THE BOY I SENT TO CALL HIS SISTER
By Ahmed Abdulkadir
Some moments in our lives appear ordinary when they happen. It is only years later, when we look back, that we realise how significant they were.
One such moment happened more than four decades ago in Radda.
I had first met my future wife, Hajiya Indo Umar Radda, when she was my student at the then Women Teachers' College (WTC), Kabomo. I was teaching at the college when Indo, then a final-year student, accompanied her friend and classmate, Amina Shata, to the staff room to greet me.
I gradually developed an interest in Indo and eventually indicated my intention to marry her. After she graduated, our courtship continued, and I began visiting her in her hometown of Radda.
It was during one of those visits that I first met her younger brother.
I travelled to Radda with my late cousin, Mansur Muhammad Ɗangwaggo, popularly known as Mansa, who was then working as a Bursar at WATC, Dutsinma. We stopped at his house before he drove me to Radda in his Toyota Corolla Station Wagon.
When we arrived at Indo's father's house, the first person we encountered was a young boy playing outside.
He looked remarkably like Indo.
We assumed he must be her younger brother.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Dikko," he replied.
I asked him to go and call Indo.
He obediently went inside and brought his sister out.
That was my first encounter with the young Dikko Umaru Radda.
At the time, there was absolutely nothing to suggest that this young boy would one day become Governor of Katsina State.
I certainly could not have imagined it.
If someone had told me that the little boy I had just sent to call his sister would someday occupy the highest elective office in Katsina State, I might have found the prediction difficult to believe.
Yet, here we are.
The boy I sent to call his sister is today 57 years old and the Governor of Katsina State.
After Indo and I got married, Dikko continued his education and attended the Universal Primary Education Teachers' College (UPE) in Zaria.
Indo and I once visited him there. As was customary for boarding students in those days, we went with provisions—Gari, Ƙuli, Cincin, sugar, groundnuts, pepper and other items—and gave him some pocket money before leaving.
Years passed, and Dikko grew into a man who would increasingly take on public responsibilities.
When he became Chairman of Charanci Local Government Council, our paths crossed again, this time professionally.
I was then the General Manager of Katsina State Television (KTTV).
Charanci Local Government Council and KTTV developed a business relationship, with the local government sponsoring some programmes on the television station.
So, the young boy I had first encountered in Radda was now a local government chairman doing business with me in my capacity as General Manager of the state television station.
There is another episode from that period that I have always found particularly interesting.
The late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who was then Governor of Katsina State, and Dikko were chatting one day when the Governor asked him about his sister, Indo, and her husband, Ahmed.
Governor Yar'Adua told Dikko that he had heard that Indo's husband was then living in Abuja and asked about us.
Dikko responded by reminding him:
"He is the one you appointed as General Manager of Katsina State Television."
That was how, in the course of an ordinary conversation between a Governor and his brother-in-law, my name came up—not simply as Indo's husband, but as the person Governor Yar'Adua had appointed to head KTTV.
It was another unexpected intersection between my family relationship with Dikko and my professional life.
There was another chapter in our relationship that I remember with particular fondness—one that went beyond family and public service and into the realm of academic pursuit.
In 2008, Dikko told me that he had commenced a Ph.D. programme at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
I was inspired.
ABU was my alma mater, and hearing that my younger brother-in-law had embarked on doctoral studies at the same institution rekindled something in me.
The following year, in 2009, I gained admission to the same university to pursue a Ph.D. in Development Communication.
In a sense, Dikko's decision to pursue a doctorate had encouraged me to return to the academic environment.
Our journeys, however, took different turns.
Dikko persevered and eventually completed his doctoral studies. My own journey became considerably more difficult. A number of hurdles emerged along the way, and after seven years in the programme, I eventually had to abandon it without completing the degree.
I have never forgotten that chapter of our lives.
It remains one of those interesting intersections in our journeys: his perseverance inspired me to begin; circumstances prevented me from finishing.
But the fact that he completed his own journey is something I continue to appreciate and admire.
Many years later, our paths crossed again when Dikko was Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
During an occasion in Radda, we met and began reminiscing about the past.
I asked him:
"Do you remember how I used to send you to call your sister whenever I came to Radda?"
He laughed.
Then he told me that he could never forget it.
That response touched me because it confirmed that those seemingly insignificant moments of our youth had remained in his memory too.
The young boy who once ran inside to call his sister was now a senior public servant, and we were both laughing together about those distant days.
Dikko's journey continued—from Chairman of Charanci Local Government Council to Director-General of SMEDAN and eventually to his decision to seek the governorship of Katsina State.
When he decided to contest, he entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as Director, Media and Publicity, in his campaign council.
By then, the boy I had first known had become a man with a vision and a determination to serve his state.
Today, he is the Governor of Katsina State.
When I look back at that journey, I see something remarkable:
The young boy playing outside his father's house in Radda...
The boy I asked to call his sister...
The student in Zaria whom his sister and I visited with Gari, Ƙuli and Cincin...
The Chairman of Charanci Local Government Council whose administration sponsored programmes on KTTV...
The man who reminded Governor Yar'Adua that I was the person he appointed General Manager of KTTV...
The young academic who inspired me to begin my own Ph.D. journey...
The Director-General of SMEDAN...
The political candidate who entrusted me with his media campaign...
And now, the Governor of Katsina State at 57.
What a journey!
Beyond the Titles
Despite all the positions he has occupied, Dikko has remained, to me, what he was from the beginning: my wife's younger brother.
Our relationship has survived the passage of time and the changing circumstances of life.
I still remember his excitement in 2002 when he called me after acquiring a mobile phone, at a time when mobile phones were still rare and expensive. As soon as I answered, he exclaimed:
"Ni ma na haɗa!"
"I have joined the club too!"
I also remember Indo telling me, with amusement, that after Dikko discovered I was an English teacher, he resolved never to say even a simple "yes" in English whenever I was around, lest he make a grammatical mistake.
These are the memories that titles cannot replace.
They remind me that before the Governor, before the DG of SMEDAN and before the local government chairman, there was simply Dikko—the young brother of my wife whom I once sent to call his sister.
Today, as he celebrates his 57th birthday, I look back with gratitude and wonder at the journey Allah has written for him.
The Qur'an asks:
"Which, then, of the favours of your Lord will you deny?"
On this special day, I thank Almighty Allah for the gift of your life and for bringing you this far.
May Allah grant you wisdom, good health, strength and courage to discharge the responsibilities entrusted to you.
May He protect you and your family, guide you in leading Katsina State, and make your service to the people a source of enduring reward.
May the years ahead bring you even greater wisdom, fulfilment and opportunities to serve humanity.
Happy 57th Birthday, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, Governor of Katsina State.
May Almighty Allah continue to guide, protect and bless you.
And yes, Dikko, I still remember the boy I once sent to call his sister...
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