The True History of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida IBB. The Maradona as it Lovely Called.

STRAIGHTENING THE FACTS 

One of the early Hausa settlers in Washishi was Malam Ibrahim, a young man from Sokoto. He and his parents left Sokoto several years earlier and settled in Kano. 

Ibrahim was an adventurous young man. He did not like the settled life of his parents. He wandered off in search t adventure and excitement. No one knew what was driving him but be was always on the move. 

He stopped over in several villages long enough to rest and earn enough money to take him to another town or village, He travelled by foot and sometimes he rode a horse or a donkey. He had no prior idea of where he was going. He just went where his instinct to him. 

He settled down briefly in Kontagora. Something told him to move on. He did.

Ibrahim's next stop was Wushishi. He had no plans to settle down there either although he liked the village. He decided to remain there for a while, do some farming and then get on with his adventures. 

Love changed his plans. 

Ibrahim met Halima, a beautiful, young Hausa girl and fell in love with her. Something told him he had found a wife. Like all young men smitten with the bug of love, Ibrahim wasted little time in making his intentions known to the girl and her parents. 

Ibrahim was a good-looking young man. Halima loved him. Her parents accepted him but on one condition. If he wanted to marry their daughter, he must settle down in Washishi. They did not want their married daughter to be taken out of the village to where they might possibly never see her again. 

Malam Ibrahim was confronted with a dilemma. But love will always conquer. He accepted the condition. His wandering days had come to an end.

Ibrahim was popularly called Malam because he became a well- known koranic teacher in the town. He made his home near a tall tree called rimi. His nickname, Malam na Rimi, came from that tree. The tall tree 'died' and was felled only in 1990. The place where it stood remains undeveloped, perhaps in honour of the late Malam. 

Malam Umaru Yaro. one of the oldest men in Wushishi, remembers Malam Ibrahim as a very prominent and popular man in the town. He was revered as a learned man of wisdom by all the villagers. He took young boys and girls under his protective wings and taught them about Islam and the mysteries of Allah and the works of the prophet. He gave his time to the affairs of Wushishi and was always ready to assist all those who needed his help.

Malam Ibrahim's marriage was blessed with six children- four boys and two girls. They were, in order of birth, Fatima, Muhammadu Badamasi, Aliyu Wushishi, Hassan, Mohammed Danladi and Hauwa'u They all grew up in Wushishi

Around 1936, Muhammadu Badamasi, the second oldest child and the first son, was employed as a messenger to the colonial district officer in Minna. His new job kept him shuttling between Minna and a village called Tah. In 1938, he decided to settle down in Minna partly to make his job easier and partly because Minna, headquarters of Niger Province, was developing fast as the biggest town in the area. He wanted to be part of that development.

He was already married to Aishatu, a very beautiful and fair complexioned girl. Malam Yaro, her only surviving brother, says his sister was a very beautiful girl. He still lives in their old house where he and his late sister grew up in Wushishi. The building now has a red brick fence around it.

When Muhammadu Badamasi moved to Minna, his brothers, Aliyu, Hassan, Mohammed Danladi and his sister, Hauwa'u, the youngest, all decided to go and live there too. There was no particular reason for this. The most probable reason was that all of them wanted to continue to live in one locality as one big, happy family.

Malam Muhammadu Badamasi's ... first wife, Aishatu, had five children for him. But most of them died in infancy. Their first child was a girl, Halimatu, who died. The second child, a boy, named Ibrahim, was born on August 17, 1941. He was variously known as Ibrahim Maigari, Ibrahim Maigari Wushishi and later as Ibrahim Muhammadu. After Ibrahim, Aishatu had another girl, Nana, and then a set of female twins, Hasanna and Husaina, all of whom died in infancy. Their last child was Hannatu Gambo.

Only Ibrahim and Hannatu Gambo are still alive. Ibrahim is General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Hannatu Gambo is a housewife and lives with her second husband in Minna. Their father had four other wives, none of whom had a surviving child.

Culled from Dan Agbese (2012). Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria. London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd pages 10&11.

Aliyu Ammani

12/11/23