Why I didn’t go into farming – Hafiz Wali

You come from a family of many professionals. How did you and your siblings make it?

My brothers who are still alive include Na’ibi Suleiman Wali, a career civil servant and later a minister; Dahiru Wali is a pharmacist and proprietor Tsamiya Chemist; Professor Sadiq Wali is the Chairman of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. If you remember, he was a personal physician to four former presidents of Nigeria. All my sisters are dead. My brothers who are late include Brigadier Abba Suleiman Wali, who was until his retirement the Adjutant of the Army. Others were the late Ahmed Tubri, who worked at Farm Centre, Kano. Then there were Alfa Wali and the late Isa Wali, who was the father of Maryam Uwais. Our late father encouraged his male and female ‘gidanwali’ children to pursue education. According to him, Islam charged adherents to strive to go to even China in pursuit of knowledge.

Can you explain the history and role of Wali title in Kano?

It was a ‘borrowed’ title from Zaria and other places. There was Wali in Borno, Zaria, and maybe Katsina, preceded the title in Kano, I cannot really remember. My father was the childhood friend of the late Abdullahi Bayero, the father of the immediate past Emir of Kano. He brought Wali close to him when he became Emir. The Emir wanted to turban my father as Waziri (Prime Minister) in his palace, but my father declined. According to my father, he was an Islamic scholar and did not want to be given a royal title.

But Malam Abukakar, known as ‘Mai-sajen Jamus’, a disciplinarian and a close confidant of the Emir and the son of Wali Aminu of Zazzau told my father to accept the title of Wali, which is the equivalent of an Attorney General and it was reserved for non-princes who are knowledgeable to guide the Emir on Islamic law. My father agreed and was turbaned as Wali. That is how the first Wali of Kano emerged and after his death, scholars and friends of the reigning Emir were turbaned as Wali.

Who were your teachers in Kano?

I learnt all my Islamic education from my mother. It is noteworthy that the late Emir of Kano Ado Bayero and many others studied the complete Qur’an in my family compound, from my mother. At that time, you could not differentiate between a prince and a nonprince, as we all realized who our parents were in the society only when we grew up. My mother was vast in Islamic knowledge, such that she used to recite the Qur’an while my father translated the meaning. I was admitted into elementary school at the age of between 8 and 9. Malam Mukhtari Yola was the headmaster, while Ibrahim Dantiye, and Muhammad Koki were the teachers. In the Middle School, the headmaster was Usman Gwarzo. We also had a teacher called Aliyu Gwarzo. Ambassador Maitama Sule was a year ahead of me. He was in ‘Remove B’, and I was in ‘Remove A.’

What is ‘Remove’?

It is for those who passed and are about to proceed to either Barewa College, which was for gifted students, or to continue their education in any other secondary school. Mostly three or four pupils with the best results were in ‘Remove’. And those on ‘Remove’ taught in their schools after completion, if the need arose.

What was your relationship with the late Head of State, General Murtala Muhammad?

We were from the Fulani Gyanawa Dynasty. Murtala was the mate of my younger brother, Tubri. We were from the same area and we did our childhood play together. He respected me a lot. When he met me at Barewa College, he used to come and seek for advice from me. I used to counsel him on the right thing to do. But, you know that he was an independentlyminded person.

What of when he became the Head of State?

I didn’t visit him until his death. The late Mallam Aminu Kano was a member of our clan, too. I have forgotten but a book was written on the Gyanawa Dynasty.

Who were your friends?

At the Elementary School I had friends like Atiku Fagge, Magaji Ringim, and lots more. At Barewa College, my mates were Rilwan Lukman, and Benji Isiaku, who was an Electrical Engineering Lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University ABU, Zaria. He is from Wusasa. Zakaria Borno, a former Governor North-West, Commissioner of Police Usman Faruk, and Jarman Gombe. The late Alhaji Umaru Dikko was older than me by two years. But we all liaised well with Barewa College Old students, like General Yakubu Gowon and many others. Many are deceased now, like the Hassan Katsina, Yusuf Yero, who co-founded Dangi Pharmacy in Kano. He was the father of the Publisher of Daily Trust, Malam Kabir Yusuf. There was also Sa’idu Gwarzo, and many others.

How did you choose your career as an educationist?

In our house, each family member chose what he or she wanted to pursue at will. But mine was an exception as my elder brother, Isa Wali, did not want me to go into technical education. He said that I was supposed to study Medicine or Engineering with my good results, and not technical education. But I wanted to be given the free hand to choose the course of my choice, like my other brothers did.

After taking the decision, I went to tell the late Emir Sanusi that I was going to England to study for a degree technical education, but that Isa Wali did not want it. The late Emir Sanusi told me to go and study what I wanted and that I should make good use of it. The Emir said: ‘the white men couldn’t have defeated the Hausa land in various battles without their

How did you start your career?

I started as a teacher in Maiduguri at Yerwa Secondary School. Some of my students are Gaji Galtimari, Commissioner of Police Galadima, Mala Alamai, Gambo Gubio. Later, I was transferred to Idah Craft School in Igala land in the then Benue Province, now Kogi State. From Idah, I was transferred to Mashi Craft School in Katsina State. I also taught at Wudil Technical College and was later promoted to the rank of Inspector in Kaduna. After that I got Ford Foundation scholarship to study Systems Engineering in the United States.

After Independence a Briton was said to have reported you to the Sardauna, the then Prime Minister of Northern Nigeria. What did you do?

The Inspector of Education came to my school and saw that I taught students both theory and practical, as we built extra-classes and hostels. The white man asked me and I said I was teaching my students practical by using them to build those structures. The Briton queried me, arguing that I was delving into the duties of the Ministry of Works. He did not care about the source of funding. The source of the funding was my students, I asked them to ask their parents to contribute the money for practical materials. Following a formal complaint by the Briton, I was summoned by the government. I was asked to meet the then Minster of Education, the late Mallam Isa Kaita. I told him that I got the money from the proposal I wrote and the fund was made available. The minister submitted his report, consulted others and instead of punishing me, the government gave me commendation for the effort.

How were you considered for the scholarship that took you to the US to study Systems Engineering?

What happened was that a Polish working with US Embassy came to Mashi Craft (now Technical) School on a visit. He was impressed with my performance, and promised to contact me, which he did. The fruit of his effort was that the US gave me scholarship to go and study for a master’s degree in Systems Engineering through the Ford Foundation in the US. When I told Isa Wali that I was going to the US to study what he wanted, Engineering,