Yahaya Ladan: Sunset at noon for a good soul

Nasiru L. AbubakarIn Nigeria, it is not uncommon to come across broken down vehicles at very dangerous spots on our highways and without any caution sign to warn road users of the danger lurking ahead. Last week Friday, February 20, 2009, we drove past two such vehicles – one close to the U-turn leading to Dikko Junction and the other somewhere near Katari – on our way to Kaduna from Abuja. Yakubu, who was driving, was visibly irked and spent about an hour lamenting the general state of our roads.The road safety officials who, in addition to other roles, are responsible for removing obstructions on our roads, Yakubu lamented, seem more ‘comfortable’ arresting motorists for not using seatbelts or motorcyclists for not wearing the crash helmets. Good as enforcement of the use of seatbelts and crash helmets are, there is no reason why road safety officers should limit their job to them or limit their presence to towns and cities even as their attention is very much needed on the highways.For if the road safety officials had been on the Abuja-Kaduna highway and caused the driver of broken down heavy equipment vehicle to put a caution sign on that fateful Friday, perhaps – just perhaps – my friend, Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, would have been alive today. But “Qad ja’alal-Lahu likulli shay’in qadran” (Allah [Subhanahu wa ta’ala] has predetermined for everything its fate).Yahaya was in Abuja to see one of his paternal uncles. On his way back to Kaduna on Friday, February 20, 2009, he was involved in a fatal accident when the Gulf car they where travelling in ran into a vehicle that broke down on the speed lane at Suleja, close to Dikko Junction which leads to Minna, the capital of Niger State. Unfortunately, it was already dark (after Isha’ prayers, I learnt) and the driver had no inkling of the disaster lying in wait because there was no sign to warn him. More so the spot was a dangerous one and there was poor visibility.And when I received the shocking news on Saturday, my mind instantly recalled Yakubu’s lamentations the day before. It was the same vehicle we saw which Yakubu first complained about that claimed the lives of Yahaya and four others. And as usual with our disaster prevention agencies, they don’t always appear on time at disaster scenes. It is as if they are more concerned with evacuation of casualties than prevention of calamities. Among the first people to receive the shocking news of Yahaya’s death I learnt were those whose numbers happened to be on the redial list on his mobile phone, and his fiancé’s number was also there, meaning that she was among the first to receive the news concerning his accident. She was naturally thrown off balance and is still battling to live with this painful reality. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. (From Allah we come and to Him is our return.) When Yahaya’s remains were brought back home, it was clear that he bled through his nose, owing to the impact of the hit. From what I heard, the Good Samaritan who reached out to Yahaya’s people, and those of the four others I believe, was careful in delivering the message. But the reality did not take long in coming because Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, have reached the end of their sojourn on earth. One thing about death, though, is that whenever it strikes, it lives in its wake painful memories. And despite the fact that death is an old reality, reactions to it have always been that of “if only, had it been and other forms of human astonishments.” A determined and focussed young man in his early thirties, Yahaya was to have tied the ‘nuptial knot’ in December 2008. But for reasons beyond human control, the date was shifted to February 2009 and later to July same year. All the most relevant arrangements have been made – formal introduction, presentation of wedding paraphernalia and so on. But that was not to be as Allah has decreed that Yahaya will meet him as a bachelor. May Allah compensate his marital plans with hoorun-in (The beautiful ladies of paradise), and reward him for opting for marriage as a way of keeping chastity.And as many people testified, Yahaya was calm and forthright. Two of his secondary school mates at Unity School Gummi, in today’s Zamfara State, Muawiya Abdullahi Kamba and Garba Abdullahi recall Yahaya as an amiable fellow who was always passionate about his academics. To him, it was school first and then any other thing can follow. Truth as their submissions remain about Yahaya, I also have fond memories about him growing up as young kids.I still recall, and vividly too, a day in the early 80s when we were playing somewhere behind Maiduguri Road mosque in Kaduna. What we were doing then was climb up a wall, leap and cling on to a branch of the tree that was standing near by, use our hands to move further on the branch and then jump down at the point where it was closer down. One day, Yahaya was the first to start. But after successfully finishing the leaping process, his landing was faulty – faulty because we all thought we have mastered the act. Like a joke – we actually thought he was joking – he went on his knees screaming “my leg, my leg”. A second look confirmed to us that Yahaya was not joking as we saw a bone protruding from between his shin and ankle. Yahaya was rushed to the hospital and I didn’t remember myself or any of the group members going there to play ever again.One of Yahaya’s paternal uncles, and the most senior of the famous Ladan Family, Alhaji Yusuf Ladan, Dan Iyan Zazzau and the District Head of Kabala, lives in Maiduguri Road, where he frequented as a kid. I got to know Yahaya through his cousins, Bello and Aliyu, my friends for as long as I can remember. In fact, we were more than just neighbours with the duo of Bello and Aliko, all members of the Yusuf Ladan family. We were so close that we shared a number of things together, like going to school, eating together and so on. In any case, we grew up to see our parents, Late Sheikh Lawal Abubakar and Alhaji Yusuf Ladan as more than just neighbours. Yahaya’s biological father, Malam Ilyasu Ladan was visibly touched, as were the other members of the Ladan family and friends. Yahaya was very close to his dad as he was to other members of the family. He valued friendship and did his best to keep friendship. He had better use for his energy and had no time keeping enemies. This much was clear from the sea of mourners that trooped to his family house situated along Marnona Street, Unguwar Sarki, in Kaduna. My condolences go to Yahaya’s parents, relations, friends and above all, his fiancé. It is also my prayer that Almighty Allah will overlook Yahaya’s shortcomings as a human being and reward his good deeds. Yes, the only way the living can benefit the dead is through constant prayers. May Allah in His infinite mercy give us the strength to continue praying for all those who have departed and bless us with those who will pray for us when we depart, as we surely will at the appropriate time.I will also want to use this opportunity to call on members of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to be alive to their responsibilities. Their services are very much needed on our highways, not just inside towns and cities. Nasiru L. Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja.