02/01/2025
HUSSEIN MUHAMMAD GAMAWA: REFLECTIONS ON THE TIMES WE SHARED
By Musa Kalim Gambo,
2nd January 2025.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un! Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un! Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un!
I think I have now sadly come to terms with the tragic demise of my beloved friend, Hussein Muhammad Gamawa, HMG, as I uniquely call him. But the reality is, while many saw us as close friends, we have, without knowing, transformed into siblings. Subconsciously, HMG became an elder brother to me in the literal sense of the word. I have joked a few times that since he already had a twin brother Hassan whose place I couldn't take, I had settled for being their Gambo. Gambo is the child born to a Hausa/Fulani family after having twins – simply, an immediate younger sibling to twins. I hardly mentioned his name in his presence – it's a heavy and difficult burden to refer to an elderly brother by his name especially within the Hausa/Fulani and most other Nigerian communities. So, as a sign of respect, one avoids mentioning the name.
Like the true and authentic elder brother, HMG did not shy away from guiding the younger me. He would promptly call me to order whenever he observed any derailment from the right path – no matter how insignificant it might be. These words of his have always rung a bell in my head;
"Kar fa mu zama irin mutanen da mu ke yaƙa, ko mu kasance masu halayen da mu ke ƙyama."
When rendered in English to my understanding, the closest loose translation could be;
"Let’s not allow ourselves to become the type of people (of bad characters) that we are correcting, or be found with those characters we despise."
This is the foundation of our relationship – encouraging and promoting what is good and beneficial to the community on one hand, while, on the other hand, discouraging what is bad and unislamic. This is the reality of HMG's life up to the last hour when he took his final breath on this earth.
This piece you're reading right now is my reflection on the times we shared together; how I accompanied him on the path of community service while he transformed my life through Islamic guidance and personal examples, what he accomplished, and the tasks he has left for us to complete for humanity. I know that this very short piece of writing will not cover everything because the works are too many, but I will try to share as few as I can for the rest of us to reflect upon on our journey in this transient world.
First, until HMG's demise he was the Ameer of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Zaria Area Council. Here, he harmonised the efforts of the different branches of the MSSN at secondary and tertiary institutions within the Zaria metropolis to promote Islamic values and academic excellence through various activities. He mentored a crop of young leaders towards service to the community.
HMG was also the Chief Security Officer of the MSSN A-Zone, covering the 19 states of northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory. In this role as the CSO, HMG collaborated with relevant security agencies within the region to ensure safety and security at MSSN programs. In this role, the most challenging program at MSSN A-Zone is the annual national Islamic Vacation Course (IVC) which hosts more than five thousand participants from the vast northern Nigeria. While I managed the media and publications arm of the MSSN A-Zone, he co-opted me to work on designing a training program for the MSSN internal security team which comprises of the MSSN Guard and the Normal Apprenticeship Company (NACO) – a community volunteer group where he served as an Assistant State Comptroller for Kaduna State. I'll talk about it later. This training program was first designed for IVC Kwara 2022. The program paid particular attention to threat assessment and response, security management for large gatherings, and the significance of voluntary community security watch in Islam. The training program is structured in such a way that security experts are invited to deliver lectures on specific topics – invitation is extended to state commands of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, and private security consultants in states where the IVC is hosted to send in facilitators for the training sessions. On the Islamic perspective to voluntary security work as an act of worship from Islamic perspective, prominent Islamic scholars are invited to deliver lectures.
During the 2023 IVC which was held in Bauchi, Engr. Muhammad Lawal Maidoki was invited to speak on "Inculcating Tarbiyya within the IVC Security", while Professor Mansur Isa Yelwa delivered a lecture on "Security as a Collective Responsibility and the Islamic Benefits of Protecting the Ummah". HMG told me that he wanted that particular presentation to be fully recorded in video. He believed that the presentation was going to shape the thinking of our volunteer guards to intensify their efforts in the service of the deen (religion). I jokingly argued that it was propaganda, close to mind control – how military and security training programs are structured to foster a sense of patriotism and push the supremacy of national interests in the absence of material rewards. HMG argued in response that, if the minds of the volunteers and youths were successfully conditioned to serve their Creator and community, it only benefits them in the end. That such only helps them to gain reward in the hereafter. After Professor Yelwa's lecture, many of the NACO members in attendance testified that the lecture had strengthened their resolve to serve and expect nothing material in return.
After the IVC, HMG wanted to organise another session for other members of NACO in Zaria to watch the lecture delivered by Professor Yelwa ahead of the last Ramadan. This was to prepare them for the Ramadan duty at the Islamic Trust of Nigeria (ITN) Jumma'at Mosque and other mosques where they volunteer. We made arrangements for a projector and electricity generator, unfortunately, as he lamented to me, he wasn't privy to the planning by the committee at the ITN until the first day of Ramadan tafsir. It was not possible to put up the session within the time frame he was notified. So the plan for presenting the lecture video was pushed to next Ramadan.
In a way this is the intersection between the MSSN role HMG played and the effort at promoting the sense of voluntary community service. But that's not all – apart from the capacity building initiative, he was very empathetic in dealing with complex challenges in terms of security at events and other activities. I remember at a particular time at IVC Jalingo 2021, two participants, boys in their teens, were apprehended while they were attempting to jump fence and leave the camp before the end of the week long camping program, against the rule that participants should not leave unless granted permission. The two boys were brought before HMG, (I remember he was Head of Security Operations that year) for possible punishment. But we were surprised that he decided that the boys would not be punished. That he would obtain the pass for them to leave the camp legitimately.
So what really happened that instead of being punished, the boys were treated like kings? This was what happened – the father of the said boys had been ill for a long time. And the task of feeding and caring for the household was taken up by the boys. They would engage in menial jobs to raise money to give their mother to take care of both their dad and younger ones. They narrated that when they heard about the IVC, they didn't want to miss it – they didn't want to miss the opportunity of acquiring unique Islamic knowledge and experiences. But while in the camp, they were confronted with the dilemma of caring for their parents and siblings at home.
When HMG called me to confide the situation of the boys, he looked visibly touched. He wanted to help the boys – I argued that there was need to verify their claims. He said he was going to do that immediately. After confirming their story and even speaking to their mother, he decided to do a fundraising for them. That was how he raised some amount of money and gave the boys to take home and return to the camp.
HMG's relationship with the boys didn't end there. He got a donor who supported the boys with a monthly stipend for a whole year. He ensured that the elder of the boys completed his secondary school and got enrolled at a polytechnic. And he continued to remain in touch with the boys and their family.
On the other commitments, HMG was the secretary of the Security Committee at Jamma'a, Sabon Gari Local Government of Kaduna State, where he resided. This is a community that has had a fair, nay, tragic share of the scourge of kidnapping in parts of Kaduna – Alhamdulillah, the incidents have largely subsided, let’s say almost disappeared now. During the most difficult moments of this security crisis in the community, HMG stood tall along with the chairman of the committee, Professor Yusuf Yakubu Obadaki and other members of the committee. They responded to distress calls even at the most odd of hours. They coordinated the efforts of the local vigilante and mainstream security agencies towards ensuring safety and security in the community. This is an effort that was ongoing up to the time of his demise.
Apart from his efforts in the area of voluntary community watch, HMG was a powerful force to reckon with in terms of political strategy and mobilisation. I have had to accompany him, a number of times, to gatherings and meetings on this. There were also times when he hosted some of the big names in the politics of Sabon Gari to discuss crucial matters.
His major driving force for political participation was to ensure, he always put it, “the right thing is done” and that social relief interventions get to the people who are truly in need. Within the week of his demise, I remember a time when he narrated to me how they were able to prevent diversion of fertilizers meant for the people of Sabon Gari. That's the principle with which he approached every similar task that had to do with resource distribution – be it food items, money, or other items meant for community empowerment.
On personal growth and empowerment, HMG was a farmer – he farmed rice and beans at commercial quantity and for subsistence. He promoted the idea of farming among friends as a means of economic empowerment. It was on this note that some time this year, we came up with the idea of mobilizing a group of friends to put resources together to invest in commercial agriculture. We sat down to come up with a visual analysis of the project and its potential. There was a need to bring on board friends, and we mobilized 12 of them to form what we named “Project Fourteen”. Project Fourteen is (I deliberately use the present tense here) a visionary and futuristic initiative that is intended to manage the investment of the members through, initially, farming maize and reinvesting the proceeds continuously at least for a period of five years. A milestone is set for the period and part of the proceeds is to be invested in other diverse areas that have high social impact.
He had already kickstarted a similar farm project with some NACO members – he showed me some of the farm produce that were harvested about two days before his demise. In the case of the NACO project, he explained to me that the aim was to use such a strategy to eventually raise the capital that would be used to establish a school where children of the members of the organization would acquire high quality education at no cost.
Apart from the Project Fourteen and NACO farm, there was another community development initiative. Mohammed Abdallah Biye, a philanthropist in Jama'a suburb has been providing financial support to the community. However, there was the need to have an organised structure in order to serve the most vulnerable members of the community. He reached out to HMG for help. Therefore, HMG called me to discuss the idea and need for setting up a foundation. We set out to draft a strategic plan on the key issues that the foundation will address, not only within Jama'a suburb, but the entire Sabon Gari Local Government Area. The foundation, according to the plan, will focus on improving the lives of the less privileged, youths, women, and orphans through provision of education financing, vocational training, and community engagement, among others. In a nutshell, the mission of the foundation is to empower individuals to break the cycle of poverty while fostering self-sufficiency and community development. The official launch of the foundation was slated for 1st December of this year. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the launching could not hold.
Finally, I think I have to draw to the end of this piece since it is supposed to be a brief reflection on the times we shared with Hussein on this earth – certainly, a temporary abode. In drawing to the conclusion, I must mention the Jama'a Graveyard Initiative. The Jama'a Graveyard Initiative is another voluntary community support effort. HMG mobilised like-minded members of the community to volunteer in fixing the graveyards and contributing financially to provide some of the resources needed at the graveyards. This initiative was one of our last conversations a day to his demise. He had asked me to come up with logo design, letterhead, and any other form of what could be termed as brand/identity that would support the formalisation of the initiative. I had earlier submitted preliminary designs for his review which he approved with minor corrections. This was a project that was very dear to him from the visible sense of passion with which he talked about it. And it is now part of the tasks that must be carried on by the rest of us until we also join Hussein in the hereafter.
The very few voluntary community development initiatives I mentioned above are what ultimately defined Hussein Muhammad Gamawa and his entire life. If you ever asked anyone who knew him, the description will certainly fall within the circumference of community service.
Born on 12th of June 1991, Hussein Muhammad Gamawa holds a BSc in Computer Science and a Masters in Information Management, both from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Until his demise, he was a staff of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) where he served as a Program Analyst. He is survived by a daughter, wife, both parents and siblings.
In conclusion, while I find myself in indescribable pain over the loss of such a dear friend who transformed into a brother, I am consoled by the fact that he lived a life that was beneficial to the Ummah and in service of our Creator. It is such a person that the Prophet (SAW) described as the best among mankind. He was also very close and obedient to his parents. He would never have peace of mind until he completed tasks they assigned to him. He was ultimately preoccupied with the needs of his immediate community in addition to family commitments – this was how he lived up to his last hour on the night of 20th December 2024. The vacuum he has left is that of a pair of giant iron shoes – it will be difficult and very painful to fill.
May Allah forgive the shortcomings of Hussein Muhammad Gamawa, accept his contributions to humanity, and admit him into aljannatil firdaus. May He also grant the family, the rest of us, and the entire Muslim ummah the fortitude to bear this irreparable and irreplaceable loss. May He bless the offspring that he has left behind. Ameen.
