General Hassan Usman Katsina - Dr Sule
musa jokolo
I consider our gathering here today to honour the late General Hassan
Usman Katsina, as a fitting tribute to an illustrious Nigerian - a
Nigerian who had spent his entire life giving service and truly asking
none in return. Yes General Hassan was born a prince, in the splendour
grandeur and almost limitless privileges of a royal palace but it is to
his credit that he never allowed all these to get into his head. He had
remained to the last a very humble, simple and frank individual whose
house was a Mecca to the underprivileged and the needy.
I say that his house was a Mecca or some sort because of the common
knowledge that on many occasions people streamed in the house with one
problem or another. It is to the eternal credit of General Hassan that
he attended these daily visitors with almost consideration, with
patience and compassion. No one was ever sent away and every effort was
made by General Hassan, often through direct and personal contact, to
provide solutions to the problems of such needy visitors. There is no
doubt at all that by his death, the needy and the underprivileged have
lost a formidable suportive and a most valuable ally.
In the view of many, caution is almost second skin to those occupying
leadership positions, and indeed, the outcome of probes instituted at
official levels, tend to confirm this belief. As we all know, General
hassan was a shinning exception to this unhealthy practice. As Military
Governor of Northern Region, as Chairman, Interim Common Services
Agency, as Chief of Army Staff, as Deputy Chief of Staff, Supreme
Headquarters and Federal Commissioner of Establishment, and perhaps
above all, is a very senior and influential member of the Supreme
Military Council, the late General Hassan Usman Katsina had all the
opportunity in the world to amass millions and even billions.
Admirably, however, General Hassan opted for the path of honour; he did
not steal, he did not plunder, he did not cheat. When the coup that
toppled the Government of General Gowon forced General Hassan to leave
for his home town, Katsina, he was virtually penniless. The story had
been told of how General hassan had to rely for financial assistance
from his cousin, just as he (General Hassan) was preparing to depart
Lagos for home. According to the story, this cousing of his had gone to
see the General when the latter took the cousin aside and
whispered his lack of money and requested the cousin to give him
whatever was then available.
People in power are wont to be arrogant particularly when they have the
immense power of a military overlord. One would expect the degree of
arrogance to assume an Olympian height when the person having that power
is not only a soldier but also a prince. Again, however, General Hassan
was a refreshing and inspiring exception. We have it on the authority of
those who worked directly with him that General Hassan was pleasantly
meek, humble and considerate.
Mallam Ahmed Talib who was Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance at
the times of both the late premier Ahmadu Bello and General Hassan
assured that on the sensitive issue of finance there was never a time
when the late General attempted to impose his will on the Ministry.
Indeed, as Mallam Ahmed Talib made clear, it was the Ministry that
imposed its will on Military Governor Hassan, this was so, according to
Mallam Ahmed, because whenever the Military Governor wanted a policy
with financial dimension executed and the Ministry had
reservations on such a policy, they would made their objections known in
very clear terms and Governor Hassan always deferred to such objections.
There was also the instance disclosed by Mallam Yahaya Gusau, another of
the first generation of indigenous Permanent Secretaries. According to
Mallam Yahaya, Governor Hassan had duly applied for a plot upon which to
build his personal house, but was told that it would be improper for him
to be allocated a plot at a time when he was Governor. Governor Hassan
was told that the most proper course would be for him to wait until
after his tenure as Governor so that whoever succeeded him could
consider General Hassan's application
without bias. Hassan waited and he only got the plot after he had ceased
to be Governor.
General Hassan had to wait until after his departure from office before
his desire to own a plot could materialise. That was General Hassan, an
officer and a gentleman and a true servant
of those over whom he exercised power and authority.
The Nigerian Civil War, with its unpleasant memories, is of course now
history. It was an event that stained relocations among Nigerians and
took the nation to the brink of disintegration.
It is commond knowledge that General Hassan was one of those able
lieutenants of General Gowon who saw to the successful prosecution of
the civil war and the emergence of Nigeria as a strong and indivisible
nation. As Chief of Army Staff, General Hassan was directly in charge of
the Army at that most rying period of our nation's history and was
therefore central to the designing of the strategy that won the war for
Nigeria, the war for national unity and integration.
Sardauna, the legendary Ahmadu Bello, has gone and is only remembered in
our prayers for his immense contribution to the people and general
welfare of the north and its people.
General Hassan who assumed leadership position immediately after the
Sardauna had made some impact on our lives in a positive sense and had
left behind an ever lasting legacy. Since the demise of Sardauna, no
leader from the North has emerged who can be said to be as close to
Sardauna in achievement as Ciroma.
Administering people is not an easy thing. But in General Hassan, we had
a first class administrator whose style and impact will continue to be a
shinning example. It is fitting therefore that an honour for General
Hassan in the form of developing administrative talent, in perpetuity,
is being put in place. The initiators of this scheme, National Oil,
should be congratulated for their foresight. In particular, special
mention should be made of General Yakubu Gowon who succeeded Hassan as
Chairman, National Oil, who needless to say, must have played a pivotal
role in this move to honour General Hassan. Earlier in the late
General's life, the living General has played a similar role in shaping
his character. General Hassan was one of his
closest immediate deputies and he enjoyed the confidence and support of
the General who saw in this his deputy a truely and trusting friend and
ally.
Contributing to the fund that is being launched today is one way of
expressing appreciation for what General Hassan did to Nigeria and its
citizens, for his selfless pursuits for his simplicity, for his love and
support for the ordinary man and above all for all he did to keep
Nigeria one and indivisible. Yes, let us contribute substantially to
immortalise the name of a man who symbolised all the positive
aspirations of the Nigerian nation.
Let us recognise him who, when he was honoured by the ABU, was
congratulated by yet another cousin, that it was his "Poverty" that was
recognised and appreciated. Yes, he was a man of integrity. Here was a
man who accepted in public what he accepted in secret, a God fearing
gentleman who before his death became a constant reciter of the Holy
Qur'an for the sake of Allah. Because of his religious inclination,
Hassan used to fast every Monday and Thursday in addition to the
obligatory fast of the month of Ramadan; a forthright and frank man who
was sometimes frank to a fault; the General was in the habit of telling
it (truth) to the face of anybody. He never said behind your back what
he would not say to your face.
A more courageous solder I have never seen and a more stubborn civilian
I am yet to see, but his was principled stubbornness.
Hassan died at a relatively young age. But he died a good death -
serving his God and people; he lived for his people and died serving his
people.
It is not how long you live; it is how well. Hassan lived well. The
likes of Hassan are like shooting stars. Shooting stars that appear
suddenly and illuminate the firmament and disappear as
suddenly as they appear. May Allah (SWT) give him eternal peace, and
reward him, in His mercy, with Jannatil firdausi, amen.
May God grant that we may have many more Hassans as leaders, as I have
often prayed, with fire in their bellies but humanity in their hearts,
leaders who are servants but not masters, leaders who do not look at the
lot of their followers with the eyes of the privileged but with the eyes
of compatriots.
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