In Saleh Hassan family, everyone’s a politician
Even in their closely knitted family and loyalty to one another, the Saleh Hassans still belong to different political parties but often come together to discuss politics and support one another’s ambitions.
During the active political years of the late Alhaji Saleh Hassan, his Gangare home in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State was reputed to be Nigeria’s political seat of power. Like a magnate, Saleh Hassan attracted the top echelon of Nigeria’s political circle that sought his counsel in their political journeys.
From the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello who was a friend of his late father, Hassan Tafinta, to the likes of General Yakubu Gowon, General Murtala Muhammed, General Sani Abacha, former presidents Shehu Shagari and Olusegun Obasanjo as well as incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, all had at one point in time visited the Saleh Hassan family home in Gangare.
Born in Gangare area of Jos city to the late Alhaji Hassan Tafinta, Saleh Hassan had his formal education at the Jos Province Primary School, opposite the old Gbong Gwom’s palace and later proceeded to Gombe and then the prestigious Barewa College in Zaria for his secondary school education. The late politician, contractor and business man proceeded to London for his higher education and later returned home to serve under the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir. Ahmadu Bello. He started his carrier as a junior secretary and rose to the rank of District Officer and was posted to Plateau State.
As one of the youngest political protégées of Sir Ahmadu Bello, Saleh
Hassan became an astute politician himself and served as the Plateau State chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the deputy director of the presidential campaign of Shehu Shagari in 1983 and later formed the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) after the coup of the Second Republic. He also served as a director in the campaign directorate of late Malam Adamu Chiroma’s presidential team in the Third Republic and was the founder of the defunct Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) during Gen. Sani Abacha’s administration. He was a presidential aspirant under the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) but at the later part of his life remained a father to all in politics by helping and counselling young, upcoming and experienced politicians irrespective of their political differences.
According to family accounts, the late Saleh Hassan had a normal upbringing but was well cultured and disciplined. As the sixth child of his father, he displayed love for education early enough and later ensured that all his children completed tertiary education. For many, he was regarded as an institution which was why his home became a Mecca of some sort to those seeking to hold or retain political offices.
“You’ll learn a lot from him, believe you me, staying with him, you didn’t need to go to school to learn whether politically, economically or socially,” said his eldest son, Hassan Saleh Hassan.
“He was like a psychologist,” he said, adding, “the moment you approach him, he would tell what you are coming with. He wasn’t perfect anyway, but at least, you would get 99% solution to your problem from him and if you had the opportunity of interacting with him, you would notice that Alhaji Saleh Hassan had no boundaries. Irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity or religion, he was open to everybody.”
Because he embraced everyone, Saleh Hassan fostered dozens of children, some of who later adopted his name. His children grew in a largely multi-ethnic and religious family so that it became difficult to distinguish between his biological children and those who simply found a home among his family members. His eldest son explained that his late father was also born into a large family and being the sixth of 24 children, he was the most blessed and generously shared his wealth with others.
He had four wives and 25 children but lost two and is survived by 56 grandchildren and a great grandchild. He was also widely known as the father of over 30 foster children, some he married off and still maintained close ties with his biological children. In the Saleh Hassan clan, everyone is a politician. The late political icon had exposed every member of the family to politics. At the age of 13, Hassan said his father introduced him and his siblings to former president Shehu Shagari and other political personalities.
“We went round all local government areas with him, even during the campaigns, sometimes when travelling, it would be suggested that we travel by air but he would insist that it was better to go by road so as to familiarise ourselves with the various communities and people on the journey,” he said.
Three of Saleh Hassan’s sons including the eldest are presently active politicians in Plateau State. Shehu Saleh Hassan represented Jos North/Bassa Federal constituency in the National Assembly between 2003 and 2007 while Hassan Saleh Hassan vied for the seat of deputy governor under the Labour Party (LP) in 2007. Hassan also aspired to the senate seat under the All Progressives Congress (APC) but
stepped down on personal grounds in 2015. Abdulrahman, another sibling, recently contested for the seat of Jos North-West in the Plateau State House of Assembly. The family matriarch and the late politician’s first wife, Hajiya Ajuji, is still an active mobilizer of women and youths.
Other members of the family continue to serve as supporting political actors while making their marks in individual businesses including advertising, car sales, event management and farming.
Even in their closely knitted family and loyalty to one another, the Saleh Hassans still belong to different political parties but often come together to discuss politics and support one another’s ambitions.
“There is liberty in the family because our father never aligned himself to one political party his entire life. Some are in APC while others are in PDP and that’s the beauty of it. Even in my house, there is that division, we belong to different political parties, we had a great man as a father and so he exposed us to all these things,” said Hassan.
Almost two years after his demise, the name Saleh Hassan still rings a bell in Nigeria’s political circles and opens doors for family members. Hassan said; “Sometimes you don’t even need introduction, just mention his name. This is especially for me because I am familiar with most of his friends. I was in Anambra State for a burial last year and when we visited a traditional ruler to greet him, a friend who introduced us to the chief addressed me as Hassan Saleh Hassan and the chief gestured to me to come forward and asked if it was the family of Saleh Hassan of Gangare. I replied, yes and he he said; “We were in
NPN with your father.”
For anyone who knew the late Saleh Hassan, he preached peace and togetherness which was why after his death in July 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari described him as a tireless campaigner for peace in Plateau State and the entire country.
His major legacy according to his family lies not in his political exploits but in his quest for peace, love for humanity and philanthropy. Though no major street or edifice has been named after him, Saleh Hassan left lessons of peace, love for family, compassion and generosity. His love, especially for the people of Jos in Plateau State and their loyalty to him have always been unquestionable.
Near the end of his life, he instructed his eldest son, Hassan, to ensure that his corpse was buried in Jos.
“He instructed that I take his body to the Jos Central Mosque and specifically stated that it was not ours but that his body belonged to the people of Jos. Unfortunately, he died in Abuja sometime around 6pm and some of his friends such as Babagana Kingibe, the National Security Adviser to the president and other highly placed personalities wanted him to be buried in Abuja but I told them that his body belonged to the people of Jos, it was what he wanted and so we brought him back,” said Hassan.