The name Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed (Dangaladiman Gwandu) is one I have long been accustomed to hearing within family circles as a growing-up kid in the then-modest town of Birnin Kebbi in the early 1970s.
A direct descendant of the renowned Islamic reformist scholar and first Emir of Gwandu, Sheikh Abdullahi Bin Fodio, and scion of the Ubandoman Gwandu and Magajin Rafin Gwandu families of Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Dr Bello Mohammed is an accomplished individual by any definition of the term. Back then, as children, however, we used to refer to him as D’an Baba, which I later realised was due to his being named after his maternal grandfather and respected uncle of mine, the late Magajin Rafin Gwandu, Muhammadu Bello, of blessed memory.
Magajin Rafi Bello was the elder brother of my late father, Alhaji Usman Malami Bunza, who would go on to inherit and hold the same title for 30 years following the passing of the former in 1973. He was also a childhood friend of my maternal grandfather and namesake, Magatakardan Gwandu, Mallam Abdullahi Kakale, dating back to the period they both attended the Birnin Kebbi Elementary School in the early 1900s.
Mallam Abdullahi Kakale would subsequently assume the title of Magatakarda, following the appointment of his bosom friend as the Magajin Rafi on March 26, 1940. Ubandoma Sa’ad Haliru Abdu, Dangaladima Bello Haliru’s paternal grandfather was also a longstanding friend of both Magajin Rafi Bello and Magatakarda Kakale, resulting in several intermarriages amongst the three families.
I have always held Dr Bello, as he came to be addressed following his graduation with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1973, in reverence and awe anytime I got the chance to set eyes on him as a kid. He has always been a mentor to me from my childhood, even though he may not have been aware of it, so much so that I subconsciously modelled after him, down to adopting his style of dressing. Such that even the way I wear my cap today was copied directly from him, with the only difference being that while he pushes down the top of his own cap on the left side, I push mine down on the right, so it wouldn’t be so obvious that I copied him.
I was also influenced to apply for the same course he studied after my IJMB at the then School of Basic Studies, ABU, Zaria. Although I managed to secure admission at the same University, my name somehow miraculously disappeared from the faculty list upon resumption, after I had earlier confirmed that I was listed among the newly admitted students. Such was the level of influence he has always had on me, and I am happy to seize the occasion of his 80th birthday on Thursday, October 9th, 2025, to finally make this open confession.
Dr Bello would later go on to marry my beloved elder sister, Hajiya Aisha, back when I was still in primary school. That further increased our level of interaction when I regularly visited them during my traditional exeat days on Fridays and Sundays, as a boarding student at the then Government College Sokoto in the early 1980s, the same secondary school he attended several years previously.
I have countless childhood memories of my interactions with him during that period, and can vividly recall one funny incident he may probably have long forgotten. It happened during one of those exact visits to their home on Anka Road, Sokoto, as a 12- to 13-year-old junior student in my early years. I was so tired on a particular Sunday afternoon that I fell asleep in one of the rooms immediately after lunch, only to be discovered by the maid around 9 pm, long after I should have returned to school at 6 pm. On recognising how late it was, I broke down crying, knowing the fate that awaited me in the hands of my seniors back at school.
Dr Bello requested that I proceed to have my dinner as he watched the day’s NTA Network News broadcast, following which he would drop me off at school. When it dawned on him that I wouldn’t stop crying, he promptly cut short his daily NTA News viewing routine and drove me straight to school. Along the way, he sought to understand why I was still crying, and amidst intermittent sobs, I explained how our seniors typically punished us for any such, or even far lesser infractions on our part.
He offered to personally hand me over to our House Captain to explain why I was late, but I pleaded that he drop me off at a safe distance, instead, from where I would then sneak into the hostel unnoticed. At one point, Dr Bello then proposed meeting the School Principal to report on how junior students were being maltreated in that manner. That idea elicited even more sobs and pleas from me, knowing full well that it would fetch me even more punishment, as the seniors did not take such reports and the resulting reprimand they elicit lightly. They would likely target you once they noticed that you had people of influence who could intervene on your behalf. In the end, he reluctantly dropped me off some distance away from the hostel as I had pleaded and left.
Dangalidama has no airs about him and would freely discuss with you despite your obvious age difference. I particularly enjoy my personal interactions with him, which always leave me better informed about the issues, regardless of the nature of the topic we may be discussing. At close quarters, it is also surprising to discover that he likes to joke a lot despite any previous assumptions to the contrary.
Just over three and a half years ago, our already sufficiently close interactions became even more frequent when I visited his house daily over an extended period of well over three months, following an unfortunate, sad incident that befell my brother at the time. We hurriedly converted his house into an emergency Command and Control Centre of sorts, where we gathered daily, and I have nothing but abiding respect and appreciation for the way he expertly handled and calmed that delicate situation.
A onetime Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria Students Union Government President (1970 – 1971); former lecturer at ABU; two-time Commissioner (Agriculture & Education) in the old Sokoto State; Deputy General Manager, National Livestock Production Company, Kaduna; General Manager, Sokoto Rima River Basin Development Authority (SRRBDA); former Director and later Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (1988 – 1993); member, Board of Directors of the now defunct NAL Merchant Bank (1999 – 2001); Federal Commissioner in the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission; Chairman, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company (2005); Federal Government delegate at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference (2005); National Vice – Chairman (North West), of the People’s Democratic Party (2004 – 2008); Deputy National Chairman, PDP (2008 – 2011) and PDP National Chairman (2011); Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation; Minister of Communications and Minister of Defence during the Obasanjo and Jonathan administrations, respectively, amongst many others, Dangaladima, or Sabbene, as we fondly call him, has been there, done that and seen it all.
I would like to use the occasion of his 80th birthday on Thursday, October 9, 2025, to express my profound gratitude to the Almighty Allah SWT for the gift of his eventful and impactful life. I beseech Allah to grant him good health and many more years of positive contribution and impact to his immediate and extended family, our state, and the nation at large.
Happy birthday and many more happy returns, Sabbene!
