Tribute

Celebrating Mukhtar Harun Adekilekun on His Birthday: A Tribute to a Progressive Brother.

By Jabir Jibril

When we were about to graduate from high school over 16 years ago, the fear was that there would be people we would never be in contact with again, and one such person was Mukhtar Harun, because he lived in Lagos. It was extraordinary that we ended up in Malaysia together with Mukhtar Harun, where he was studying for a BSc in Civil Engineering and I was doing my A-Level as part of my path to becoming a medical doctor, and that was where a journey of immense friendship started.

Even when I moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for medical school, Mukhtar still found time to pay me a personal visit and stayed for about a week. During that time, we went out a couple of times around the Emirates desert, which was a tremendous and wonderful experience that I cherished.

Mukhtar left Lagos at the age of 10 for an Islamic boarding school in Katsina, where we meet, a journey of over 1,200 kilometres by road. That itself speaks of the high intellect and cosmopolitan nature of his parents, and till today he remains grateful for such opportunities.

Mukhtar has been one of the most reliable classmates we had among our set. He has, on numerous occasions, flown from Lagos to Kano and then travelled by road to Katsina for a friend’s wedding, or flown from Lagos to Abuja and travelled by road with us from Abuja to Gombe for another friend’s wedding. Even when the Abuja airport was shut down, he would fly to Kano, drive to Kaduna, and then take the train onward to Abuja for important events among our friends. It was therefore sad that we could not attend his wedding, as he planned that once they went for the introduction, the wedding would just be done quietly, which was typical of his humility. He did mention to me that he would be going for his wedding introduction, after which we would discuss the main wedding plans.

From 2010 that we were together, I have never seen a year in which he missed Iʿtikāf (staying in the mosque for complete devotion and supplication without going outside) during the last ten days of Ramadan.

Mukhtar has extraordinary warmth, resilience, and integrity, and he has never given up hope of building a better life for his religion and country. At age 13, he wrote a book, “The Great Sins and Science in the Qur’an,” showing how committed he has been to the betterment of the religion in his own way.

A dedicated craftsman from his early days, Mukhtar deploys his intelligence and practical nous to turn his hands to almost any task into success.

Mukhtar has never been one to tolerate hypocrisy in any form. He is remarkably consistent in word and deed, and he carries himself with an uprightness that leaves little room for pretence. In his dealings with people, he values sincerity over convenience and principle over applause, choosing always to stand on what is right even when it is not the popular path.

One reason why I am proud of Mukhtar Harun is that, despite his proximity and access to those in authority, he does not belong to the crop of young men wallowing around political office holders for small peanuts that do not, in any way, make someone grow.

My fervent prayer today is that Allah grants Mukhtar Harun long life and prosperity in the struggle for a better and more prosperous nation. May Allah also continue to bless his two children, Khalifa and Nabeelah.

And I am very hopeful that we will live long to celebrate Mukhtar Harun in a much bigger capacity not so far from now.

Jabir is a medical doctor and a global health consultant, and he writes from Abuja.

P.S. I believe people should be celebrated while they are still alive, rather than waiting to offer glowing tributes when something happens to them. I intend to deliberately pay tribute to some close associates as the need arises, and I hope to remain consistent this year.