My Dearest Father: A heartfelt tribute, by Khalifa Bello Al-Adam
My Dearest Father,
As I try to write down a tribute for you my beloved father, all I can only think of beginning with is telling you how much I miss you and just how much I love you.
You have always been the most important part of my entire life, and you will remain in my heart for all of eternity. Now that you are no longer with us, I know that my life isn’t ever going to be the same without you, You were everything to me and you sacrificed so much for me. You have been my guardian since childhood and there will never be a day that i will not think about you and pray for you. I was looking at you, when you were giving up but i couldn’t stop anything, my heart shattered into a million pieces, I am in pain.
The type of pain that has taken a grip of me seems determined to suffocate me, My greatest fear has always been how I would be able to navigate life without you, But as much as I love you, i know that Allah loves you more.
The concept of Iman, the Islamic concept of the reliance on Allah (SWT) and trusting in Allah’s plan will have to be my comfort and healing. I will remain prayerful, faithful, grateful and comforted knowing how much you positively affected my life, our family and the lives of so many others.
Dad not only were you, my father, you were my greatest role model, my friend, my hero, my inspiration, my backbone and my rock. Even though every day i told you how grateful and lucky i was to have had you as a father, I feel as if you didn’t know how much i appreciated everything you represented in my life.
As I sit here writing what will be the hardest article i have ever written, I want to tell you just how much your struggles and hard work have been appreciated by your “Boy.” I would want the world to know how much of a good father you have been and i would want the strong bond between us to serve as an inspiration to all.
I’m writing these words with the hope that it would be worthy for you Dad, those who knew you will always reiterate and come back to one thought. Never will you meet a man who is more faithful and lived his life with value.
Your kind of character is rare, you were a teacher of all things, your method was simple, you taught by example, your character is the foundation of the conscience of many of those who came across you, who worked with you and who were part of your life. Your teachings are endless. You were strong in body, in spirit, and in commitment. You fulfilled every obligation you ever undertook. Your word were your bond, and everyone knew it. You were loyal. You are a loss that can never be replaced. Your faithfulness to the people you interacted with during your lifetime could be seen in the way you steadfastly maintained ties with anyone you ever knew. You had a quiet dignity, respecting yourself the way you respected others.
Although you are no more, today, however, we have the privilege of celebrating someone who epitomizes leadership; someone whose life reflects a heart of service and commitment to faith, family, friends, and certainly those who strive to follow your example.
READ ALSO: A tribute to Yusuf Isa Ahuraka, by Abdulmumin S Balogun
Baba I remember how you use to gist us, how u grew up in the city of Kano, how you went to Shahuchi Special Primary School,to the Famous School for Arabic Studies (SAS) Kano where you and your friend Prof. Abubakar Rasheed former NUC secretary always tell yourselves to go to ABU Zaria which you both called it Babban Gida and then proceeded to the School of General Studies of Bayero University Kano.
You fulfilled your dream by going to baban Gida,the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU) Zaria, which at that year you were the only person who secured ABU because every year only one or two students get that privilege,you told us how you were given the students token twice & you refunded one and told them you had left Bayero to ABU and you were been awarded for that gesture, I remember how u struggled to become Ribadu Hall chairman in ABU 80’s,you told us how you were a class room teacher and how you became the headmaster at Mariri primary school, headmaster at yar gaya and Secretary General to all Kano State Headmasters Association , you also told us how you drove your bike from the city of Kano to all these schools. You also said that you were lucky that your father bought a bike since in School for Arabic Studies and later you sold and bought Suzuki for yourself at then not more than 10 people had bike in Kano city…….the memories are much but let me hold on here.
Dad, I will never miss an opportunity to speak of what a great father you were and how you never missed an opportunity to speak about how your greatest pride and joy were your children, all of us. You were always supportive to every one of us in our personal, professional, and educational lives. And you always made yourself available to watch television, eat,listen, pray and have regular family picnics with your children. You struggled to make sure you gave us the very best education. I will forever be grateful to you, Dad, for that priceless foundation, you always say you are building an empire, you have done the foundation to linter level and i promise that empire will be completed and stay forever on your legacies.
Only those who truly knew you realise that you had the greatest sense of humour. Many of my most inspirational moments with you were during our daily experiences when you used humour to try to make a point.
Dad you were the greatest philanthropist and you never publicized the deeds you did for people. Over the decades, i saw you educate countless of youths to further themselves in school, build houses for people, give land Papers to people, sponsor the sick for medical treatment, build mosques, feed families, spare head to get work for people and employ hundreds of people by your self.
Dad, the love you draped in this world will grow and live on, and that is the greatest measure of any human being. You had a heart of gold, and it is incredibly empowering and inspirational to see just how infinite your reach has been.
Sometime a very long time ago, I learnt that the truest way to gage the character of any person is through how much love they can give; how selflessly they share whatever they can to help others; how consistently they lift those around them with a kind word, through humor, a compliment, or with humility. By this very benchmark, Dad, you were immeasurable.
Can I speak about the flipside to my perception of your perfection Dad? Because you always taught me to be honest and objective. At the other end of your spectrum was your tenaciousness, temperament, and an over heightened state of self-esteem & contentment. You saw it as pride. In fact, some of the more poignant lessons i took from you has to do with the imperfections you had.
I’ve always acknowledged your defects and successes but most of all, the inspirational role you played in my life, the life of our family and the lives of so many others. Simply put, i would not be the person that i am today without you Dad.
You helped equip me with some essential reflective tools for challenging systems of oppression. You embodied, not entirely, different way for me to look at myself as an independent Fulani/hausa man. And you taught me basic things, to confront my own struggles, to always stand up for what i think is right, to always be kind and never cruel, to never forget how to cry and to never put myself in a position where anyone would undermine my integrity or my virtue as a decent man from a decent home. These are lessons i religiously carry with me every day of my life.
In everything I do Dad, I have felt your hand on my shoulder, especially when things got tough to deal with. I have heard your words of encouragement, I have heard your advice, and I even heard your reprimand. I promise to abide by everything you taught me as if you were right there watching and guiding me. And while i know that i have my memories of you, I also know that your spirit will live on in my heart. They often say that “Love leaves a memory no one can steal, but death leaves a memory no one can heal.” It is a loving memory for me when i think about your life and all you did for me,my siblings and the society.
The good memories will remain with us forever, knowing the ability imparted by you into our lives.
Dad, your life, your influence, your legacy, your struggles, your energy will always be inextricably linked to mine and i now take comfort in that.
I feel so blessed to have you as my father and I’m thankful for the wonderful life you have given me. The legacy you left is what makes me what i am today and keeps me progressing in life. I’ll do my best to carry on in your footsteps dear Dad.
Baba, everything I have written in this tribute mirrors the hearts and minds of each one of my siblings and our mother. I know that i speak for them as much as i speak for myself.
Dad, you are in my heart, and i will always love and miss you. You brought so much joy to our family, more than you’ll ever know. I salute you; I honor you for an infinite number of reasons, i celebrate you, and i thank you for so much more than i can express with these words. My gratitude to you is endless…
Thank you for keeping me safe and giving me a never-ending sense of physical safety and emotional security!
Thank you for displaying to me the power of humor, how to read a room and the art of diplomacy through your actions!
Thanks for showing me what kindness, integrity, honor, patriotism, and loyalty looks like!
Thank you for teaching me the importance of family!
Thank you for being protective of me throughout my life!
Thank you for always encouraging me to be the very best version of myself!
Thank you for never lying to me!
Thank you for loving and accepting me and always making me feel like i am good enough. Even when i fell, you were always there to make sure i got back on my feet!
Thank you for reprimanding me when i did wrong and always using it as a teachable moment!
Thank you for keeping our family as one united unit and ensuring that my siblings and i always maintained peace and tranquility!
Thank you for engaging in so many businesses to provide our family with a comfortable lifestyle!
Thank you for teaching me about equality and the importance of accepting those who may not be like me or as privileged as me!
Thank you for imparting the importance of education on me!
Thank you for teaching me about politics and training me on public speech!
Thank you for giving me so much confidence to rise to the challenge of any venture i embark on!
Thank you for teaching me the importance of humility, philanthropy, and the remarkable power of emotional and financial generosity!
Thank you for making fulfilled with my heritage of being a Nigerian!
Thank you for showing me what it means to be a good man, an extraordinary citizen, and an outstanding father!
Thank you for loving me so much!
Thank you for being you!
Thank you for making me proud to be the son of Alh. Muhammed Bello Al-Adam
Dad you will long remain an inspiration to those who will serve their community, their country, and we are blessed to have shared the gift of your life with us all. I am so proud of you. You made Kano proud, you made Arewa proud, and you will always make Nigeria even prouder.
You will not soon be forgotten. Your reward will be great in Heaven. We pray for you and for those who knew you.
My final words for you Dad is a prayer…
As we witness another twilight and the death of another National treasure, I pray that Allah (SWA) forgives and have mercy on the soul of Alhaji Muhammed Bello Al-Adam and makes honorable his reception. May Allah (SWA) keep him safe and sound, protect the place where he has rested and make his entrance wide; bless him for his good deeds and surround him with a garden filled with beauty. May he receive the gentle blow of a cool breeze, be washed with snowflakes, ice, sleet, water and everything pure and cleansed of sin as a white cloth is purified perfectly. I pray Allah admits him to Paradise and may his grave be spacious and filled with light.
Ameen.
I love you with all my heart to the moon and back Dad
Forever,
