By Sulaiman Maijama’a
In this life, there exist folks endowed with a God-given passion for propelling the progress of others. They drive pleasure in nurturing younger ones by shaping and improving their cognitive ability, making them emboldened to face the realities of life early, to navigate their way to the promised land and get rid of the traps of the terrain. To call these people mentors, in my view, they are underrated. They are God-sent and, therefore, worthy of being celebrated. If Allah, the Almighty, wishes you good, He makes you come across them, thereby opening a new page in your life.
Every successful person, I believe, has a story of someone to tell. My story will be incomplete without mentioning Malam Abdul Ahmad Burra, a teacher-turned-mentor whose seminal ideas instilled in us are inspirational and fruitful. My five years encounter with him opened a fresh perspective in my life. I believe, in the process of my narration, words will fail me. I may not put it as perfectly as it is, but my oratorically more skilful friends can best tell the story.
I did not know Abdul Ahmad Burra before 2016. In late 2016, however, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi recruited new teachers cut across respective departments of the institution. Malam Abdul was among the lecturers recruited in the Mass Communication department. During a sessional break a few weeks to the completion of our Industrial Attachment and so, immediately we resumed ND Two, we had a good fortune to have been the first set of students he taught.
His first impression in the class spelt the type of person he is; a down-to-earth, serious-minded person with a wealth of experience within and outside academia. This imbued in us, sense of determination, commitment and perseverance to pursue our lofty dreams to the best of our ability. Shortly after that, he introduced to us a new method of teaching with which we were not familiar. Every week before the commencement of his lectures, he would challenge the class to bring updates of topical issues in the country. If you told the story, he would annihilate you with a barrage of follow-up questions as if you were giving analysis on CNN. This made our class always keep abreast of happenings in the country, and before we knew it, we became so conversant with National Discourse.
I was almost always the student who updated the class, and that is how Malam Abdul discovered me. Our relationship, therefore, grew and blossomed into a brotherhood. A couple of weeks after taking a semester examination, Malam called and issued me a list of about seven students, including myself, and asked me to summon them.
“A glad tidings to you”, he said, “you are the best students who scored ‘A’ in my course’ “. He offered us pieces of golden advice and motivated us to maintain the speed. Later, when he realised that my CGPA was moving with Distinction, he became a driving force, propelling and challenging me to ensure that I graduated with it. In 2017 when we graduated, as our final result was about to be released, he was the one who excitingly broke the news that I graduated top of my class with Distinction. Thanks to Allah to whom I owe it and the encouragement of Malam Abdul!
After my graduation in 2017, Abdul did not leave me alone; he instructed that I should not, in all conscience, waste a year at home, should apply for a university immediately. I intended to apply to ABU, Zaria. Going by my preference for language comprehension, I wanted to switch to BA English. However, Malam Abdul protested that Mass Communication was the best destination for me. He further suggested that I go to Bayero University, Kano (BUK), for the institution has the best communication department, professors and facilities. In order not to put all our eggs in one basket and end up losing, my friend Shamsudeen Musa and I came up with two plans: to make two separate applications, one for BUK and the other for ABU, Zaria. We did.
Meanwhile, generous Malam Abdul Burra went from Bauchi to Kano to ensure that we secured the BUK admission that year. While waiting for the admission, he suggested that I start volunteer work with any of the radio stations in Bauchi to be well-grounded in the practical aspect of Journalism. When I told him that I did not have a connection with any of the stations, he took me to Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC), which made the process possible for me to work. The first report I presented to the Editor was given a headline. My reader will guess, with more than scientific precision, how excited I was. I worked with the BRC for almost a year.
In the same vein, one evening in early 2018, this idol invited me to his house for a fruitful discussion. He told me that since I had the upper hand in broadcast practice, and being an intelligent boy, according to him, I would make a good writer, and so, he wanted me to put my hand in the writing business so that I would be multiskilled. I was too young and inexperienced but, he encouraged me that whether I “write right” or otherwise, it is a learning process, which with practise would eventually lead to close perfection. I heeded the advice; began to write since then. Should I live without writing now, I would feel incomplete. The impact it has had on me today is immeasurable. To whom the credit goes?
Late 2018, when the BUK Direct entry admission list for the Faculty of Communication was out, to our great excitement, only my friend Shamsudeen and I, whom Malam Abdul worked for, made to the list in the whole Bauchi State. Upon informing him, his excitement defied expression. Having faith and confidence in us, a further challenge he put on us to go to BUK and made him proud. Did I have any excuse to relent? I felt the urge and thirst for learning to justify the confidence Malam reposed in me. I worked harder and expanded my reading time because I thought that anything less than First Class would be a disappointment to him.
Four semesters down the line, Alhamdulillah! With all sense of humility, I made First Class in Two semesters. Two semesters to my graduation now, I feel obliged to pen down this tribute in acknowledgement of the tremendous impact his mentorship has had on me.
I would not do justice to myself if I did not mention that Malam Abdul facilitated me ways to work for financial earnings at different points in time. For example, during the 2019 election, he engaged me in a particular assignment. My budget for that year was, therefore, increased!
May the light in him continue to flicker, ameen.
