By Bande Matthew Odu
On the 10th of December, 2022, Bukar Usman , one of the illustrious and well decorated sons of Biu, clocked 80. But today, he has grown to become a global citizen and a detribalised Nigerian.
We celebrate Dr. Usman both for the age and the achievements that have accompanied the age. We are proud of you, sir, and it feels good to celebrate you while you live. You have done a decade, a score, a silver Jubilee, a Golden Jubilee, Platinum, a Diamond and an Oak/Pearl. You are now an octogenarian.
80 is significant, and has provided you the opportunity to fulfill your dreams and to hatch your hopes, as well as made you an instrument of blessing to humanity. Our joy is that you entered the exclusive club of octogenarians well, strong and healthy. We pray the good Lord will continue to sustain and keep you in good health.
The academia might have missed your intellectual exploits and vibrancy, but your entry after retirement paid off as if grounds were not lost while you sojourned in the civil service. As a Pollyanna, your new love has brought as much happiness as the former.
You prove your mettle anywhere and everywhere you go. You are not a flash in the pan. You are not an accident. Your achievements are visible and tangible. They are verifiable and we’ll documented such that no eraser can erase. You have been dutiful, diligent and hard working. Your supervisors were at ease with your work, even when most of the times you worked with little or no supervision. They showered encomiums both officially and unofficially. In the civil service, you earned your promotions regularly and reached the pinnacle of your career without lobbying for. You were not heard, you were not even seen most of the times, but your work was conspicuous, so it spoke for you. Today, we celebrate you a phenomenal, a quintessential former Permanent Secretary.
You reminisce with nostalgia your days at provincial school and the prestigious Kings College, Lagos. You retain and remember members of the inner cycle (the golden ingots). The few events I have followed you to, you were active and joined the choir to sing the School’s anthem with relish and with the enthusiasm of Juvenile School boys. I have been jealous, I must confess.
You exude unbelievable candour and simplicity and uncanny ability to attract people and retain them. People of your status yell, shout and bark orders. But you are surprisingly humble, courteous, punctilious and disciplined- the hallmarks of a well-trained public servant. Kudos to you, sir.
You have remained a civil servant by upholding the training that was inculcated into you. Very tacitly tactful, yet, very productive. You preach hard work and you lead by example. For you, serendipity is as a result of hard work. Devine prudence yes, but success comes with making an effort
You stand sincere and straight-talking and not given to persiflages. You are steady even under pressure, you have been unflappable. You were unruffled before a former head of state, the late fiery General Murtala Mohammed. You went with unfeigned innocence sufficient for your courage. Without an iota of rascality as a young officer, you showed boldness. You were commended ten years later by another former Head of State that “you saved the day”.
Your kindness to humanity endears you to the people. A none partisan and apolitical man of the people against Chinua Achebe’s postulation. Your philanthropy has been copiously eulogised. Your philanthropy matches and surpasses Father Christmas’, whereas, his is cyclical and yours is inexorably continuous. You have inadvertently written your name in Gold. Again, we are happy to celebrate you Sir.
You have given so generously that it takes a compendium to compile. What dies in us while we live is the worst death. You have been kind with everything. History has and will continue to remember you kindly and for a long time too especially as you have preserved most of your thoughts in writing. Your footprints have remained indelible on the sands of time.
You further renewed our Hope by giving us the Foundation of Hope (The Dr. Bukar Usman Foundation), a vehicle that has enabled a wider reach to get to your target audience. This made it possible for various donations in cash and kind to be doled out. You spread your tentacles outside needy individuals to school, organisations and Universities. You have been wonderful, sir. Happy birthday to a philanthropist. I am happy to have met you.
Your lucid style of writing, communicatory most of the times, excites yours readers. It charms and addicts even the less voracious readers to complete reading your work to completion once they have started. Your deft and clarity of thought, magically entice and compel them to read through to the end. This style distinguishes you and your readers thirst for more like “the Ocean Water. The more one drinks, the thirstier he becomes”. Your limpidity more or less disambiguates.
Songs have been sung for you. You have been serenaded and recognised with a plethora of awards by individuals, corporate organisations, universities, etc. You were also awarded the prestigious National Honours to cap your recognition for meritorious service to fatherland. You have been described variously as an accomplished bureaucrat, philanthropist, ideologue, Public Intellectual, venerated son of Biu, writer, culture aficionado, among others.
You are our inspirer, motivator and mentor, “one whose finger is soaked in the Calabash of Honey that everybody wants to lick”, “One whose temper rises when Human Rights are trampled upon”. An incurable Pollyanna-good things will surely happen. A preacher and believer in NOBLES OBLIGE. Here, too, you are an exemplary VANGUARD. What More Can I say?
Behind every successful man there is a woman, I dare add a good woman. Your spouse Mrs. Raliat Dupe Usman, has been superlative to say the least. She has been your first Assistant, Secretary, Clothier and Manager. A sympathiser, an empathiser, a generous and simple woman. She overwhelmingly supported and encouraged the establishment of the Dr. Bukar Usman Foundation. Needless to say, philanthropy is within and around you.
Your spouse shares in the joy of this day. Her knowledge of gastronomy is worthy of mentioning as her delectable dishes bring nourishment and rejuvenation to you. A peaceful and simple woman. More or less a younger sister and friend. The triple Hs and Z, your children even though you have an army of other children through philanthropic fecundity, are also peaceful, easy-going and considerate. The milk of human kindness also flows profusely in them.
The drums are out not just to celebrate the patriarch of the Usmans, but also the father of all those you have met. You are likened to Abraham –the father of many nations.
You deserve all the accolades and encomiums , especially on your 8oth birthday. You remain an epitome of humility and a model for younger people to emulate. Others richer than you are, have been selfish with their money, time and everything. But you have been giving not because of abundance but because of the desire to make the world better than you met it. You give surprisingly to people who cannot requite your kindness. We appreciate your efforts.
Having been compared to the mythical Biu Avatar Yamtarawala is a confirmation that you have attained certain degrees of incontrovertible greatness. The King makers are watching and discussing. Turbaning the philosopher on his 80th birthday as the Kuthli, worldwide would be colorful and appropriate. What do you think?
Bande Matthew Odu (jnr) is a former Banker/ Entrepreneur.