By HAMZA IDRIS

I use the term enigmatic to describe the late Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim, who passed away today, Saturday, August 16, 2025, in his late 80s for many reasons.

When I saw a post about his demise in a WhatsApp group, I immediately placed a call to his nephew, Dr. Musa Ibrahim, a retired federal permanent secretary.

“Yes, it is sad we lost him today,” Dr. Musa said in a subdued voice, clearly signifying a difficult moment for him.

He later shared a message describing his uncle as “one of Nigeria’s towering political figures and a philanthropist per excellence…For those who know him, Alhaji was highly principled and patriotic, one of the very few Northern politicians that had the region at heart. May God grant his soul eternal rest.”

Indeed, with his passing, a towering figure, a northern symbol, and a pan-Nigerian has fallen. May Allah admit him into Jannatul Firdausi.

I first came to know the late Alhaji Isyaku around 2017 or thereabouts, when our then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Mallam Mannir Dan-Ali, introduced me to him via telephone. At the time, I was the Group Politics Editor of Daily Trust.

From then on, Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim became one of the credible sources we relied on to put context to our stories in the newsroom. Reaching out to him required no serious effort, as he was always willing to talk. The only caveat was that you had to keep to time. I was privileged to have interviewed him a number of times.

A man with the memory of an elephant, the Nasarawa State-born politician had a remarkable command of facts and figures. He remembered names, occasions, and events with precision. Even in old age—up until the last time I interviewed him—he told stories with ease and with enough detail to form a complete picture.

He was a tactical politician with vast contacts, the force behind the success of many politicians. He was among the founding members of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic.

I recall vividly an episode in 2018, when we were working on a story about the challenges political parties were facing ahead of the 2019 general elections, including the PDP, which had been dislodged by the APC in 2015.

Pressed for time, I called him. After pleasantries between a grandson and a grandfather, I told him we were racing against deadline and asked: “Baba, can you tell us how political parties were funded during your time?”

Part of his response was: “…In our own party, the NPN (which became the ruling party in 1979 at the onset of the Second Republic), I was the one funding it because I discovered that we didn’t have money; myself and the late Usman Dantata.

“I said that if we were going to go on a serious business, we had to organise ourselves to raise money. I told the late Usman Amaka that we would go to Kano. His father, Sanusi Dantata, may his soul rest in peace, was the state chairman of the NPN.

“We went to Kano in the evening, but we first went to his uncle, Alhaji Aminu Dantata and told him that our mission was to raise money. But he said we should go to the chairman. So we went to the chairman, who happened to be Usman’s father, and told him that we were there to raise money for our party.

“He said we should come the following day after Asr prayers, that’s after 4 O’clock. We met at his guest house in Nasarawa and he had informed most of the well-to-do in Kano. I explained to them that in every civilised society, business people always funded political parties to protect their interest. I told them that that was why we were there. I told them that the NPN would take care of their interests.

“There and then we raised N1.8 million. We then sent a message to the late Mallam Mai Deribe and the rest of his colleagues, that we would be coming the following day. We went there and they all came to the airport to receive us.

“We were lodged at Mallam Mai Deribe’s place. He brought a cheque of N750, 000; that means we had raised about N2.5 million. We came back to Lagos and I called the late Moshood Abiola on phone and said we were looking for money for the party. He always respected me like his big brother, so he came and brought N250, 000.

“I also called Alex Ibru, who was my friend, and he said he would talk to his brother, Mike. After their meeting, they gave us N250, 000. That means we raised about N3 million within three days. I also called the late Chief Akin Olugbode and told him we were looking for money and he sent me N100, 000. Alhaji Bagudu Bida also sent a draft of N100, 000. So within a short time we raised over N3 million.

“After we formed a government, I brought the idea that we had to organise ourselves properly to have a means of raising money. We pleaded with the government to inform us of any big contract they would give. We formed a committee with people like Mallam Ibrahim Damchida, who was permanent secretary; Philip Asiodu, Chief Bayo Koku, Chief Ogochukwu…”

He spoke candidly during that conversation, stressing the superior powers political parties and their chairmen once wielded even over presidents. He narrated the enormous influence of the then NPN chairman, Adisa Akinloye.

Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim was also an astute businessman who defied many odds, worked hard, travelled widely, and took risks to build a legitimate fortune. He was among the first Nigerians to own a private aircraft and a football club, the Mighty Jets of Jos.

An embodiment of empowerment, he was instrumental to the success of many Nigerians and even foreigners in the business world.

When Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022, we reached out to him for reflections to enrich our story. I had called him, and unlike before, he asked me to come to his house. We expected a short tribute of about three or four minutes. Instead, he spoke to us for nearly ninety minutes, enough to fill three newspaper pages with photographs.

Without difficulty, he recalled his visit to Buckingham Palace with President Shehu Shagari. He narrated how jovial the Queen was, how she related warmly with Shagari’s delegation, and even cracked jokes.

He said: “You will like to know how I know many things about her (the Queen). When Alhaji Shehu Shagari paid the first state visit to the United Kingdom, I had the opportunity to be among the few people in the entourage. But only about four officials were allowed to be with Shagari in the Buckingham Palace.

“There was Dr. Umaru Dikko, who was the minister of transport. There was Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, the political adviser to the president; and there was Idrisu Ibrahim Kuta, who was the deputy speaker.

“Shagari was well received, but some of us did not stay in the palace. I have my own house in London, and the late Shettima Ali Monguno was married to a Briton. Monguno and Shagari were close friends, both of them were teachers and both served under General Gowon when he was the head of state.

“Therefore, the queen decided to organise a brunch (meal between breakfast and lunch) for us because she knew Shagari came with a large delegation but were unable to stay in Buckingham Palace. She decided to honour us. She was very jovial. Shagari introduced all of us but added that Monguno was her in-law because he was married to a British woman.

“The queen then asked whether I was also her in-law, but I smiled and said I was married to a Liberian. She smiled and described Nigerians as versatile people. She cracked jokes with us and everybody was happy.

“And in-between, Chuba Okadigbo and Idrisu Kuta decided to show us their rooms. Okadigbo said, ‘I am the first Igbo man to stay in Buckingham Palace.’ I saluted him. I was at the time working at the High Commission office, locally recruited. I was an assistant information officer after I graduated in Hanover, Germany, where the queen’s family came from. I met both the queen and her husband. They were jovial and good people; they liked to talk.”

He also recounted how he thwarted a plot by the then Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, to abduct Shagari’s Transport Minister, Umaru Dikko, from London in 1984.

He said: “When I was in New York with the president of Ghana, I was called and the lady was crying. I asked her what happened and she told me that she heard that Umaru Dikko had been kidnapped. I asked if she had spoken to the police and she said no. I told her not to call the police.

“I said I would keep her posted about what I was doing. I then called my business associate with the British Aerospace, who happened to be Major Hamset. He was a colleague of Queen Elizabeth’s security man. Hamset had decided to retire. He didn’t want to continue in the army; he said he wanted to make money. So, when I called him to tell him what happened, he said I should put my telephone down.

“He quickly called his colleague (the queen’s security man) and told him that they had kidnapped Umaru Dikko. He then went to the queen, saluted and said, ‘We have bad news.’ He told the queen that they had kidnapped Dikko. She screamed and said Dikko was her guest. This goes to show you how sharp the queen’s memory was,” he said.

He said the queen then directed her security man to call Margaret Thatcher (the then British prime minister) and tell her what was happening.

“Can you believe it? Wallahi, within 20 minutes the British airspace, sea and ground was sealed. The whole Great Britain was sealed. Then, about 2pm or 2:30pm, Major Hamset called me and said, ‘I have good news for you. Umaru Dikko has been found with a Jewish doctor in a crate.’”

He said the Jewish doctor was supposed to be injecting him until they put them in the plane for onward delivery to Nigeria.

Indeed, Alhaji Isyaku Ibrahim etched his name in the annals of Nigerian history. He lived life to the fullest and left indelible marks on politics, business, and public life.

May Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant his family the fortitude to bear this great loss. (Daily Trust)