Tribute to a great icon, a loving father, companion, husband, brother, uncle and a gentle man! Every soul must taste the pain of death! No enough words can describe our sorrow for missing you.
The death of family members and loved ones is always very hard to bear! It is even the hardest loss to bear if the person in question was the pillar and cornerstone of the community.
During his cherished and celebrated life, he successfully united and fended for the entire family. He was an icon, a lighthouse that gives hope and life to people around him, and a positive force to reckon with that galvanized our family into the single cohesive unit that we are today.
Even though my relationship with Turaki was far from cordial from the beginning, I must acknowledge his support during my days as a student at Kaduna Polytechnic, when I landed a job in Abuja and when I was building my first house.
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My youthful exuberance and lack of life experience brought me in a crossfire with late Turaki, the misunderstanding looms for over a decade, but as a father, experienced mentor, he out-fired and disarmed me.
We were shocked when he visited us in England and spent significant part of the day with us. During his visit, he made the rules of engagement clear, and declared me as an ally. His mission was “I want all my family (the entire family) to succeed.”
His words and determination to help people succeed, consistently matched his actions. He was very generous with his resources and advice.
It took us (me and Dr. Sani) almost 20 years to be completely on the same page, but eventually we ended up on the same page. As a result, I made a confession to him during one of his roll calls to check on his battalion.
I confessed, “Baba now I see things the way you have been seeing them and share your joys and frustrations”. With a gallant smile and fatherly reassurance, he said, “I’m glad we see things from the same perspective”. He said what he meant and meant what he said. He followed his words with action.
Every encounter with Turaki was a learning opportunity and life-changing. It would be a mistake to compare Turaki with anyone that I know, the comparison would end up like comparing a dwarf to a giant. Now that Turaki is gone, Oh LORD anoint another Turaki that will lead us from the front, love us, support and keep us united. Amiin.
Dr. Sani fought and won every battle apart from this unfair one with his death. A giant has fallen! The lion has fallen into the hands of his lord who loves him more than all of us loved him. His death left us in deep sorrow to answer the call of our lord.
Ya Allah, while we celebrate his life, receive Turaki honorably and make his grave spacious than all the houses he built for people during his life. Make his final abode to be exalted amongst those who you love.
Adiós Turaki.
