I am not good at writing tributes because I only wrote one after the tragic death of my parent in 2020. But I just took a cue from my boss, Dr. Kabiru Haruna Isa, who has written some tributes to high-profile academics and Islamic scholars.
Dr. Lawan Abdu’Allah Isa, popularly addressed as Dr. Lawan A. Isa, was a true ‘BUK scholar’ as he earned his Bachelor’s degree (1981), Master’s (1996), and PhD (2010) from Bayero University Kano (BUK). Dr. Lawan worked with the Federal College of Education Katsina for over two decades before he joined the services of Bayero University Kano in 2010. At BUK, he served in various capacities as a tutor, Departmental Examination Officer, Level Coordinator, and finally, Head of the Department (History).
My first encounter with Dr. Lawan was in April 2012, after my employment as a Graduate Assistant, together with four other colleagues. I did not know him when I was an undergraduate because he joined the Department in November 2010, a few months after our graduation.
As new members of the Department, we used to assist him as Examination Officer and later as Level Coordinator. I became closer to him in 2021 when he was appointed as the Head of Department. I was also appointed as Departmental Examination Officer the same year, a position that made me work closely under him. In fact, some members of the Department fondly called me ‘Deputy HOD’, perhaps in recognition of my working relationship with him which lasted only after the end of his tenure in early March 2024. My last meeting with him, I think his last visit to the Department, was on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. I met him with the new HOD, Dr. Muhammad Wada, discussing various issues, which lasted more than an hour.
It was around 7:20 pm on Sunday, March 17, 2024, that I heard the tragic death of Dr. Lawan when a senior colleague, Dr. Ibrahim Sani Kankara, informed me. Colleagues, students, relatives, and above all, members of Dr. Lawan’s family have thousands of good stories to tell about him. For me, I knew him as a teacher, father, and leader; not in any way as a colleague, although we worked together. Most of the young members of the Department used to address him as Babanmu (our father), the revered title that he earned due to age and good relations with us. He used to relate to us like his mates, sharing with us his years of experience.
After working closely with him for over a decade, I can say that Dr. Lawan was a very good person, highly religious, jolly, a disciplinarian, and simple (although many students used to fear him). We used to relate to him freely. I can still recall what he told me as a way of consoling me after the death of my beloved father in August 2020. He said to me, “Now you’ve joined our club of orphans.” I replied by saying, “Yes sir, but for me, my mother was alive before her sudden death a few months later!”
Dr. Lawan, until his death, was an associate professor, waiting for formal promotion to professorship.
Dr. Lawan will forever be remembered for his modest contributions to the Department, BUK, and the wider public in various aspects. He was a great disciplinarian whom many students, both undergraduates and graduates, used to fear. As an Examination Officer, I used to send some errant students to him for disciplinary action.
May the soul of Dr. Lawan rest in Aljannatul Firdaus and may Almighty Allah console us with the fortitude to bear this great loss. May Almighty Allah take care of his family, especially his children.
