely place to live in. it is sedate and small, it
has ample opportunities in terms of resource management and academic empowerment. To quote the
popular Hausa preacher late Kalarawi of Kano, it is only in Bauchi that the Muslim Umma prays Juma’at
and wait in meditation for Asr so that they can pray and then continue with their business transactions.

It may not be far from the truth to say that Bauchi happened to blessed with the cool serenity of ancient
cities with a burden of history. Bending under the weight of responsibility, it is a city where things go at
their own pace, regardless of the turmoil and utter desperation you see in places like Abuja the Federal
capital, or the chaos and filth of Lagos slums, nor the utter disregard for law and order you find in most
Nigerian cities.

I also am a staunch believer of the fact that it is the kind of place I will like to raise my kids due to the
sense of communal value and discipline drilled into me by my late father. In those days children were
raised by the community as a whole. It was a social responsibility to live in harmony with all your
neighours and be concerned with what is happening to them.

This necessitated the central theme of my write-up, the lesson from Habasha. Events in recent times
have made me rethink about the idea of Bauchi continuing to be my model city. These events include
the current climate of hate which has always been a precursor to violence in all he flash points of
violence in this country. The pointers were all there but we collectively fail to see the writing on the wall,
we became guilty of complacency in a case where moral and ethical values our society was known to
posses, where being threatened by greed and massive corruption of civil servants and public officers
tearing the simple fabric that has kept Bauchi a very peaceful place in the country.

I can recall vividly the sense of belonging, my community gave me that even after several exposures to
many modern cities I still prefer my little heaven that has produced lots of heavy weights and has been
the centre of the intellectual caucus that gave birth to true northern politics, the real Arewa. The level of
religious harmony was remarkable and enviable to many cities, because of this development increased
rapidly. As with any case of growing profile, cracks started appearing long ago when our society stopped
laying foundations for a better future and started excavations for a perceived rainy day. Rather than
make better shelters and buy bigger umbrellas we ended up a society that has bought diggers and
shovels, busy mining and stock piling what is unlawful.
I intend in the course of this article write about the problems with Bauchi without fear or favour and
owe nobody any apology for what I am about to explain to the best of my ability, for apart being the
truth, is my opinion, an entitlement I have full intension of utilizing.