It’s His Uncle, MAMMAN DAURA
He Turned 80 A Few Weeks Back
President Buhari has an uncle he respects so much. He is Mamman Daura who turned 80 a few days ago. Even if you don’t know him, his 80th birthday showcased him to the world because he was celebrated in all spheres. He is acclaimed to be the closest confidant of the president. He sees things he cannot see from inside his oval office in Aso Villa. He shields him from those they suspect might be out to take advantage of him thus the President never and does not joke with him. He is close to him as his skin. President Buhari gives him all the attention he needs. No wonder, when Mamman Daura turned 80, President Buhari was the first person to wish him a happy birthday, and his statements further revealed how important Mamman Daura is to him and the many things they shared together while they were growing up.
In his remarks, President Buhari recalled, with delight, Daura’s remarkable brilliance from childhood at the Katsina Middle School and Government College which caught the attention of Northern Regional Government. According to him, this feat earned him sponsorship for further studies in the United Kingdom in the ’50s and many years to follow, noting that the knowledge had, over time, only translated into more wisdom. The President rejoiced with the renowned journalist who worked with the civil service for a while before joining the New Nigerian Newspapers, where he rose to be Editor and Managing Director, before venturing to the private sector as an entrepreneur.
That Mamman Daura is one of the major power brokers in the Presidency is simply stating the obvious because they share a nephew-Uncle relationship. He is immensely close to the President, hence, has inputs in many of Buhari’s major decisions including appointments. Although he holds no political office in this dispensation, Daura is often seen with the President and travels with him. Recall, when President Buhari was ill at a time, he was the first person that went and permitted to see him at the London hospital. He is believed to have considerable inputs in the choice of those who emerged as ministers, especially those from the North. Daura’s influence in government did not start today. He and Buhari belonged to a group called “Kaduna Mafia” which was a group of young Northern Nigerian intellectuals, civil servants, business tycoons and military officers residing or conducting business in the former Northern capital city of Kaduna during the end of the First Republic. The group was said to have thrived on a network of power alliances among northern aristocrats and government sympathisers who favoured the group’s pro-northern and Islamic bent. Daura wields so much influence on Buhari. He is the son of Buhari’s elder brother, but since Daura is three years older, the president is “awkwardly” his uncle. Daura, often described by associates as “extremely intelligent and brilliant”, was a journalist and an industrialist, serving as head of the African International Bank and also chairman of the board of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). He was the editor of New Nigerian in the 1970s.
This authorized biography of the current president of Nigeria provides an up-close look at the life of a major ally of the West in the fight against terrorism, poverty, and corruption. Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria covers Buhari’s early life and education, his military career, and his brief stint as a military head of state before he was deposed in a coup.
In this book, John Paden, an American professor, offers a historical insight into the significant role Daura played in the formative years of his “uncle”. According to Paden, it was Daura, along with Waziri al-Hassan (Buhari’s foster father), that encouraged Buhari, a reluctant student in his early years, “to settle down and take his studies seriously”. It was also Daura that “strongly encouraged” Buhari to join the military in 1961. Daura, Paden wrote, would become a “life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari” who guided him all through his formative year where he went on to become military head of state in the final years of his career. However, what has often not been widely reported is how Daura came to wield so much influence on Buhari.
So while Aisha has been married to Buhari for 27 years, Daura had known her husband for 73 years. Paden revealed that “after the death of his mother in December 1988, Buhari was released and travelled to Daura for the mourning. When he arrived in Daura, he found his farm much as he had left it. His senior brother (the father of Mamman Daura), along with the Barden Daura, had managed the cattle, sheep, and horses in his absence”. “When Buhari’s father died, Waziri al-Hasan – the son of Emir Musa became the guardian of Zulaihat (Buhari’s mother) and her six children, including her youngest, Muhammadu. This played a major role in the upbringing of Buhari.
“This extensive kinship network also affected the future of Buhari in another important way. His senior brother was the father of Mamman Daura, who was three years older than Buhari, although technically his nephew. Mamman would become a life-long inspiration and confidant to Buhari. He was especially critical in encouraging Buhari to pursue lifelong education. Only with the encouragement of Waziri al-Hasan and Mamman Daura did he eventually settle down and take his studies seriously.” Young northern boys were being encouraged to join the army in the years around Nigeria’s independence, and Buhari was encouraged by his uncle to consider a military carrier.
“When Buhari was considering his options in 1960, Hassan Katsina would often take the secondary school boys out for night hikes and to sleep under the stars. Buhari enjoyed the great sense of adventure of these nighttime ventures into nature. “In addition to considering the military because of the example set by Hassan Katsina, Buhari recognized that officer training provided a pathway to further education. Yet another impetus was provided by Mamman Daura, who strongly encouraged his “younger uncle” to consider officer training and higher education. No wonder, Mamman Daura lives large in Aso Rock, he is also well respected in his home town, Daura where he hails from. Many of the other close associates of the president hold him in high esteem.
Daura finished secondary education at Okene Provincial School in 1956. He worked with the Daura Native Authority for a couple of years before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation as a programme assistant. From 1962 to 1968, he studied economics and public administration at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1968, the Adamu Ciroma, editor of the New Nigerian was looking to recruit qualified and educated northern Nigerians for the newspaper. One of those recruits was Daura who was just finishing his degree in Dublin. Daura was hesitant to take the position when he returned to Nigeria but instead worked in the office of Abba Kyari, the military governor of North-Central State. In April 1969, he finally joined the staff of New Nigerian as the paper’s new editor. The first two years of his stewardship was a focus on coverage of issues affecting Northerners and protection of northern interests. Daura later became the managing director of paper’s holding company. When Murtala Mohammed’s administration opted to take over the ownership of the paper, Daura soon left the company.
Mamman, a nephew of the younger Buhari, was influential in the government of Buhari between 1984 and 1985. He was a board member of BCCI’s Nigerian affiliate, Africa International Bank and founded a furniture factory in Kaduna. He was also a former chairman of the now-defunct Nigerian Bank of Commerce and Industry.
TAYO FAJORIN OYEDIJI
