To say President Muhammed Buhari’s close relative, Mallam Mamman Daura is like the rock that the waves keep crashing over, but is never moved or perturbed, is just a description of his person. Through the years, Mallam Daura has stood unmoved and has been the stilling force in the raging of the sea.
In the affairs of man, there is always a pessimist, an advocate, the lethargic, the meticulous, and so on, we meet. For someone like Mamman Daura, who understands this simple principle of life, they become enigmas and a matter of several speculations by those given to mischief.
However, Mallam Daura is a man who has never been fazed neither by criticism nor by praise; unperturbed by fortune or loss; content with little and unimpressed by wealth, power or position; averse to publicity and showmanship; self-effacing; austere and always simply dressed – customarily in his ‘babriga’; far from the garish and the gaudy, with disdain for ostentation but neither sanctimonious nor judgmental.
Born in Daura, Northern Region, British Nigeria in November, 1939, Mamman Daura- an erudite newspaper editor who edited and later managed the New Nigerian from 1969 to 1975 is perhaps, the most popular nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari. He is a prominent member of the infamous Kaduna Mafia, a loose group of Nigerian businessmen, civil servants, intellectuals and military officers from Northern Nigeria.
In the early 1970s, when he was the Editor of the New Nigerian newspaper, he conducted what he described as a highly engaging interview with the late Alhaji Mamman Shata – arguably the most renowned and most prolific Hausa singer and griot. He then wrote what he said was one of the best articles of his writing career – full of praise for Mamman Shata as he was mesmerised by the singer’s personality – his quick wit, talent, humour and general take on issues.
His father, Alhaji Dauda Daura held the traditional title of Durbin Daura of the Daura Emirate and was Muhammadu Buhari’s elder brother. He had his basic education at the Katsina Middle School before attending Provincial Secondary School, Okene and Secondary Education at the Government College, late 1950s, he was sent to the UK for higher education by the then Northern Regional as part of a small cohort of brilliant young northern men chosen by the late Sardauna Sir Ahmadu Bello. Malam Mamman Daura studied English Language, English Literature, Latin and British Constitution at Advanced Level at Bournemouth College. He was then admitted to the elitist Trinity College, Dublin (The Irish equivalent of Oxbridge) and received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Politics and a combined Master’s degree in Public and Business Administration. He returned home and joined the mainstream civil service.
In 1956, at the age of 17, he started working with the Daura Native Authority for a couple of years before joining the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. From 1962 to 1968, he read economics and public administration at Trinity College, Dublin.
In 1968, 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 General Abba Kyari, the military governor of North-Central State.
He subsequently moved to the New Nigerian Newspapers as Editor in April 1969, and eventually became its Managing Director. The first two years of his stewardship was a focus on coverage of issues affecting Northerners and protection of northern interests. In 1974, he later became the managing director of the paper’s holding company. When General Murtala Mohammed’s administration opted to take over the ownership of the paper, Daura soon left the company.
Thereafter, he left to set up a private industry – The Kaduna Furniture and Carpets Company (KFCC) which was at one time the largest furniture manufacturing company in West Africa. Malam Mamman Daura was a key driver of the northern Nigerian industrial revolution of the late 1970s and 1980s; with local and international partners and investors – setting up and managing the following industries: Kaduna Aluminium Ltd, Kaduna Machine Works, Boots Nigeria Ltd, United Nigeria Textiles Ltd (UNTL), Funtua Textiles (FTL), Arewa Textiles, Nortex and Finetex.
He was at various times a director or board member, managing director or chairman of Hagameyer, Dunlop, African International Bank and APICO Insurance. He also played a key role in the management of the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC), Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and Al-Huda Huda Printing Press. He was until recently, an active member of the philanthropic organisation – Gidauniyar Jihar Katsina (Katsina State Development Fund) as well as the Jama’atu Nasril Islam.
In the late 1970s, he served on several government boards and agencies including the News Agency of Nigeria, and in the 1980s was Chairman of the Nigerian Television Authority and later Africa International Bank (a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International), he also founded a furniture factory in Kaduna and was chairman of the defunct Nigerian Bank of Commerce and Industry. Mamman, an uncle of the younger Buhari, was influential in the military government of Buhari between 1984 and 1985; and later during his administration from 2015.
Sources close to him say, he is a simple yet complex man – a man of few words (which sometimes makes him come across as standoffish) but highly engaging when in his comfort zone – with family and a few close friends.
Baba is conservative, yet liberal – conservative in political leanings and in gender roles at the home front.
Mamman Daura is a liberal man who saw no reason to involve in polygamy, a norm in his demographic group, rather he married only a woman, Hajiya Ummu Kulthum, with whom they had six children– five females, a male and 14 grandchildren. He ensured there was equality in rights, privileges and disciplinary actions; but especially in the educational opportunities afforded to all of them. Baba also extended educational support to numerous relatives, friends, acquaintances and even strangers.
In the 1980s and 1990s he was honoured several times by the Kaduna State Government for consistency in remitting the rightful amount of corporate taxes as well as personal income taxes. Because he declared and paid the correct amount of personal income taxes in amounts much more than people of known stupendous wealth did – he was generally thought to be much wealthier than he really was. He served as Chairman of a Committee during the 1994 Constitutional Conference – which lasted almost 1 year; and when the conference ended, committee members and chairpersons were allocated choice residential plots in Abuja by the then Federal Government. Baba rejected the plot given to him – citing that he had served his country and that he was adequately remunerated with accommodation and sitting allowances and therefore did not deserve the plot. He also indicated that he did not actually need the plot. Until today, this is the essential character of my father – not bothered much about assets’ acquisition, or the things that he does not ‘need’.
His sense of humour is legendary – and his use of adjectives unparalleled. He is at his best when he playfully dishes out abuses at us – Owing to his fortitude, borne out of deep experience as an editor of Northern Nigeria’s gem in the 1960s, the New Nigerian, Malam Daura has remained the true companion and gentleman he is, while the bellows of those who ought to, by now, realize that he runs his course as powerful current that cannot be fazed flail wildly.
He has taught many patience- patience in adversity, patience in moments of lack and patience with the vicissitudes of life. In the early 2000s, Baba demonstrated uncommon patience. With the new government reforms, industries collapsed and all of Baba’s business interests suffered a major blow. He went from having so much to having very little or atimes even nothing at all – but he persevered.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the Editorial Board of TheScript Newspaper
