Reminiscences with Alhaji Ramalan Yero
Alhaji Ramalan Yero, 77, was a teacher, staff member of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and later joined the United Africa Company (UAC) while in London for studies. He holds the traditional title, Turakin Dawakin Zazzau. In this interview, he shar
Can you share your childhood experience? I am an indigene of Unguwar Kaura, Zaria city. However, I was born in Kaya, Giwa Local Government Area in January 1940. I was taken to a village known as Rubaku in Igabi Local Government Area when I was about two years old. Hausa people have a tradition of taking their children out to a relative when it is time for them to stop sucking breast. We call this tradition, yaye.
In 1944, we relocated to Kawo, Kaduna because my father was a forestry worker. He was in charge of a forest where the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and other neighbouring areas are sited. I was circumcised in Kawo.
In 1950, I relocated to my uncle in Kubau, Kubau Local Government Area. He was then an agricultural officer. There was no school in Kubau; as such I couldn’t start formal education. However, I started Islamic school.
In 1952, some of my younger brothers were in Middle School. One of my younger brothers came to our house in Kubau. I was impressed with his uniform. That motivated me and I started thinking of how to start schooling. There was an adult literacy class in Kubau. My age did not meet the standard of an adult class and I was above class one in formal school. Nonetheless, I started attending the adult literacy class in the evening. I was not allowed into the class because of my age. I used to stay outside. I was taking my lesson from outside.
My age at that time allowed me to learn very fast. Within a short period, I mastered all what they were taught. Having realised that, members of the adult class employed me as their part-time teacher. They put me on a one kobo weekly stipend.
While working as part-time teacher, I was at the same time perfecting my reading ability through the reading of the then popular Hausa newspaper, Gaskiya Tafi Kobo. The cover price of the newspaper was one kobo and it came out weekly. I, therefore, used my weekly stipend buy the newspaper.
In 1954, my uncle was transferred to Giwa Local Government Area. We arrived Giwa on Saturday; our house was adjacent to the school in the town. Therefore, on Monday I decided to start attending the school on my own. I told the headmaster that my father had asked me to come and he should admit me into any class. I was then 14 years old. The headmaster was confused because he didn’t know which class to place me.
The headmaster later sent me to a class. Because of my age, I became one of the big pupils in class; therefore, I had to sit at the back. We were sitting with the late Garba Abbas, who was the traditional titleholder of ‘Yan Dakan Zazzau and a onetime comptroller-general of immigration before his demise. I was sitting with Garba Abbas because he was almost my mate. That made us the big pupils in class.
All this while, I was just sitting in class but I was not considered as a pupil. I became recognised as a pupil after the end of the session’s examination. Nobody asked me to write the exam. I did the exam on my own. When the result was collated, Garba Abbas took the first position while I was second. From there, my performance earned me recognition as a pupil in the school.
In 1955, I was registered in class two. At that time we used to have a monthly test. I maintained my second position while Garba Abbas maintained the first position.
When we were to move to class three in 1956, my uncle was transferred again to Rigachikwun, Kaduna. In Rigachikwun, there was no class there, but classes two and four. I was in a dilemma because I couldn’t repeat class two and the school was not ready to admit me into class four. Therefore, I was asked to go back to Giwa for class three. After much debate, I was subjected to an examination.
With the help of Allah, I passed the arithmetic exam. Despite this, I was reluctantly admitted into class four under certain conditions. One of the conditions was that if I failed my exam I would be demoted. After the first exam I took the second position. I was, therefore, registered and I became a full member of class four.
Apart from that, I was even given the position of assistant head boy. This was in 1956, the year the Queen of England came to Nigeria. We were the first set to start common entrance into the senior primary section. We were 36 in our class: 26 boys and 10 girls. For the fact that they only admitted boys into the senior primary section, only 26 of us took the exam.
When the result was out, six of us passed. We became the first set to be interviewed for admission into the senior primary section. After the interview, three of us passed and we were admitted into Soba, Kaduna Senior Boarding Primary School.
What was the experience like in Soba since it was a boarding school?
In Soba, we were in the same class with Brigadier-General Garba Mohammed (retired), the present Emir of Lere. In the class, I usually took first position, while brigadier took the second position.
In 1958, we were to take examination for admission into secondary school. My age (18) put me on a borderline. If I failed I won’t have a second chance the following year because I would be 19 years then.
You know, everything works with destiny. Therefore, during the examination I forgot to write my name on the script of Mathematics. After the examination, I remembered that I did not write my name on the script, but I couldn’t meet the invigilator to complain. This was why I surrendered to my fate. Allah had destined that I would not go to secondary school.
After class seven, my options were to take exam for admission into the teachers’ training college, clerical training centre or technical school. At that time, I didn’t want to become a teacher and I didn’t want to become a clerk either. Therefore, I opted for Government Secondary Technical, which is now Government College, Kaduna. In the school, there were technical and commercial sections.
After I secured admission into the commercial section, my parents thought it was all about business. Therefore, they did not allow me because our parents didn’t want their children to become businessmen. At that time, those that studied commercial courses had upper hand because they were easily employed by
companies, but our parents were not aware of this.
So, I ended up without a place to go despite my good result. My friends like Brigadier Garba secured admission into the present Barewa College, while Garba Abbas went to the present Alhudahuda College. That was where frustration began to set in.
How did you manage it? AR Nuhu was a provincial education officer of Zaria. I took my certificate to the provincial office in Sabon Gari. I went by foot from here (Zaria city, about 10 kilometres away). When I entered the office, I couldn’t say anything, I just started crying.
He consoled me and I showed him my certificate. He asked me to come back after two days. When I went back, I took examination for admission into the Teachers’ Training College, Toro in the present Bauchi State. He asked me to come back after two days and we took another examination for admission into the Teachers’ Training College, Maru in the present Zamfara State.
When the results came out, I was successful in both. Malam Nuhu then asked for my consent to make a choice for me. I agreed. He chose Maru for me because the then Sokoto Native Authority was looking for 10 young intelligent people to sponsor into the Teachers’ Training College, Maru, so that they would come back to work for them.
Maru was an entirely new environment, which was far away from Zaria; can you share your experience there?
I went to Maru in 1960 and finished my Grade III certificate in 1962. After graduation, I was posted to Gusau Central Primary School in 1963. I spent a year there. Thereafter, I wrote another examination to go to Katsina for my Grade II certificate. Before the result was out, the then Northern Government under the Minister of Education, Alhaji Isa Kaita Wazirin Katsina, announced a new policy that cancelled opportunity for Grade III teachers to further their education and obtain Grade II. Instead, students then spent five years in school to obtain Grade II directly.
Honestly, that policy really frustrated me. I had an ambition; therefore, I could not continue to stay in Sokoto.
Where did you go from there?
I returned to Zaria. I was employed in the Zaria Native Authority. I was posted to Town School, Number One, because it was the first elementary school in Zaria. It is now known as Waziri Lawal. The present Secretary to the Kaduna State Government was my student at that school, which was in 1964.
After a year, I was transferred to the school close to the emir’s palace in 1965. It was in that year that I got married. In 1967, I became headmaster in Kaura, Zaria Primary School. Incidentally, I hail from this area.
Remember, there was civil war in 1967, and that made the Igbo to relocate to the East. Therefore, there was need for workers in the railway corporation where the Igbo had dominated. For the fact that I was frustrated with the policy that stopped us from going for Grade II, I felt the railway was an opportunity.
We went to the Railway Traffic School, Zaria and spent six months instead of nine because it was a crash programme necessitated by the civil war. After the programme, I was posted to Kano in August, 1968. In 1970, I was transferred to Kaduna from Kano.
My ambition made me to have a second thought about the railway work. I realised that unless one went to England to study transportation, the highest rank one would attain in the railway was senior station master.
Despite my low qualification, I applied for admission into the Grace Technical College, England. I was lucky to be admitted. Remember, I got married in 1965 and I was blessed with my first child in 1968. However, when I applied for the England admission, I had four children because I had three wives then. You know, those of us from Zaria hardly keep one wife. I had aged parents and other dependants I maintained with my meagre salary.
I, therefore, had to seek for scholarship. I was given admission but I didn’t possess the qualification the school required. The present Emir of Zazzau, His Highness, Alhaji Shehu Idris, was newly crowned then. I approached him for assistance. He assisted me to secure the scholarship.
How did you scale through the screening in England since you didn’t have the required qualification?
You know, if Allah says you would get something, nobody can stop it. All those who went to England with me were made to take a course known as English for Foreign Students, but I was exempted. Therefore, I directly started my studies.
I studied the programme and realised that it was a professional course I could take in one year. That was what I did. Allah assisted me and I did that successfully.
After the programme, I decided that I would not come back to Nigeria without a job. I didn’t want to come back to Nigeria to join the group - “I have been to UK.’’
I applied to the UAC International in UK. I was employed in one of the 25 subsidiaries of the UAC. I was employed as a manager. Therefore, on my return to Nigeria, I was posted to Kano. I spent 10 years in Kano. Based on their policy, manager does not spend more than three years in one location, but I spent 10.
From Kano, I was posted to Sokoto because of the company’s policy of merging its subsidiaries. This policy was informed by the Nigerian government’s decision to restrict importation of certain products.
From Sokoto, I was posted to Kano again under another subsidiary. From Kano, I was posted to Kaduna. Under this policy of merger, I was posted to Zaria. While in Zaria some problems arose in Maiduguri and I was posted there to sort them out. I spent only 60 days there. I had not finished the merger in Zaria, when I was asked to move to Kaduna again. I was moved to Zaria and later moved again to Kaduna and served in two different offices until the time I retired in 2000.
You said your father was a forestry officer. Were there officers in all the forests? Could that be the reason why criminals couldn’t use them as hideouts, unlike what obtains nowadays?
At that time we didn’t know anything like terrorism or armed robbery. However, every Native Authority had what was known as forest reserve. The essence of the reserve was largely to preserve the environment and wildlife. Farming and cutting of trees were usually not allowed.
These forests belong to the government. In the event of any activity one had to get permit. For example, those that wanted to go in there for firewood or other activities had to get permit under the supervision of the officials. The reserves also served as a source of revenue for the government.
Why did you prefer to live with your uncle when your father was alive?
Unlike what we have now, at that time kinship was very strong. Brothers exchanged their children to strengthen that kinship. I was not the first child to be taken to my uncle, who had no child. My elder brother was the first, but he died. My uncle did not want to ask my father for another child after the demise of my elder brother. He came three times to our house with the intention to taking me, but he couldn’t say it. However, I liked the man. Therefore, on his third visit I said I wanted to follow him.
You started schooling during the colonial era, how was the situation then?
At that time, everything was taught in indigenous languages. Here, it was Hausa. English was taught at class three of the elementary school upward. Even at that level, English was only taught as a separate subject, but all other subjects were taught in Hausa. This would continue up to class four. From class one up to four, all the teachers were Grade II holders, therefore, they were sons of the soil.
It was from senior primary upward that everything was taught in English because most of the teachers were ‘white-men.’ In secondary schools, some principals were even Europeans.
That system of teaching in indigenous languages really assisted us. I was in England for tertiary studies with a Grade III certificate, which may be equivalent to the present Junior Secondary School (JSS).
For me, what is happening now is not proper. No matter how intelligent one is, it is usually easy for him to express himself in his mother tongue. If we can revive that system it would really assist our education system.
Can you talk about your days at the railway corporation?
Working at the railway then was very challenging because the Igbo and Yoruba had dominated the corporation. However, I joined the railway during the civil war when most Igbo people had gone. Before that time, the competition was between the Igbo and Yoruba. When the Igbo left, the Yoruba wanted to dominate the corporation; therefore, they perceived anyone from this part of the country as a threat.
Can you share some of your memorable moments in school or during your working career?
One thing that makes me happy up to today is the orientation we got from our teachers. That orientation, with all gratitude to Allah, made me to be straightforward. I am usually punctual and I don’t fear anybody except Allah. I take my eyes off something, not out of fear but because our tradition teaches us
to give excuses.
I know what I can do and what I can’t. That orientation taught us to respect our superiors. We obeyed lawful instructions. That really assisted me in life. I went to work on time and closed on time.
Anywhere I worked, I ensured that I cleared all my work before leaving the office. This is to say that I always left my in-tray empty. However, immediately it was closing time, I would close. I didn’t work overtime.
Another thing we learnt from that orientation is how to live on our means. I relied on my salary and ensured that it was enough for me. Therefore, I didn’t need any extra money that would make me work overtime or get money from any other means. By this, I lived a comfortable life. I was not rich and I was not poor. This always makes me happy.
You were born and bred in northern Nigeria, and all of a sudden you found yourself in England; how were you able to cope?
It was a very funny experience. We left Nigeria during Ramadan. We arranged with friends to receive us at the Heathrow Airport. Here, we were used to a situation where we would climb the aeroplane through staircases, and the same thing happened while disembarking. However, on arrival at the Heathrow Airport, the last staircase from the plane led us to a room. Honestly, that nearly destabilised my brain.
Again, the airport procedures added to my confusion. The immigration and other officials would not utter a word to you. All they were after was your document. If one finished with your document, he would just pass it to the other without uttering a word, and all these things were done in a single room.
After the screening, there was this ‘white man’ standing close to my travelling box. As I was to pick it up, the ‘white man’ used his leg and kicked it forward. That further destabilised me. When I came out, I couldn’t see anybody I knew. I didn’t know that they were hiding, waiting to see what I would do. Having realised my condition, they quickly came out from hiding. Had it been they added five extra minutes, only Allah knows what would have happened. Honestly, I could have lost my senses.
New visitors to England at that time had such experience. Some would have to be taken back home because they lost their senses.
Another funny issue was the way I dressed. Because I was travelling to England, I sewed new coat and necktie. However, I appeared completely odd in England because my coat and necktie appeared like that of a typical villager. People were laughing at me at the airport, including my friends who came to receive me. I was taken to a shop where new cloths were bought for me. The ones I went with were dumped in the dustbin.
The next problem was how to cook. I didn’t know how to cook because I grew up with my parents. In the boarding school we had cooks, and when I started working, I had a wife that cooked for me. Now, I found myself in a place where I had to cook for myself, but I didn’t know how to even boil water for tea.
My first attempt to cook was one day when I came back from class at 10pm. I decided to cook rice and beans. I put the rice and beans and the ingredients at the same time in a pot. When the rice was done, I didn’t bother to check the beans. You can imagine what happened. I couldn’t eat that food; that was how I slept without eating anything. Before I slept I cried. If it were possible I would have come back home the following morning.
I gradually became used to the environment. However, it took time because of the many differences in terms of development and other issues
You said the orientation you got from your teachers assisted in making you an upright man; did the England trip add value to your personality?
Yes, of course. One good thing I learnt there was the downplaying of ego. Everybody was addressed by his name. During break for example, both teachers and students followed the same queue to collect meal. It was possible to see the principal behind his student on a queue to buy meal. A student could share same table with his principal. You would be eating and charting. That was unlike what we had here, where teachers portrayed themselves as lions.
In terms of trust for public servants, is there any difference between what obtained during your time and what we have now?
What you should know is that we don’t have public servants now. Most people now work to make money, not to serve. This is why you hear all sorts of horrible stories.
I started as a teacher; and the teaching profession is regarded as the poorest. So one must teach himself the discipline of managing the little he earns. I imbibed that discipline even before I got married. I was one of those who worked without borrowing. I taught myself to live on my salary no matter what. Everything was not necessary for me if I didn’t have the means to do it.
If our present public servants would imbibe this culture, I think things would change for the better. Our major problems now are greed and lust for money.
You said the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, assisted you when were seeking scholarship to travel to England. Was it that relationship that earned you a traditional title?
My relationship with the emir started since 1960, but I was made the Turakin Dawakin Zazzau in 2009.
He was the first headmaster of Kaura Primary School, where I also served as a headmaster. He opened the school in 1960 while I was at Maru. During holidays I used to go to the school for vacation. That marked the beginning of our cordial relationship.
You said you had three wives even when you were a school teacher. Does that mean you have a large family?
All praises are due to Allah. I have 25 living children now. Many of them died. I have about 62 grandchildren.
How did you feel when one of your children became the governor of Kaduna State, considering your background as a school teacher?
His emergence as governor did not surprise me because of the kind of training he got. Without being immodest, I told you the kind of life I lived. He was, therefore, disciplined. He learnt how to live within his means. We maintain a simple life in the family.
Was there any change in your relationship with people when he became governor? Many people might have wanted to patronise you because your son was a governor...
Well, Mukhtar knows the kind of person I am. When he became commissioner, I told him that we were two different entities. I told him that I was not interested in what he did. I told him not to seek my consent in what he did. I took this decision because I know the kind of training he got.
I did not give room for people to meet him through me. This started from his tenure as commissioner, deputy governor, up to the time he became governor. When he became governor, I told him that he was the governor of all, including me. I respected him as governor the way others did.
However, when he came to my house, in my room he became Mukhtar Ramalan Yero while I became Ramalan Yero, his father. In my house, we discussed issues relating to the family, how he dealt with his kinsmen and other issues, especially respecting his elders despite his position as governor. We didn’t discuss issues on how he managed the state.
It is now 17 years since you retired from active service; what have you been doing?
Well, I have been involved in developmental activities, especially in the education sector. I have been chairman of parents-teachers associations of Alhudahuda College and Government Girls’ Secondary School, Kofan Gayan. I was also a member of the Alhudahuda College Management Board, which was formed by former Governor Makarfi.
When Namadi Sambo was vice president, I was made the chairman of Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna. Through that appointment, I became the vice chairman of the association of parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Health. But we collapsed with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government.
Again, until May this year, I was the chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Kaduna State chapter. However, I am still a member of the ACF national executive.
Recently, I was made the chairman of the School-based Management Board of the Federal Government Girls’ Secondary School, Basawa, Zaria.
These are some of the things I have been doing to keep myself busy in retirement.
What I enjoy doing in retirement is assisting my people. I enjoy doing anything that would assist my people earn a living and get out of one problem or another.