He lives for humanity
Who is a man of God? Are titles conferred by a religious body- Reverend, Pastor, General Overseer, Imam, Sheikh, Uztaz – enough to make one a man of God? The agreed qualities of God, the Most High, are enough to point to his expectations from his servants.
God, all religions agree, is loving, kind, patient, merciful, faithful and forgiving. Those who claim to have been called to serve him must therefore follow his lead. If he were to deal with mankind according to their unfaithfulness, he would have utterly destroyed the world.
One man who demonstrated his trust in God by serving humanity in 2018 is Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar of Ngmar Yelwa village, in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. He witnessed the massacre of Christians in fifteen communities and was moved with compassion during the June 24 disturbance. He could not continue to watch as innocent men, women and children were being killed, with some who managed to escape left to the mercy of the elements; faced with imminent starvation to death.
He decided to act. He took about 300 in, hid the women in his house, and the men in the mosque. That was at the risk of his own life. The murderous gang eventually realised the Imam’s heroic deed. They told him to surrender the Christians. Imam Abubakar would have none of that- he refused, pleading they were Muslims. He succeeded.
Imam Abubakar is a model of what is expected of religious leaders. God gives rain and sunshine to all without discrimination. In a way, the benevolent Imam who had to muster all resources to care for his “guests” for five days has shown we share a common humanity.
Despite the hate all around him, and the extreme negative passion excited, the Imam showed life is meaningless unless lived for others. It calls to mind the supreme sacrifice of the late Col. Adekunle Fajuyi during the counter coup of July 1966. Fajuyi who was governor of Western Region would not surrender the visiting Head of State, General John Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi to the mutinous military men who sought his life. Both host and guest had to be cleared by the coupists, but Fajuyi’s heroism not only stands as a testimonial to his nationalism and patriotism, but perhaps preserved what remained of the East-West relationship.
True, Imam Abubakar is alive today, unlike Fajuyi, but the narrative is similar. The same principle underpinned their actions. He is a close runner up to young Leah Sharibu as The Nation’s Man of the Year. It was a difficult decision to take as both were deemed to have exhibited uncommon courage in very difficult circumstances.
Imam Abdullahi Abubakar stands out as a man of conscience, a leader and a man of God, indeed.
From the sleepy village of Yelwa-Gindiakwati, in Gashish district, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, emerged an unlikely national hero on June 23, 2018.
On that day, as the Muslim members of the community were rounding off the 4pm prayer session, guns unexpectedly began to boom from a section of the village.
Panic gripped residents abandoned whatever they were doing and ran for their lives.
Instinctively many of them, about 200 including Christian women and children, ran in the direction of the village mosque. There, they met an open door. They rushed inside confident that they were safe.
They were not disappointed.
The Imam, 83 year old Abdullahi Abubakar, soon took over as events began to unfold in a matter of minutes.
He stepped out of the mosque, locking the door from outside.
It was to ensure that the rampaging gunmen did not gain entry into the mosque to harm the ‘refugees’ inside.
Now face to face with the gunmen who had attacked several other communities in the district, Imam Abubakar put his feet down, stopping the invaders from getting inside.
Many of the villagers have since fled but the nation has not failed to take notice of Abubakar’s heroics, not least President Muhammadu Buhari, who invited him to the Aso Rock Villa and honoured him accordingly.
Our Plateau State Correspondent, Yusufu Aminu Idegu, recently met him at Yelwa-Gindiakwati and he spoke on the events of the fateful day.
Abubakar who originally came from Kuyon village, Misau Local government Area of Bauchi State, attended Koranic schools as a young man.
He still goes to the farm to work.
He is highly respected in the village for his wisdom and ability to relate with everyone irrespective of religion .Baba you still go to farm at your age, and you are not afraid of gunmen?
The only thing the gunmen can do is to kill, and I’m not afraid of death any longer. I’ve seen it all in life and there is nothing to fear again. Farming is my occupation and if I die on the farm, no problem. I even hear some people of my age are in IDP camps, no, I can’t run away from my house for any reason.
How old were you when you came to this village?
I can’t really tell, but I can remember I came to this village before independence in 1960. It was in the early 50s
Were you married before coming to this village or you got married here?
No, I came here as a young boy but I later got married here.
How many wives have you?
I had three wives. I lost two of them through death. I’m now left with one.
How many are your children?
They are 18 and the grandchildren are up to 50 already.
Your last born is how many years old?
My last born is about 24 years old now.
How long have you been the Imam of this village?
Over 30 years, close to 40 years now.
You saved hundreds of people from being killed during the last attack in the village. How did you achieve that?
It was not me that made that happen. It was God. When the attackers came, I did not ask the villagers to run to me for protection. They decided on their own to run to me for safety. It was at about 4pm on that fateful day when we were about rounding up the 4pm prayer session. We began to hear gunshots from one direction of the village. Some of us inside the mosque ran out to see what was going on and saw people running all over. They said some unknown gunmen were killing people and burning houses. There was confusion everywhere in the village; people were looking for where to hide. Some that are Muslims ran into the mosque for cover and the Christians also joined the Muslims in the mosque. Some others ran and hid inside my house. All my rooms were filled, the mosque was filled.
What about you, where did you hide?
I did not hide anywhere. I stood outside the mosque when they came with their guns. They did not shoot me; they only told me that they were aware some people were hiding in the mosque. They warned me to open the mosque but I told them there was no one hiding there. Some of them threatened to kill me if I refused to open the mosque, but I insisted there was no one hiding inside. They stood for a while staring at me and all of a sudden, one of them, whom I guessed was their leader beckoned at them to leave, and they left.
What gave you the courage to face the attackers?
It was God, nothing else. I told them: ‘if you want to kill me you can go ahead, but I will not open the mosque for you, there is nobody there.’ They asked if anyone was hiding inside my house, I said no.
So you were ready to sacrifice yourself for the people to be saved?
Yes. At my age I’m not afraid of death because death is compulsory for every human being. Why should I be afraid of death? Islam teaches me that every man must taste death. It was God that handled everything that day, it was not me. If I had done anything to save the people, it was God that used me to save them. If I had any courage to face the gunmen at my age, it was God that gave me the courage, it’s was not my power.
Was there any such attack previously in this village since you have been living here?
No. I had never witnessed one until that day. We have been living peacefully with one another, relating like one family.
Since the attack took place in daylight, did any of the gunmen look familiar to you?
Each of them masked his face. But they all spoke Hausa because that was the language they used to communicate with me.
How many people did they kill in the village?
The gunmen killed more than a hundred people here alone. I guess those who escaped were the ones that ran to hide in my house and in the mosque. If not so, the gunmen were out to wipe out all the villagers, but God did not allow them.
Definitely, those who lost their loved ones in the attack are angry, what words of encouragement do you have for them?
I know some of them will be thinking of revenge if they know the attackers but vengeance has no place in Christianity or Islam. So, I will advise anyone nursing such bitterness to forget it. Every human being is going to die at the time allotted to him by God who created him, so why should another human being kill another person. The two religions do not support killing, so why should any Christian or Muslim get involved in what the holy books are against? I will tell the people not to think of vengeance because those who did the killings will also die one day. So don’t be the one to kill the killer, let him die when his time is up and he will meet his God on the day of judgement. If you revenge, you will be sinning against God and the repercussion is going to be bitter at the end.
Do you have anything to tell government?
Yes, I want to appeal to government to help in rebuilding our community. Apart from those that died, most of the survivors of the attack met their homes in ruin. They lost everything. Almost half of the buildings in the village were destroyed by the attackers and that is why a lot of our people are in Internally Displaced Persons camps as they have no house to sleep in. So, government should please help them. We need help.
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