‘Ladi Hamalai wanted to be a diplomat’

Jibrin Daggash is the Political and Economic Adviser to the Australian Ambassador to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He is the son of Prof. Ladi Hamalai, the Director General of the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic

Daily Trust: How would you describe your mum? She is a disciplinarian. I have lived in many parts of the world and I’m yet to come across someone who’s as disciplined as she is. She’s also quite generous and places a lot of premium on education. It’s all about education for her.

DT: What do you admire most about her?

I like the fact that she’s a person who is open to all kinds of discussions. You know, typically in the North, a lot of parents have very limited social interactions with their children. But I like the fact that I can sit and discuss politics, international economics, religion and all types of things with her as if I were talking to a colleague or a friend.

DT: What other profession do you think she would have excelled at?

She would have been an excellent diplomat, and it’s ironic that the Jakadiya title literally means an ambassador. But before going into academia, that was her ambition, to be a diplomat. But as fate would have it, she went into the academia.

DT: How did you end up following in her footsteps?

Sociologists have a term they call ‘cultural capital.’ I think just growing up and seeing books around the house that were related to politics, economics and international commerce exposed me to a lot of these things. Even though I hated reading the books as a child, just seeing the titles and growing up in that type of atmosphere exposed me to the social sciences. So, I ended up going into social sciences in every way you can think of.

DT: What fond memories do you cherish of you and your mum?

Some of the most cherished memories would be when we were living in the United Kingdom. I was quite young then, and we went out to amusement parks. DT: How does she relax?

She watches TV quite a lot. When she watches TV, she does it mostly on the weekends to relax. She enjoys some movies, both Hollywood and Nollywood. So sometimes when I come to visit her, that’s what I see on the TV. I know she likes the comedy genre above all else.

I think just growing up and seeing books around the house that were related to politics, economics and international commerce exposed me to a lot of these things