Gombe State Commissioner for Special Duties and the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from that state, Mela Audu Nunghe gave SEGUN KASALI a peep into aspects of his life not known to many, including a friendship of about 40 years he shares with his current principal, Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
What are those things you did as a youth that constitute what one could describe as youthful exuberance?
I had none. I was not a drunkard. I was a very careful, quiet guy. I did not follow the crowd even when we go to parties. I kept to myself and chose who to talk with. That was so as a result of my upbringing and discipline. My father was a disciplinarian. You dare not go out when you are not supposed to, because you will be beaten. In other words, my father used to carry out bed checks in order to know whether one was there or not. I came to realise that all of these were done in order to make one successful. I am number six out of eight children (we were six girls and two boys).
How did you cope in the midst of six girls?
Oh! I was so loved by all of them. I was a darling. If I cry, anyone close by will be in touch. It was nice being in their midst. It is just that they like to control me because of the fact that I was their little brother (laughs). But, when I grew to become a man, I learnt to put my foot down and then did what I thought was right. It was fantastic. I would like to let you know that my ambition to study Law was not an ambition that was nursed long ago. I only got down to making the decision while I was filling the form to go to the university.
How?
It was when I came to the point of choice of course that I said ‘this my friend read History, this one read Mathematics, this one read Political Science and my father wanted me to read English’ but I said ‘No’ and I just wrote Law for First choice and Second choice at the same Ahmadu Bello University. Why that was so was because sometimes one takes a decision when the moment calls for it. So, I think that was what captured my attention. Sometimes, one could nurse an ambition, then plan and work towards achieving it. But, that was not the case when I went to study Law. Something happened.
What exactly happened?
When I went to the university in my first year, I went late. So, they taught methodology of research and Faculty of Law normally has a special orientation for Law students because one would be taken to the Law Library and taught how to cite Law Report- all the Nigerian Law Report (NLR), England Law Report, and West Africa Law Report. When I got there late and started attending lectures, I almost left the university.
It was because I did not understand all that. And then, to make matters worse, they were putting in some Latin words. I said ‘I thought I came to study Law and it was expected to be taught in English. Is there another language here?’ I was confused (Laughs). So, one of my seniors whom I still respect till date (Justice of the High Court of Gombe) sat me down and said ‘My friend! This is how you go about it. And when you are reading the case law, you don’t read the whole cases because you do two-hour lecture and you spend the whole day doing research to cover the two-hour lecture.’ So, I will never forget him because if not for his counsel, I would have probably withdrawn from the Law Faculty and quietly go to study English which was what most of my seniors in the family wanted me to study. So, I thank God I finished well, especially grateful to God for being a recently decorated Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Can you recollect the day you adorned the silk robe?
It was a great day. Up till today, when I look back, I often say ‘Ah ah! Was that me?’ It is like I am still struggling to get used to the name. What makes mine unique is that I am the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Gombe State. So, it was not only a celebration for my family. It was not only a celebration for my local government. It was a celebration that involved everybody from Gombe. Not many knew that we never had a Senior Advocate in the state. That was why I had two receptions – from friends, relations and community, while the second was organised by elders of Gombe State. All of these celebrations were based on the fact that for the first time in about 45 years of the existence of the title, someone was coming home with a SAN title and that happened to be me.
It was quite humbling. When I entered the hall, I was almost shedding tears. I asked myself ‘Am I the reason people are so excited, thrilled?’ The music they played was Stand up for the champion.’ So, am I a champion? I was called a groundbreaker, a trailblazer, achieving a feat and so on. So, I would say it was grace of God. I met people who had been applying since 2016 and even in this application and they did not get it. I made the application for the first time and God honoured me. That is one of the unique things about it. So, I am grateful to God for that honour. Of course, you can’t rule out hard work. But, there are those who worked harder than me but they have not got it. That is why I am saying that God is gracious to me.
What are your plans on giving back to the society?
The way to show gratitude to God if he blesses you with something is that others must get the benefit of it. You are the recipient but let the benefits go to the people or those around you. I will use it in many ways – one, being the first in Gombe, I will be the person other lawyers will be waiting for. So, I will do everything to encourage them. I recall a lady at a meeting walked up me to say since I am the first man to become a SAN in the state, she would work hard to become the first woman SAN. So, you see that is an ambition. So, I will liaise with the university in Gombe. We have the ministry of justice and then the judiciary. All these areas are platforms where I will put my knowledge.
For those aspiring, I think it is important that that they are consistent and not break their practice. When I left the government, I joined the private sector and from there, I went to The Gambia. Even though they were law-related matters, it affects the case dockets. Becoming a SAN means one has built over the period of 10 years a good number of cases at the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the High Court. If one wants to be there on time, one needs to be consistent. One needs to also be consistent in behaviour and conduct. Any court one attends, the judges will have respect for one because they know one has good language, advocacy skills and decorum. And I would like everyone to know that God’s time is the time, not the best. When you say it is the best, it means it is comparable to another time and we as humans cannot be comparing our own time to God’s time. So, God’s time is the time. It is only God that preserves one’s life. I can never forget the time I came close to death.
How did that happen?
In 1993 when I was in Kaduna, I was stopped and a knife was put on my chest and they (attackers) asked me what is my tribe and God just shut my mouth and I did not answer because I would not know the tribe they were looking for. At that time, a crisis was taking place in Zangon Kataf. So, it was the effect of it. The next thing they asked me was: what is my religion? And in Hausa language I said ‘why the hell are you asking me all these questions.’ So, they said for you to have spoken Hausa language you must belong to us and they asked me to go. Why I would not forget that was because I came close to death, but God spared my life. I will never forget that event in my life.
How did you meet your wife?
When I was a corps member in Abuja between 1984 and 1985, I was fortunate to live in a guest house and about six of them came to visit me. One or two of them were friends to me but she caught my eyes and that was how it started. She looked different (Laughs). She was just different and I wanted to know more about her. Subsequently, we met but it didn’t click until 1992 because she had just finished secondary school and she was going to the university. When she finished, she went to serve and we were keeping in touch but nothing serious. Before we got married, letters were straight to the point but in between the lines you would see an expression of love. I never knew she was going to be my wife.
Your principal, Governor Inuwa Yahaya, has been known to you for donkey years.
Yes, we have been friends for almost 40 years. My relationship with the governor is very cordial. We were contemporaries in the university. My family knows his family and his family knows my family. He is very strict and financially prudent. He is not given to extravagant expenditure. He makes sure every resource is utilised for the benefit of the people.
Has he always been like this?
He is from a wealthy family. I did not see him being extravagant even as a student. He was very careful, and has been a Godly person. This is one thing that is amazing – He is a Muslim but I am a Christian and we have maintained a relationship of 40 years. If we are together, he can drop me in church. And then, he is Hausa while I am Tangali. So, we have maintained a good relationship and I think that is good for our country that we cross bridges and build bridges of relationships across culture, religion and ethnic nationalities.
Really?
One day, she got to my office after she completed her service year. I knew she was not employed and I thought I could assist her with some money. And I gave her money but she said ‘No.’ I said but you are not working? She said ‘No’, only for me to discover that in her own culture, you don’t collect a gift until the relationship has reached the stage of marriage. More so, that if she has to accept any gift, she has to show her mother and tell her mother this is the person who gave her the gift. So, I just knew she must be a good woman at that point because it is difficult to believe that a lady at this age and time would be offered money and reject it. So, I realised that it was because collecting the money means making a commitment and the relationship was yet to get to that stage. That day, I looked at her twice with great surprise. When she was going, I looked through the window without her knowledge and I was looking at her as she walked away. So, that sent a message that she is a marriage material.
Do you have a message for ladies out there?
You don’t throw yourself at a man. You must preserve yourself in such a way that a man will respect you. You don’t propose marriage to a man just as many ladies told me let’s get married (Laughs). Those things made me run away from relationships because where I was brought up, I was the one to propose to a woman. So, they must learn to have self-esteem and be independent.
What are the vices your wife wants you to drop?
I think she feels I make up my mind about certain things without giving room for contribution from her. When I make up my mind about something, that is it. But these days, I have learnt to listen or even step down some, until we discuss about them.
What is your social regimen?
Many people say I should be a judge because I am highly-reserved. In fact, I don’t like very rowdy environment but I can relax with good company. From time to time, I take my family out. We are also given to hospitality where we invite people for dinner. It is a habit that on Sundays we don’t even cook; rather we eat out so that whoever that has been cooking will also rest.
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