Reminiscences with Mamman Abubakar Danmusa
Mamman Abubakar Danmusa was a deputy Senate president in the Second Republic. During his tenure as speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, the former governor of the state, Balarabe Musa, was impeached. Born 74 years ago in Danmusa town, he had sev
From Habibu Umar Aminu, Katsina
You are 74 years old, how has the journey of life been?
God has been very kind to me. I’m not a contractor, I don’t look for any appointment, state or federal, but with the little I have, I am able to live comfortably and educate my children. I am grateful to the almighty Allah.
How do you spend your day?
I don’t have a specific schedule. Since I retired from active legal practice in 2007, I do my subhi prayers in the early hours of the day and return to sleep. About 9am I will come out for my breakfast, after which I must read Daily Trust and The Guardian newspapers. I have been reading The Guardian since it was founded. I also watch the CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, and now, the Sunnah TV, which is very fantastic; I enjoy it. After this I move out for all the congregational prayers and come back home.
I also engage in a lot of farming. Because of the inconsistencies of government policies, I devoted 150 hectares of my farmland to jathropher. If you go there now you cannot see through, but there is no buyer. However, I still visit the farm, just to keep myself busy.
Can you remember some of your classmates?
Unfortunately, most of them have died. I remember the late Yusuf Abubakar, who was chairman of the Public Service Commission. Aminu Kafarda is still alive. As I grew old I withdrew from contacts because I don’t have time to disrupt my schedule. I don’t visit friends.
Can you talk about your family?
I have three wives, 24 children and more than 34 grandchildren. I am most grateful to God.
You had disagreement with the Native Education Authority during your elementary school days. What happened?
A demonstration took place during our elementary school days and I was alleged to be the ring leader. The grandfather of the present Emir of Katsina, with all the prominent Katsina people, assembled and found us guilty of insubordination. Consequently, we were expelled and prohibited from approaching anybody.
My elder brother, Idris Abubakar Danmusa, who is now late, cried as he accompanied me to the town as I carried my wooden box. I told him to stay calm because nobody would stop what God had destined for me. I went back to Danmusa, contemplating so many things. One was to go to Kano and join the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU). Before that idea materialised, the late Isa Kaita, who was the minister of education, came for Sallah and his neighbour, the late Mainasara Bolajo, told him of our predicament. He was worried, so he directed that we should be brought back to the school. But there were fears that there would be problems. They dispersed us to Bauchi, Maru, Wudil and Bida. I was posted to Bida Teachers’ College.
How did you cope at Bida?
At that time, the former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, was in the provincial secondary school, so I and one of his kinsmen known as Bala used to visit them. Somehow, I managed to finish Grade III but failed in teaching practice. So I was expected to return to the Katsina Native Education Authority. Upon return, I was employed as a Grade III teacher and posted to Safana.
I tried to pass my teaching practice evamination. The day I was preparing for it, the provincial education secretary did not come, but when I was not prepared he came. Obviously, that was a minus. But I always believed that by the grace of God I would not be an ordinary person in life. I enrolled in a correspondence college for GCE ordinary level. It was at that time that the Government of Northern Nigeria came up with the Ashby Commission on higher education to abolish grade three. As a result of the 1966 coup, there was an acute shortage of teachers in 1967. So we were invited to take exams, which we did and passed.
Other students from Kebbi Province, Sokoto, Kano , Zaria came with full salaries,
but those of us from Katsina were given only 4 pounds per month. I had a wife and a son. It was a decision I had to take. We went to the then chief education officer, the late Jabir Abdullahi, and he told us that there was “no sweet without sweat.’’ If we wanted our salaries we were required to go back to classes, but if we wanted education, we needed to sweat. It was with the 4 pounds and 10 shillings I survived the years. After my Grade, I was posted back to Danmusa as a teacher; then I was appointed as a headmaster in my old primary school.
When I returned to Danmusa I was there for a few months and decided to move to the advanced teachers’ college. In 1970, there was an advertisement for a common entrance into the School of Basic Studies at the Bayero College, now Bayero University, Kano (BUK). I was tempted. And since I was on ground there, I took it and passed. In January 1971, I went to Kano, still without a salary. That year, my second son, Jamilu Mamman, was born. The duration of the course was one and a half years. I chose English Literature, Islamic Studies and passed. I also chose Law as my first choice. I was at the Kongo campus of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) from 1972 to 1975. In 1975 we passed and proceeded to Law School.
Your decision to read Law marked a turning point in your life; what did you do when you graduated from the Law School?
When I came back, I was employed at the Ministry of Justice as state counsel. But I found out that the job was not interesting and challenging. I would always be at the office by 7am. It would take a week before a legal advice was typed. So I said I could not continue like that.
When I was appointed as a legal adviser to the Ikara Commission of Inquiry on the affairs of the local government, I saw another injustice and lack of honesty on the part of people. I fought them to a standstill. I did not allow myself to be compromised. There was one private practitioner, very prominent in Kaduna; I have forgotten his name, but I remember that he would come in different very expensive cars. And I had only a 404 car. I resolved not to waste my time there, so without the knowledge of the late Auwalu Iro, I tendered my resignation. When he later found out he queried me and I gave him my reasons.
Consequently, we opened a chamber with the late Ademola Ajala in Kaduna as private practitioners. My first case was before Justice Muhammadu Uwais at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna. The case was against one person who was convicted for 10 years over fake money, but fortunately for me, he was charged under a wrong law. I took up that case and secured a ruling in his favour. He was charged, tried and convicted under a non-existing law; hence his conviction was null and void. I won the case. As a beginner he paid me N1000. My salary in the Ministry of Justice was N368, but within 20 minutes I got N1000, I was right and lucky. I was able to secure a threebedroom apartment and moved my family there.
How did you get involved in politics?
During my private practice in Kaduna, the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) came and I joined. I actively took part in their congress and was elected legal adviser. I was also nominated to contest the 1979 election to represent Safana South in the House of Assembly. I was lucky I won. When we went to the House, by the grace of God I was elected speaker. If Lawal Kaita had become governor there was no way I would have emerged speaker because he came from Zaria, but since God had destined it, surprisingly, Kaita lost overnight. We didn’t expect that it would happen, but it did. When we got to the House, I had no slightest ambition of becoming the speaker. Those who wanted the position were the late Abdu Mashi and Abba Kalli. That did not matter to me. But the lawmakers, in their wisdom, wanted me. The person who was expelled from school became speaker of a House of Assembly and the person who expelled him became the Emir of Katsina.
Your tenure as speaker was full of controversies; what happened?
It started from the day we were inaugurated because the governor, Balarabe Musa, said he could rule without the legislature. Whoever advised the governor misled him. It was very wrong. So our quarrel started from there. And believe me, I was never influenced by anybody in my action in the House. I used my conscience and what I believed was right. Although I thought it was an opportunity to repay the Dikko family for what he did for my father, I was not under their influence.
When it was time to appoint the Emir of Katsina we made our recommendation after consultation with our legislative counsel. I was lucky that I had the confidence of the majority of the members. The bill was reintroduced, passed and sent to the governor, but he refused to sign. He sent it I was employed at the Ministry of Justice as state counsel. But I found out that the job was not interesting and challenging. I would always be at the office by 7am. It would take a week before a legal advice was typed. So I said I could not continue like that. When I was appointed as a legal adviser to the Ikara Commission of Enquiry on the affairs of the local government, I saw another injustice and lack of honesty on the part of people. I fought them to a standstill back to us. The following day we passed it with more than two third majority, which meant that the law did not require his signature. He went on appeal. One thing led to another and he was impeached. Believe me, I was not influenced by anybody to impeach Balarabe.
Do you regret your actions in the House?
How can I regret my actions? I did what I believed to be right. And I was proved right.
How is your relationship with Balarabe Musa. Any ill feelings?
There is no ill feeling from either side. What happened, happened and we forged ahead. It was just a passing phase in our lives.
Most of your contemporaries were arrested by Buhari after the coup, but you were invited and discharged after a while. Why was it so?
I did not have anybody in my family in the military, and I had no connection whatsoever. I was only able to come face to face with President Buhari in 2003. I never met him. But one thing was quite clear - we were all asked to report to Kaduna. We went there and were detained. The following day we were taken to Lagos and put in one house in Victoria Island. Coincidentally, we slept with Balarabe Musa in the same room that night. We were given forms to fill. In the evening, Col. Akilu called me and gave me a clearance form, saying they would call me back if they needed me. I told him that I didn’t have money to go back to Kaduna, adding that I didn’t know who would be kind enough to pay for my ticket. So I requested to wait for other colleagues. Finally, a cargo plane was brought to convey all of us to Kaduna, including the governors. Since then, they never looked for me and I never looked for them.
It was alleged that there was budget padding during your tenure as speaker, and recently, the House of Representatives was accused of the same act. What is your take on the issue of budget padding?
During my time as speaker, some members wanted us to increase the budget so that the governor could give us some money. I told them that I would not do that. As a result of my decision, a member of the House, the late Ilu Barde, presided over the plenary that day instead of me. They increased the budget and the governor gave the House N500,000. When the money was shared, one Abashe Karadua brought what was said to be mine. I told him that I was not interested. When there was an investigation into it, I said I didn’t know anything about the money and nobody gave me. They called Abashe and he told them that he took the money to me but I refused to collect it.
How did you become the deputy Senate president?
Because of the confidence they had in me, northern governors recommended me for the position to protect northern interest. They knew exactly what I could do.
Are you still in active politics?
At 74, I can no longer be in active politics. I don’t think I will be doing justice to my children if I do that. I will like them to lift their heads high in the society. I won’t be fair to the younger ones if I were still in active politics.
What advice do you have for President Muhammadu Buhari?
I still believe that President Buhari has good intentions for Nigeria. But his advisers should know that Nigerians are suffering. For the “Change begins with me’’ campaign to be successful, people must have food to eat and jobs to do. Majority of the people are not satisfied with the state of things now.