Our centuries long tradition of learning received a boost with the establishment in Zaria of a modern printing press, the Northern Nigeria Printing Corporation. Books that were transmitted through copying by hand using oil lamps at night could now be churned out of the press in thousands in a matter of days. Like in Europe, texts hitherto limited to few scholars became available to all. The horizon of information, knowledge and scholarship was expanded beyond our dreams in the then Northern region.
Their was also a boom in literature, given that publication and circulation was no longer a problem. New poems and novels in Hausa were written by young scholars in their 20s and 30s with a zeal and quality that remains unmatched by others to the present day. That was the era when novels like Ruwan Bagaja, Shehu Umar, Gandoki, Ilya Dan Maikarfi; poems like Infiraji, Fasaha Akiliya, Wakokin Muazu Hadejia; and translations like Dare Dubu Da Daya hit the streets of our cities and villages. These books were taught in schools and learned by commoners as well.
Religious scholars were not left behind. There were many publications that simplified, in Hausa, what was hitherto reached at only through travel, labour, service and diligence of many years before the traditional scholar in our zaure. Three books stuck in my memory to date: Ibada da Hukunci, Rariyar Addinin Musulunci and Jagorar Mai Sallah. These books were available in our primary and secondary schools, in our homes and our markets and through them, the basic knowledge of Islam was ushered into the brains of kids and adults. We learned what was expected of us about morals, values, tradition, and rights. Through them we were connected to our past and shared the enviable customs that unites the Muslim world.
But the literary boom did not last. With our preoccupation for material acquisition through every dubious means on the ascendant came the decline of values and scholarship. Added to this was the effort to kill every standing legacy of the defunct Northern region in the quest for Nigerian unity during the Babngida era. The NNPC was also to suffer the neglect of institutions like Radio Nigeria Kaduna, New Nigerian, Kaduna Polytechnic, Bank of the North, NNDC, etc. It is time to give up on these for Nigrerian unity, claimed Babangida when he was nationalising Kaduna polytechnic. And the books disappeared for a quite a while.
Two weeks ago, I was thinking of how my kids could quickly learn the basics of Islam in a quick but effective manner. I am not at all impressed with the performance of our Islamiyya schools. Then, I suddenly recalled Ibada da Hukunci and other similar books. Yes, I convinced myself that they will serve to bridge the gaps.
I visited a neighbouring school in search of old copies but there was none. I contacted the Ministry of Education in Bauchi if they know of any school that has them. They promised to check. With no feedback, I set out to try the market, just in case I may be lucky. I entered Darus Thaqafa in Jos and, behold, to my amazement, there was a whole section on NNPC publications including Rariya and Ibada Da Hukunci. What a delight! It was ecstatic! It was like discovering a deposit of diamond. No, Aliyu! It is better than diamond. It is knowledge!
I immediately bought all the 7 available sets of Rariya (3 pamphlets each) and ordered for 15 sets of Ibadah da Hukunci (2 volumes each). I headed for home and announced to my family the return of the good, old past. I placed the children on a scheme, going through the books, one after the other, starting with Rariya before graduating to Ibada Da Hukunci. They have been enjoying them better than other books on religon because of their simplicity and the Hausa language in which they are rendered. Their friends too quickly developed interest in the books. I am now convinced, more than ever before, that the basics on Islam they are expected to learn is getting up there. What a relief!
May God reward Alhaji Halliru Binji, Alhaji Shehu Usman Gombe and other the authors of these permanently invaluable books. As a lecturer in Sokoto in the 1980s, I did not miss the opportunity to express my gratitude to Alhaji Halliru Binji for writing Ibada Da Hukunci. He then was the Grand Qadi of Sokoto State and used to meet me for Tajweed lessons in the house of the late Egyptian, Sheikh Suleiman.
If I were in the right position of authority, I would have made these books once more a compulsory reading for our children in primary and secondary schools. However, as I recommend them here to individuals and families on my page, I hope someone with such influence will also bring the issue to the notice of our educators.
At the Millennium Academy I am managing, it goes without saying that the books will be on the curriculum list right from this September when we resume. They will be studied by students right from Primary IV. And there on the list, the books will remain forever. Senior students must master them before they start the Arabic ones: Akhdari, Ishmawiy, Iziyya and finally Risala by the time they complete SSS3, in sha Allah.
14 September 2014
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