Reminiscence of The Days in My Life By Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi Emir of Dutse Reminiscence of The Days in My Life By Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi Emir of Dutse “When you were born you cried and the World rejoiced, Live your life so that when you die the World cries and You rejoice” (Indian proverb) Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition Printed by Sada Mashi Printing Press April.,2019 Safar …1440AH Fist Published and Printed by Lugga Press Limited Safar 1431 Hijrah February 2010AD Twentieth Anniversary Edition Printed by Jigawa State Printing Press December 11, 2015 AD Safar 30,1436Hijrah (C ) Copyright Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi ISBN978-49202-3-0 Dedication In loving memory of mother Fatsuma Binta Nuhu who nurtured me and my thoughts through her wisdom and love. She made me understand the basic principles of life that personal achievement is a gift from God, and whatever a person achieves is a gift to his community. I also dedicate this book to my father Muhammad Sanusi Dan Bello who guided and taught me to be respectful to everyone, but subservient to no one. I am indebted to my brother Basiru who inspired my childhood and supported me through adolescent period. I am immensely grateful to my wives and children who supported me through trying moments in my life and encouraged me to publish this memoir. I am appreciative to friends that enriched my vision through their contributions to create my reality. May the eternal bounty and blessings of the Almighty (Allah SWT) be with them. Table of Contents Preface Yielding to Public Pressure 4-8 Chapter One the Village of Birth 9-16 Chapter Two Age of Innocence 7-26 Chapter Three Elementary School 27-38 Chapter Four Journey to Kano 39-51 Chapter Five Enjoyable Recollections 52-59 Chapter Six Boarding School 60-69 Chapter Seven Independence Celebrations 70-81 Chapter Eight Anxiety and Optimism 82-98 Chapter Nine Campus Opportunities 99-107 Chapter Ten See USA- Dairy of a Bus Journey 108-122 Chapter Eleven Mission Accomplished 123-142 Chapter Twelve Stepladders 143-156 Chapter Thirteen Latin America 157-172 Chapter Fourteen Prejudice 173-183 Chapter Fifteen Travelling East 184-193 Chapter Sixteen Asian Pacific Countries 194-214 Chapter Seventeen African Adventures 215-229 Chapter Eighteen New Horizons 230-237 Chapter Nineteen New States Creation 238-256 Chapter Twenty Appointment as Emir 257-270 Chapter Twenty-One Blowing My Trumpet 271-284 Chapter Twenty-Two Contemporary Issues 285-302 Yielding to Public Pressure "I have mixed feelings about life. Sometimes I adore it, sometimes I feel angry at it, sometimes it drives me crazy, and other times, it breaks my heart. But despite all these feelings, I feel thankful for having it, especially when I realize that all the unpleasant struggles and lows are also part of this beautiful, breathtaking journey. Today, take a moment to reflect on all the things life is blessing you with - both the good and the bad, the big and the small - because they are all gifts worth appreciating". Fabrizio Fenech I am indeed blessed to be born in a time and place that has taken me from a wooden writing board to a laptop, from a small thatched hut to a civilized urban life with all the modern amenities. My greatest asset in life lies not in the material acquisitions but in those moments of despair and hopelessness, successes and primacy. These were moments that put my life into focus, and those were the time of critical decisions. I have chosen to write my memoirs in response to various requests from students, well-wishers, and acquaintances seeking permission to write and publish my life stories. I have deliberately refused permission to avoid misrepresentation, exaggeration, or praise singing my efforts and covering my weaknesses. I am a mortal like any other person who has strength and weaknesses, who hold personal views about different persons or issues. I went through life experiences that are pleasing and displeasing a time as part of the learning process of a purposeful human life. Destiny and personal efforts played an important role in my success and ability to understand, prioritize, plan, and invest in my future. In coping with exigencies of life and desire to make a brighter future, I endured patiently through tough times, in classrooms as a student for twenty-one year's pursuing my goals in life without break, ignoring the attractions of youthful exuberance. This book is about my life, but it will be a meaningless exercise if it does not relate to events and actors of such events. I have chosen out of the many entries in life diary events that shaped my thinking, my understanding, and my perceptions. I spent my early childhood in a remote village, my late childhood in big towns and adulthood in cities. I traveled around the world and have seen most of its notable cities, met people of different cultures, different religious beliefs, yet within me, I tried to maintain my identity and always wanted to return to my community and serve the country that gave me the opportunity to achieve my life ambitions. I was lucky to be one of the thousands of people who kept their life dairies for others to read and be inspired by what I went through from rural dwelling to urban life, from despair at some occasions to hope in others, and from nonentity to the glare of public attention. I hope through my account children and young people particularly of an underprivileged class will develop the right attitude to success through sheer determination and endurance in order to live a moral and fulfilling life. It is not where you were born and how you were born that determines your future, but how you lead and spent your valuable time. Like anyone else I found through interactions, life to be an endless battle to which if one is not continuously alert, patient, and focused, will end up emotionally unstable, physically and mentally distressed, and will have few friends to rely upon in time of grief. For those interested in reading this memoir, should note that whatever is written about any persons or events are based on my personal understanding, interpretation, perception and or recollections. My views, however, may not necessarily reflect the actual intention of the actors or views of other observers. Certain facts or descriptions of events may also hurt some people, but I did my best to hide the identities of those involved in horrendous acts against me. I have no intention of maligning anyone or assassinating their character, but I chose to report my stories in the most academic manner by reporting facts as I perceive them without fear of the possible consequences. I was an average student in school, yet through conviction and hard work, I turned those disabilities to my greatest advantage in a positive manner overcoming my shortcomings within a record time. Despite my limited resources as a student, I was able to save enough money to enable me to achieve my life desires for traveling around the world. I had difficulty speaking English as a child, yet I was able to force myself to learn the language that gave me the opportunity to interact with different people of different cultures and religions and draw valuable life experiences. I was an employee, yet after losing my job, I was able to start the small business ventures that turned me to be an employer of labor. I was hunted by adversaries to alienation, yet by Allah's grace survived their evil mechanizations and achieved my life ambition. I was an emir of a relatively new and unknown emirate, yet with the support of people around me brought it to an enviable position of authority whose voice always find headlines in National dailies. My greatest asset in life was contentment a lesson I learned early in life from my father who always reminded us to count our blessings whenever we request for new things. It was much later that I realized the advantage of contentment when my roommate in the University from a very wealthy family, owner of an aircraft, a country home, a yacht, several SUVs, and plenty of money in his personal account, sadly engaged himself in gambling to earn more money. He became bankrupt and forced to divorce his wife and had to borrow from student loan fund to complete his degree. He was constantly relying on my counsel to reduce emotional stress and depression. I learned great lessons from this single incidence as his greed landed him into deep financial ruin. Despite my great desire to be part of my culture after concluding my formal education, I had difficulty fitting into what I have always regarded as the good side of my cultural affinity. I found myself totally indifferent to some practices which earned me the derogatory nickname of (Bature) among my friends. I avoided participating in many practices that I consider a sheer waste of time particularly spending valuable time engaging in discussing others out of envy and jealousy. I had for many years great difficulty in finding friends and readjusting to the society I nostalgically left behind as my value systems have changed dramatically and no longer interested in trivial or emotional issues. My definition of pleasure, happiness or success is no longer in the material acquisitions of big cars, mansions, or position in office, but in service, dedication, contentment, gratitude to Allah SWT, love of humanity, self-discipline, self-respect, and forgiveness. In my leadership roles in the private sector and public service, I have learned to be extremely tolerant of diversities in people and not to look for carbon copies of them; but am totally intolerant when it comes to their performance, standards, and values.