Thursday morning, around 3:30 a.m., my cell phone rang. But I was in a deep sleep. I neither heard the ringing nor noticed the call.
Shortly afterwards, an SMS message followed, but my sleep was too deep for me to notice its arrival, let alone read its content.
It was only after I woke up, a few minutes before 4:00 a.m., that I discovered the missed call and the message.
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The message was from Dr. Maizare’s eldest son, Bello Bashir Maizare. It contained the news I never expected to receive so soon: the death of his father, Dr. Bashir Maizare, Secretary of the Kano State Sports Commission.
For a moment, I could hardly believe what I was reading. How could this be?
Only a few hours earlier, I had spoken with Dr. Maizare at his hospital bed. I saw him. I spoke with him. I listened to him. Nothing in that encounter prepared me for the possibility that the next message I would receive would announce his death.
But then I looked again at the sender. It was his eldest son, Bello.
At that point, there was no room for disbelief or hope that it was a mistake. The painful reality had arrived through the hands of his own son.
I began reciting, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.” I repeated it as I struggled to come to terms with what I had just read.
Only a few hours earlier, Dr. Maizare was a living person lying on his hospital bed, someone I could speak to directly.
Now, I was being asked to accept that he had answered the call of his Creator.
That is how cruelly sudden death can be. It does not always give us time to prepare. It does not always allow for a final goodbye.
Sometimes, it simply turns a conversation into a memory before we have even had time to realise that it was our last.
At about 7:00 a.m., I went to his house at Kofar Wambai. A family member led me to the room where his family had gathered around his body, offering prayers for him.
Seeing him lying there lifeless, I started shivering. I could not hold back my tears, and before I realised it, tears were already running down my cheeks.
I went down on my knees and joined his family in prayers. I offered so many prayers for him, though I can hardly remember what I said.
When I came outside, I met other people sitting patiently and waiting for the burial, which was scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
Dr. Maizare is someone I can never easily forget because of the close bond we shared. He was not only a friend to me.
He was a brother, a teacher and a mentor. I learnt a lot from him, both in my academic journey and in my journalistic career.
His advice, guidance and encouragement left a lasting impression on me.
His death is therefore not just the loss of a colleague or acquaintance. For me, it is the loss of someone who played a meaningful role in my life and whose presence I will deeply miss.
Dr. Maizare was the only person I regularly visited at his home almost every weekend, usually for one reason or another.
That regular contact became part of my life, and over time, our relationship grew beyond ordinary friendship.
I could visit him to discuss academic matters, journalism, sports or simply to have a conversation.
His home became a place where I could always find someone willing to listen, advise and share his knowledge with me.
That is why accepting his death has been particularly difficult for me. I did not only know Dr. Maizare professionally. I knew him closely, and his absence will be deeply felt in my life.
Beyond the office he occupied, however, he was a husband, a father, a colleague, a friend, a teacher and a member of a wider community whose members are now mourning him.
Dr. Maizare’s passing has left a painful gap in the Kano sports community. His long career in sports administration, officiating, coaching and journalism made him a familiar and respected figure in Kano and beyond.
Before his death, he was Vice Chairman of the Karate Federation of Nigeria, an immediate past member of the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria and Vice Chairman of the Marathon Organizers Forum. He was also the Kano State Chairman of the Tug of War Association.
Born 62 years ago at Kofar Wambai in Kano Municipal Local Government Area, Dr. Bashir Ahmed Maizare built a long career around sports.
He attended Festival Special Primary School from 1970 to 1977 and Kano Teachers College from 1978 to 1983.
He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a Diploma and later a degree in Physical and Health Education.
He returned to ABU, Zaria, for a master’s degree in Sports Management and later obtained a PhD in Sports Management.
His career included service as a sports administrator, referee, coach and organiser. He served as Organising Secretary of several sports associations and was Secretary of Kano Pillars Football Club on two occasions before becoming the scribe of the Kano State Sports Council.
He also served as Stadium Manager of Kano Pillars Stadium in Sabon Gari, PRO of the Kano State Sports Council and held several responsibilities during major national and international sporting events hosted in Kano.
As Director of Sports, he played important roles in Kano’s performances at the National Sports Festival. Kano won 71 medals at the 2018 festival in Abuja, 66 medals at the 2021 festival in Edo State and 77 medals at the 2022 festival in Asaba, Delta State.
He was also instrumental in Kano Pillars’ victory in the 2019 Nigeria Football Federation Cup and the success of Kano Pillars Handball Club in the 2019 Prudent Premier League.
Dr. Maizare’s passion was not limited to sports administration. He also had a strong interest in journalism.
He participated in Hausa sports programmes on Ray Power Radio from 2004 to 2014 and contributed to the Triumph Newspaper for 13 years, from 1993 to 2005, compiling annual sports reviews.
For me, that connection made him more than a sports administrator. He was someone from whom I learnt and received guidance at different stages of my academic and journalistic life.
His death reminds us once again of the fragility of life. We spend our days making plans for tomorrow.
We discuss projects, careers, appointments and sporting programmes as if tomorrow is guaranteed. But it is not.
Death has reminded us that our time on earth is limited and that the relationships we build with people may one day become memories.
May Allah SWT forgive his shortcomings, grant him mercy and admit him into Aljannatul Firdaus.
May Allah comfort his wife, children, family, colleagues, friends and the entire Kano sports community, and give them the strength to bear this painful loss.
May He also give us all the patience to accept His will.
Ameen.
