Erudite, brilliant, cutting-edge and exceptionally warm, Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf leaves you in no doubt about her passion for her work and humanity. Never one to be mealy-mouthed, she spoke always with candour and was dedicated to her positions no matter the time or season. A woman of great conviction, she always had a view on numerous issues and her views were always backed by her convictions and justification, but she was always ready to listen to the other side as long as it was validated.
Hajia Bilkisu was a woman of education, a woman of faith and a woman of research. Respected and loved, her voice was a steady voice for women, her faith, her profession and her nation. Always sought after for her top level knowledge in the field for which she was very well known, she was also very passionate about development issues. Her career was stellar, rising to become one of Nigeria’s top editors and the first female editor from the north.
Bilkisu Yusuf, a journalist by profession, was a political scientist by training. She received a BSc in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and an MA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin. She studied and earned an Advanced Diploma in Journalism and International Relations at the Moscow Institute for Journalism and International Relations. Her previous work experience included the Ministry of Information, Kano; editor of Sunday Triumph, Kano; editor of New Nigerian, Kaduna; and editor of Citizen Magazine, Kaduna. Bilkisu was a columnist for Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers. She was a founding member of several NGOs, including Women In Nigeria (WIN), the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), and Advocacy Nigeria, where she was the executive director. She was a consultant and trainer in media, gender, and conflict management and peace building. She was on the board of FOMWAN, the Nigerian Interfaith Action Association Against Malaria (NIFAAM), Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), ABANTU for Development, Vision Trust Foundation, among many others.
A week before the unspeakable tragedy, NTA had aired a discussion programme produced by the National Hajj Commission where Hajia Bilkisu along with another discussant had advised pilgrims to conduct themselves with decorum and look out for one another. As always, Hajia Bilkisu was forthright and dealt robustly with the subject matter. She advised Nigerian pilgrims not to be disorderly. If you have knowledge about the pilgrimage, assist another pilgrim who is performing hajj for the first time. Do not constitute yourselves into ringleaders for a protest. Get educated about processes and follow them. You are on pilgrimage, do not carry excess luggage and when you are restricted to your limit, do not resort to protests. I had no idea that it was the last time I was to hear her voice.
News of the tragedy in Mecca filtered into the country like a thief in the night. The figures went from 200 persons to a staggering 717, then 769. I refused to believe that Hajia Bilkisu was among the deceased when I first got a hint. I would not be surprised if typical of her, she was trying to organise, help those she felt needed to get out first, the weak, the vulnerable, the women, and the not-so-knowledgeable. She would have made sacrifices and then came the ultimate sacrifice.
Before that television appearance, Hajia Bilkisu had been very much on my mind. She had taken to social media to address an American writer who had cast aspersions on Islam. Her response was clear, full of education and a touch irritated. She contended that people should comment about things they knew about or seek information about them rather than resort to misinformation while misleading others with their skewed views. It was a very Hajia Bilkisu thing to do. She had so many platforms from where she shared her knowledge and projected whatever was on her mind at the time providing analysis and furthering the cause of journalism. We co-column in the Trust Newspapers where she maintained a weekly column called ‘Civil Society Watch’. Hajia Bilkisu was an eternal journalist, a teacher, health advocate, a mother, a wife, a role model and an excellent faith bearer.
I commiserate with her family who have lost a mother, a wife and a sister. My heart goes out to all journalists nationwide, particularly female journalists for whom she stood in the vanguard as an exemplar of a courageous voice in a nation where a strong, steady voice speaking to power is becoming such a difficult attribute to find. My condolences to the president and members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors who have lost one of their own, and a fine one at that, and to the civil society where she made her mark. I commiserate with the families of all our compatriots who fell in the latest tragedy in Hajj. May their souls rest in peace, Amen.
To my brother, the Amirul Hajj, His Royal Highness Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, it is well.
Eugenia Abu
