Patience Is A Virtue But Absent In Many People: The Resentful Experience Of A Great Abusite -By Mohammed Aliyu Baba

Patience can simply be described as a quality of being able to be patient or maintaining calmness in the face of obstacles or adversity or nakba. It is beyond extraordinary and that is why they said, it is a virtue that is absent in the life of many people despite its necessity to the survival of human life.

However, some people are naturally blessed with an act of patience beyond human Imaginations. They are oceans and true symbols of this great character; patience. But the question is: how do you know that someone is a patient type? It is simple, because the word “Dealings,” can summarize everything for you.

When it comes to dealing with people, issues and events, a patient individual sees oracle where others see obstacle, he sees hope where others see hopelessness, he stands firm where others give-in to pressure, he paves the way for people to succeed where others pave the road to hell, and ultimately, he helps wholeheartedly anytime, any day and expects nothing in return. In fact, he/she invests his/her resources, time and energy to see others overcome their obstacles during the time of need. My dear reader, the qualities of a patient individual are inexhaustible, however, a patient person is an epitome of hope to the human race in all human endeavors, and ‘humility’ is the core value of this kind of Individual.

Meanwhile, for the sake of clarity and precision, this piece is made to take us to the world of a greatly Patient Abusite, a former departmental President who also doubled or served as the Naqeeb of Muslims Association in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. His name is: Umar Hassan Muhammad, popularly called Prezdo!

Many admitted students of Faculty of social sciences in the 2018/2019 academic session will live to remember this icon of patience for the rest of their lives. Because he was the first and the most committed soul among the students union officials that showed the (then) new students the Basic (but necessary) nooks and crannies of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, during their registration period and made sure they had a smooth ride into the system.

He was a newly elected President of the Mass Communication department then, but Man! This guy would give you all his attention, time and energy to put you through your tasks. I, (just like many others) saw him running helter-skelter, but tactically during the registration of new students to ensure that they have a hitch free documentation.

Many of us never knew or met him before, until that moment when we went to collect our admission letter. And within that day, through his engagements with Us, I immediately sensed that he was greatly blessed with a lot of patience.

Hence, just like a play, our journey of friendship began despite the huge difference in our academic level. He was already a 300L student while we arrived as fresh 100L students of the university. Therefore, our stronghold wasn’t in the classroom meetings but the hostel (ICSA/RAMAT) in which he was the genesis of securing the accommodation in-there. Because as a fresh student, it takes the grace of God for you to secure an accommodation/bedspace in the hostel because of its competitiveness. But thank God that the situation is now changing for the better under the leadership of the new Dean Students Affairs, Professor Muhammad Yakasai Fatihu.

Coincidentally, I and the ‘Patience’ Hassan kept sharing the same hostel till he arrived level four while I was in two before the ghastly arrival of Covid-19 Era and that extended his stay and graduation periods just like others. But as if that was not enough for Patience Hassan, when the school eventually resumed. He couldn’t make it to graduate with most of his classmates; just because one course hitched up his supposed graduation.

Ordinarily, he was supposed to have a waiver for the course (since it was just one) but no, the department decided to call him back to take the course for another one year, for only God knows why? Perhaps, he refused to dance to the tune of the departmental management when he was leading the students’ associations in the department as the president, hence, the punishment. Asking the president of the department to carry over a course is like asking the headboy of a secondary school to repeat SS3. That would be a serious downcast; of course.

Surprisingly, the great and patient Umar Hassan didn’t mind. He resumed and was attending lectures of the Course (MCOM 407) before the Department instructed his class coordinator to call him back and take the course again. They didn’t know that his high level of PATIENCE had made him accept his fate right from day one. What a great inspiration?

As he always said: “Aliyu, Time Will Tell. Everything In This Life Has A Destined Time And When It’s Time For Me And All Of Us To Graduate, We’ll Graduate And Nobody Can Stop It. We Just Need To Be Patient In Everything We Do. Because PATIENCE Is The Key To A Successful Life.”

Amazingly, the Patient Umar Hassan was doing his normal school activities. He was not worried about the unfortunate development. In Fact, He Was Not Even Bothered The Way I Was. They threw him into a resentful world but he maintained optimism. All He Would Say is, “It’s A Matter Of Time.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, despite the delays/setbacks/hindrances as you may like to put it, my friend, our friend, my former President, our former inspiring President (Comrade Umar Hassan Muh’d) has answered the clarion Call and he’s posted to Yobe State for his mandatory one year Youth Service to his great fatherland, Nigeria.

Definitely, he worked for it, hoped for it and waited for it patiently and now it is here. Seriously, words alone cannot describe how this great Soul has inspired my life positively in many ways. His level of Joviality, Simplicity, Accessibility, Sensibility, Reliability, And Understandability, is compared to none.

Someone might ask why I chose to write about his experience?

There’s an adage in my indigenous language that says: “dukun woro wungbin gbako gan.” Meaning, the new pot should endeavor to ask the old pot of its experience.

Some of us are still struggling in the academic world to acquire a first degree certificate. As human beings, even though we learn better from self-experiences, that is not enough. Because we learn the best and become wiser, smarter and experient from the experience of others around us. As we all know, a fool finds fun in the bad experience of others, but the wise finds a lesson to learn.

Obviously, we can not always ride up to the success of this life smoothly, we must stumble in one way or the other. We must experience nakba. However, the way we handle the stumble moment(s) determines the continuation of our progress in life. We must not allow anyone or anything to shortchange our dear dreams. And the core quality that could push us forward to achieve our goals/dreams in life, is the great quality of ‘patience’ as exhibited by Umar Hassan Muhammad. Unlike many of us that would want to reach the pinnacle overnight because of lack/absence of thorough patience.

At this juncture, permit me to say a very big CONGRATULATION to Umar Hassan Muhammad, the friend turned brother. I know that many were departmental presidents before and after you but I doubt if any has received this kind of write-up courtesy of their good qualities while in office. You have uniquely made a difference and positively impacted many souls in your dealings and approach to personal and general issues. I pray that the Sky will be the beginning (and not the limit) of your success in this life and beyond. Congratulations once again.

Mohammed Aliyu Baba is a student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He writes from Kaduna, Nigeria.

He can be reached via: aliyu0380@gmail.com