Life happens to living people, occasioned by patches of todays, bumps of tomorrows, breezes of yesterdays and indelible marks of some days. The events that we witness shape our thoughts, frame our minds and set our perspectives.
I have made acquaintance with numerous people from childhood till date, quite a number have become friends as well, with Abubakar Idris Usman aka Dadiyata, a pretty good one indeed. So many people knew Abubakar as a fiery keyboard persona, with a confrontational social media approach; I remember him and myself always used to joke about being opposite poles of the same trough.
I began to interact with Abubakar on Twitter, and because we shared the same political leanings at the time, we got close and maintained a good relationship. As time went by, our closeness became even more personal as he picked huge interest in the ground work that I was doing politically, and in the accomplishments of my Foundation. He would always reach out with advice and encouragement, and since he likes kids a lot too, we would discuss our daughters and dream about when they would grow into fine knowledgeable women. The last discussion we had, two days before he was forcefully taken away, was about Hanifa’s (his daughter) graduation from Nursery School and his planned visit to Abuja.
Since the occasion of his forceful abduction from his home in Barnawa, Kaduna, there have emerged tonnes of speculations regarding what might have happened and who might have authorised his detention. Not a single front was spared in the search for his whereabouts as the public were fed regular updates, through my Twitter handle, up until Day Forty Nine, when the routine update metamorphosed to a demand tagged #WhereIsDadiyata , which has remained active till date. All of the efforts on Social Media and at every public forum such an opportunity would present itself, the conversation is kept alive and the awareness is raised to seek Abubakar’s freedom.
Furthermore, I have seen a rare demonstration of friendship to Abubakar and his family from a circle of genuine well-wishers. A people, brought together mostly under the banner of politics, have taken deep interest in the welfare of Abubakar’s family since his forceful abduction, and have shown true perseverance and a rare mettle in today’s world of paying just lip or eye service. The solidarity from the quarters of young people has been absolutely inspirational and has proven that genuine people and relationships abound, yet rarely can be told superficially, until the chips are down.
The leadership of Kwankwasiyya Movement under Senator Kwankwaso, to which Abubakar so passionately belonged, and lately the Kano State Government, under His Excellency Abba Kabir Yusuf, have been instrumental to keeping the conversation alive and in making public declarations of solidarity to Abubakar and his family. Such solidarity resonates deeply with family and close friends and its weight of impact cannot be overemphasised, just as the depth to which negative comments pierce. The hope of reunion soars only higher as years go by, we will continue to optimistically dream of seeing Abubakar again, in his witty conversations filled with laughter and references to Qur’anic verses, with brutally frank and rigid opinions thrown here and there.
It is really painful having to suffer the agony of wait, just to know what actually happened with or to Abubakar in trying to attain some form of closure. In this case, even more painful, that the most important person to him did not know of his whereabouts up until her passing. But our hearts are consoled by the fact that Abubakar’s mother left this world knowing that his family and friends harbour unconditional solidarity for him, and will remain resolute until the mystery behind his forceful abduction is finally determined. I pray the Almighty blesses her soul with eternal mercy.
So many people have backed the cause for Abubakar’s freedom unconditionally, and I say this from a position of knowledge. Those known to be his friends and well-wishers have lived up to the billing and many have surpassed the test of loyalty by being there in these times of great need, but I have been personally left in awe of those invisible and anonymous hands that have contributed immensely to the family’s journey through this terrifying agony.
The journey so far has been one of sheer pain and fear, but a beneficial take-away from it is a lesson of loyalty, that four (4) years since Abubakar’s abduction, with zero information, zero concrete leads to unravelling the mystery, great people of will have tenaciously endured and have not slid into despair. We will remain fervently prayerful and commit Abubakar’s matter further to the Almighty and continue to wait, neither in despair nor in delusion, because we harbour trust in the Almighty to grant us the bliss that we desire, like he granted an impossible exit to the followers of Musa A.S.
Umar Farouq Mukhtar (Mai Dattako)
Twitter: @farouqyola
DADIYATA: THE AGONY OF WAITING
