By Marie-Therese Nanlong

IT was a gamble, but one driven by a selfless act of humanity that had at that moment been deprived of essential parts around him. That was what thrust Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi into national renown.

When on the night of June 23, 2018, marauding armed herdsmen on the plateau descended on villages in Gashish and Ropp Districts of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, they were unconsciously determined to set a record in infamy.

By official accounts, about 85 persons were killed by the marauding attackers. Unofficial accounts, however, put the number of those killed at about 350 persons.

Abubakar Abdullahi

That figure could have doubled but for the heroic action of Abdullahi, 83, the Imam of the local mosque who laid down his life to hide 350 potential victims of the attackers in the mosque and his house.

One of the survivors who hid in the mosque, Choji Davou says he owes his life to God, the Imam and his assistants for being instruments for his escape. Davou and the others were in the mosque for four days during which the Imam fed them till help came.

https://newlive.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/8-killed-9-injured-in-plateau-kaduna-attacks/

Running from all directions

“We were running from all directions as the Fulani people chased us; other people were running from neighbouring villages which were also under attack. The attackers were shooting all over the place. God wanted this to happen because the mosque would have been the last place we would have thought of running to, but as we approached the mosque, we were just seeking where to run to, where we could survive, and to the glory of God, the Imam allowed us to enter the mosque, and he hid us. For the period we were there, the Muslims held their prayers outside.

“Thank God we are alive to tell the story, if not for him, we would have been killed.”

Imam Abdullahi, originally from Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State came to the Yelwa community of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area as a young man with his late father for mining and farming activities. He later settled there; married three wives including one from the host Berom-speaking community and sired 20 children.

It was not surprising that his action in saving hundreds, mostly Christians, attracted commendation from near and wide. Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State aptly praised him for saving the country from unnecessary bloodletting. “What he did not only saved the people of Barkin Ladi, not only Plateau State but I think the whole of this country because 300 lives is not a small number,” Governor Lalong said.

Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge de Affaires, United States Embassy in Nigeria, David Young, extolled his virtues as heroic. “This man is a challenge to all of us; think about what you do every day. Do you take risks for peace? Would you put your life on the line to protect people from other communities,” the US diplomat had said.

Explaining his action, Imam Abdullahi had said: “I hid the women in my house, and after that, I took the men into the mosque and hid them there, the assailants caught up with me and demanded that I bring out the Christians among the people, but I told them that everyone with me is a Muslim, so they left and continued the killing elsewhere.

“Most of the people who came to hide were Christians, and the attackers came in large numbers, shooting indiscriminately. I gambled with my life because they could have attacked me. I fell because of the confusion, but when they saw that I am an old man, they left me and went their way. I have never experienced such a terrible situation.”

Imam Abubakar has been severally lauded for his humanity and the risk he took to safeguard hundreds of lives. His example remains a sterling motivation to the millions of Nigerians who espouse that old rhyme that neither tongue nor tribe shall divide Africa’s largest nation.

For his exemplary demonstration of kindness, Mallam Abubakar Abdullahi gets Vanguard’s Award for Humanitarian Service.