Signs of disappointment were written all over her face. As she narrates her story, the sting of pain was not inevitable.

Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, younger sister to Murtala Ramat Muhammed

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Indeed, as long as she lives, Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, younger sister to the slain former Head of State, Murtala Ramat Muhammed would continue to grieve over the loss of her beloved elder brother, Murtala Muhammed, just as she would not forgive the successive administrations in this country for being insensitive to the plight of the departed General’s family.

Murtala Ramat Muhammed was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1975 until his assassination in 1976. He was killed on February 13, 1976, in an abortive coup attempt led by Lt.Col Buka Suka Dimka, when his car was ambushed while en-route his office, at Dodan Barracks, Lagos.

Thirty-two years after his death, his family members residing in Kano have had cause to revisit their woes, describing as “unfortunate a situation, where successive administrations in this country have decided to ignore the memories of the past, and so easily forgotten the fact that General Murtala Muhammed once lived, and dedicated his life to the unity of this country.”

At the maiden edition of the Northern Nigeria Writers’ Summit, held recently in Minna, Niger State capital, where this reporter ran into Balaraba, she expressed her family’s disappointment, following the inability of the successive governments in this country to appreciate the worthy contributions the former Head of State made towards the unity of the Nigeria state.

As a famous Hausa-Fulani female writer, and also, the northern co-ordinator of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, Balaraba revealed in the cause of the interview that thirty-two years, after the death of Murtala Muhammed, all have not been well with their family. “We are not happy the way things are going.

Ever since the death of Murtala Muhammed, all have not been well with our family. Because his children and his widowed wife have continued to pass through hard times. His children have had to move from one office to another office in search of financial assistance, all in the name of trying to complete their education. This is contrary to the promise made by the government after the death of our breadwinner to.’

“While Murtala Muhamed’s immediate family resides in Lagos, for us in Kano, as his birthplace, we rarely receive any assistance from anybody, whether successive or incumbent governments. In fact, we have nothing to show for the sacrifice that my brother made to savage the nation.

Ever since Murtala was killed, no administration in the country has ever remembered that he had a family that is based in Kano, or that he had once ruled this nation.”

According to her, while the only military leader then, who considered it imperative to extend spirited assistance to the family was General Ibrahim Babangida, other successive administrations in the country have done little or nothing to add value to the life of the bereaved family. She recalled,

“At least, Babangida replaced our mother’s car twice or thereabout, while the late MKO Abiola was one of the best friends my brother ever had in his lifetime. Abiola increased our mother’s salary before she passed on.”

“Until her death, before Abiola was killed, while in the custody of the government, my mother’s salary was not interrupted. Abiola also replaced her car more than four times. Buhari on his own, on several occasions sent some grain of beans to our family, while former Kano State Governor , Alhaji Abubakar Remi ensured that our family did not lack anything.

He personally ensured that our mother counted among those that embark on Holy Pilgrim to Mecca twice every year. These were the very few Nigerians that stood by us, and ensured that we did not go begging to live. We cannot forget them.”she narrated.

Balaraba said, while other friends of the slain military ruler had made efforts in their little way to support the family, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who eventually succeeded Gen. Murtala Muhamed after his assassination in 1976, has done nothing to affect the family positively.

“I don’t know anything about Obasanjo. I remember that on one occasion, he assisted Murtala’s son. But for us, we have gotten nothing from him.” replied Balaraba.

However, reliving memories of their life together with the departed military leader, whose short-lived regime was central to the nation’s economic, political and socio-cultural transformation, Balaraba described Murtala, as “a nonsense person, who does not talk twice to anybody.”

“His no!, is his no!.

He does not mince words. He was a peace-loving person and he had listening ears. We really miss him.

The scar he left behind, nothing can heal it. It was a great lost to us. But we were not the only Nigerians that felt his lost either.

The entire nation also did. That’s is why we decided to accept our fate, following the way the ill-treatment we have been receiving government.”

Balaraba Ramat Yakubu is about one of the finest and most controversial female writers from the north. But this is not what she is only known for. Besides writing however, Balaraba is also a film maker, and one of the major players in the popular Kano film industry.

Though, she was not privileged to acquire western education, as her parents decided to give her away in marriage when she was only 13 years old, Balaraba has achieved both fame and recognition within the northern hegemony as a writer and an activist par excellence.

But notwithstanding the fame that writing has brought to her, she appears not being happy with her punctuated beginning.

And she does not pretend about it. She would tell anyone that cares to listen that the base of her writing, lies in her ability to use the pen to lunch a mental fight against the incidences of early marriage prevalent in the northern region. And as a victim of this ugly practice, Balaraba’s story runs like an acted script.

“I am a female Huasa writer. I was deprived of being educated because of marriage. I got married when I was 13 years of age My parents then did not believe in western education.

So, among my siblings, I managed to attain elementary four before I was given away in marriage.

That is why, following my limitation as far as acquiring western education is concerned, I decided to write using indigenous language. My writings focus on family; polygamy, early marriage and indigenous slavery.”

According to her, most of her works reflects her sad experiences in life. And this, she said, “There is no way, my writings can be complete without exploring some of my early life experiences.”

She further added, “ I am a victim of early marriage, and today, as a result of my limitation, I strongly oppose such practice in the north. I know that as a Muslim, our religious doctrine varies from our culture. These are the things I try to explore in my writings. But I have been branded as a controversial writer.

Because I used to tackle certain sensitive issues that most writers of northern extraction dare not. I remember in those days when our mothers used to behold our fathers as next to God, instead of seeing them as partners in progress.

These days, it’s my desire to see our young daughters acquire good education and excel in their various fields of life.’