Before we begin, I am delighted to promote the LAZEEZUN food products by Hajia Aishat Aliyu Sabuwa from Kaduna, owner of Lazeezun Venture and Global Services. We have the delicious and deeply satisfying Lazeezun Danwake flour, the rich Lazeezun Kunun flour, and the highly flavorful, finely ground Lazeezun Yaji (spice blend). I assure you that LAZEEZUN products are entirely different from any other Danwake flour, Kunun flour, or ground Yaji you have ever known. I am a living testament; I have tested and trusted LAZEEZUN products. My family and I ate them and loved them, which is why I decided I couldn't keep this deliciousness to myself without advertising Khairun Lazeezun to you all. Lazeezun Danwake flour, Kunun flour, and Yaji are readily available in various supermarkets across major cities like Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, and even in the Niger Republic. Currently, these products have begun crossing borders overseas, reaching the UK, Dubai, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Simply contact Hajia Aishat Aliyu at this phone number (08030802900) from whichever city or country you are in to taste our delicious Lazeezun products. I wouldn't tell you about something I haven't personally tasted and enjoyed! Thank you all. Yours truly.
Introduction: The Lineage of the Late Grand Khadi
The lineage of the late Chief Judge of Tambuwal—widely known as the "Grand Khadi," Judge Jalloh Ahmad—is an eminent, famous, aristocratic, and extraordinarily vast family deeply rooted in the city of Sokoto, the City of Shehu. Whenever the history of Jalloh Ahmad's descendants is told, people frequently highlight their profound unity, mutual affection, and deep love for one another. Furthermore, they are a point of reference for the striking physical beauty that Allah bestowed upon both their men and women. Allah blessed them with peace and mutual understanding. For instance, historically, it is well known that wherever a sprawling extended family exists, daily friction, frequent disagreements, jealousy, envy, and the toxic backbiting typical of half-sibling rivalries (co-wife politics) are bound to arise among family members, their wives, children, or in-laws. Remarkably, the vast majority of these issues are entirely non-existent within the household of the Chief Judge. It is universally agreed that the Jalloh lineage has turned its back on such petty squabbles. They do not exhibit toxic half-sibling rivalries. Even if a semblance of it exists, it is channeled through maturity, intellect, and education; it is never driven by malice or envy, but rather by a healthy race toward personal advancement. "If you won't make a move, step aside so I can surpass you" (in the pursuit of knowledge and self-reliance)—this is the philosophy the Jalloh family prioritizes. Their daily interactions are deeply meaningful, admirable, and highly impressive to anyone who knows them or hears their story. There is a genuine understanding of individual character and profound mutual respect within the Jalloh Ahmad lineage. From the eldest to the youngest, everyone maintains their proper boundaries and respects their status.
The Dynamics of Polygamy
Although the Grand Khadi’s children were born to different mothers, the household explicitly embraced polygamy, marrying up to four wives simultaneously. They lived in close proximity, a face-to-face communal lifestyle where the quarters of one wife faced those of another, and the entire household shared a single central kitchen. Each wife gave birth to her own fair share of children under the umbrella of a single, exceptionally just husband who was worth more than ten men to his wives—a man of profound humility who upheld absolute justice and benevolence among his spouses. The Grand Khadi's constant, tireless effort was to ensure happiness and unity among his family. The four wives of Grand Khadi Jalloh, all of whom bore him children, were: his first wife, Inna Jari (the anchor of the house); Yaya Suwaiba, the second; Hajja Badejo, whom he married from Wurno; and his youngest wife, Hajia Hadiza, whom everyone in the household called Maman Nasiba. No matter how you look at it, the peace and unity thriving in this family can be directly traced to the fact that nearly every member of the Jalloh Ahmad household was deeply grounded in Islamic knowledge. Allah blessed the Jalloh family with scholars of the Holy Qur'an, and materially, the vast majority could be classified as wealthy or highly self-sufficient. The Jalloh family did not achieve fame through Islamic scholarship alone; they excelled equally in western education, which explains the peaceful coexistence within this massive estate. Every individual you encounter in the Jalloh lineage possesses a substantial livelihood, nearly rivaling or even surpassing their siblings in wealth and financial security. It is incredibly difficult to pinpoint who is the most fortunate among them because they never allow a single member to cry out in want; they immediately organize, mobilize, and compete to come to their aid. Consequently, since the typical catalysts for conflict in extended families—such as poverty, a lack of mutual support, a lack of religious education, and unemployment—are absent, their only real flaw is a sense of "competition." This rivalry strictly occurs among the young women of the family, as the young men are entirely defined by dignity, maturity, and noble character. Among the young Jalloh women, however, there is no malice or bitter jealousy. Instead, each simply strives to outdo her sisters in fashion, sophisticated hijab styling, matching elegant outfits, or owning the most high-class cosmetics. Elegance and vanity are traits universally acknowledged to run deeply in the blood of the young women of the Jalloh house.
The Family Structure
The patriarchs of the family all shared the same parents. Jarin Gida gave birth to the eldest sons of Judge Jalloh, a factor that further solidified the family's unity, as each son held absolute authority within his own household, and whatever decision the elders made was strictly binding on the younger ones. The wife who followed Jarin Gida, Hajiya Suwaiba, initially gave birth to a female child who became the eldest daughter of the family. She was the only one who inherited the Grand Khadi’s exact profession: Judge Shafa'atu Jalloh (Justice Shafa'atu), affectionately called Yaya 'Yar Dada. Inna Badejo, who was married after Suwaiba, gave birth to the youngest of the sons—a man worth a thousand others, named Baffa Attahiru. Hajiya Hadiza (Maman Nasiba) was the mother of the absolute youngest child of the entire household, a daughter named Nasiba Jalloh, who is currently married and living in Mubi. Maman Nasiba was the final bride among the wives of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmad. Grand Khadi Ahmad Jalloh lived for 77 years before Allah took his soul. Thus, he personally raised all his children; they grew up directly under his care, and he instilled in them the exact upbringing he desired. Today, this upbringing has become a celebrated standard, drawing admiration for its exemplary unity and mutual love. Following the death of the Grand Khadi, things took a painful turn when Jarin Gida passed away shortly after him following a brief battle with asthma. Truly, Jarin Gida and the Grand Khadi lived a long, blessed life, leaving behind an honorable legacy of education and impeccable upbringing, alongside a lineage that continues to expand and grow daily. As for the Grand Khadi’s remaining wives, because he passed away while they were still relatively young, they returned to their respective parents' homes after completing their mandatory mourning periods (Iddah) and eventually remarried in their various hometowns.
Part 2: Official Sojourn
Deeply lost in thought, his mind drifted further into the history of his lineage and ancestors, just as the Air Mexico aircraft carrying him and his two colleagues began to taxi, preparing to depart from Mexico. The moment he settled into his seat and the announcement broadcasted that the plane was departing for his ancestral homeland, "Nigeria," his mind and soul were completely consumed by thoughts of his origin, filled with a profound wave of nostalgia. He began recounting his own history and that of his entire family. Many of the historical details flooding his mind today were fragments he had gathered from his father, Abbih, since he hadn't even been born when many of those events occurred. This is the story of the family of Jalloh Ahmadu Tambuwal! Beyond being a prominent family in the city of Sokoto, they are proud bearers of the Uthmaniyya flag. Their history shows that the ancestors of the Grand Khadi were present within the city of Shehu when the Sokoto Caliphate was founded, sharing deep ancestral bloodlines with the Sultanate of Sokoto. Consequently, the lineage of Chief Judge Jalloh Ahmadu is highly esteemed and respected throughout Sokoto and its neighboring regions. This prestige is not merely due to their vast wealth or their abundance of children and properties, but rather because of the absolute purity of their lineage, the nobility of their origin, and the untainted sanctity of their roots. Professionally, the majority of their parents are prominent businessmen dealing in various sectors of commerce. Being of royal Islamic descent did not hinder them from pursuing advanced Western education; both the elders and the youth have completely mastered modern schooling—not to rely on it blindly for employment, but for its practical utility in daily life, given that their primary focus remains commerce. Allah blessed them with a vast lineage of both sons and daughters. Nearly every child of the Grand Khadi went on to have large families of their own, as they inherited their father's practice of polygamy. They rarely marry just one woman; they marry two, three, or four. Polygamy is a fundamental fabric of their lifestyle—the very environment in which they were raised and for which they are widely known. Muhammad Jalloh, who happens to be the second son of the Grand Khadi's household, is the only one who married a single woman, treating her like his very soul! This man is his Abbih (father). His father stands completely apart from the rest of the Jalloh children; from his core beliefs and philosophy to his character, he is entirely unique compared to his siblings. Because Abbih was a deeply intellectual academic from the start, his son would often playfully tease him, saying, "Abbih, your Western education is just too much." The eldest sons of Grand Khadi are his father, Ambassador Muhammad Jalloh (the second child born to the late Grand Khadi and Jarin Gida), and the head of the household, Alhaji AbdulQadir Jalloh Ahmad. Alhaji AbdulQadir is a seasoned, veteran "Oil Mogul," universally addressed by the entire lineage as Yaya Babba. Since the passing of the Grand Khadi, Yaya Babba has held the reigns of this family with absolute integrity and trust. His younger siblings obey him blindly as they would their own father; his word is final, and his directives are executed without question. His Abbih has five younger siblings: Abdulqayyum Jalloh, AbdulWahhab Jalloh, Hajia Shafa'atu Jalloh (Yaya 'Yar Dada), Barrister Nasiba Jalloh (the youngest daughter), and their absolute youngest brother, a Quantity Surveyor named QS Attahiru Ahmad Jalloh, who was named after the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Attahiru, and is affectionately called Baba Sultan. All of them reside with their respective families within the city of Shehu (Sokoto), with the exception of Nasiba, who is married in Mubi. Apart from his own father, none of them have relocated outside of Nigeria. Abbih only left the country due to the demands of his diplomatic career. In short, this was the complete history of his ancestors and parents—a history he kept reciting within his mind ever since boarding the plane today. As their aircraft gathered speed to leave Mexican soil, he remained deeply immersed in the world of his lineage, missing his parents profoundly. The main catalyst for these thoughts was the realization that he was heading back to a home and a Sokoto he hadn't visited in a very long time. They anticipated landing in Kano, Nigeria, in approximately twelve hours and a few minutes, from where they would board a domestic flight connecting to Sokoto.
The UNICEF Assignment
It had been a long time since he last embarked on an extended official deployment, not since completing his previous project where they delivered humanitarian aid to women and children affected by a devastating famine in Tanzania—a project that kept them deployed on the ground for three solid months without a single glance back home. It was during that assignment that their organization, UNICEF, fully recognized his brilliance, unwavering dedication, and deep experience in the humanitarian space, especially after the immense success and subsequent promotion he achieved in Tanzania. From that moment on, UNICEF kept him at the forefront; whenever a highly demanding, heavy-budget project requiring expertise, deep empathy for the marginalized, and self-sacrifice arose, they placed him in the lead. He personally recognized that UNICEF was drawing him much closer into their inner circle this year. As it stood, he had become the shining star when it came to securing projects—a brilliant young officer whose star outshone all other youths in the organization this year. He had become the golden boy whom UNICEF executives deeply cherished. They integrated him heavily into their major operations, allocating him incredibly lucrative projects, making him the absolute favorite of the leadership. In its ongoing mission to provide educational support to children orphaned by the scourge of terrorism, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was stepping in to address a catastrophic crisis that had suddenly plagued Northern Nigeria: namely, terrorism, Boko Haram, and armed banditry. The primary consequence of this crisis drastically affected the lives of countless young children in Nigeria, following the brutal, mass slaughter of their parents in the villages of Zamfara, the forests of Borno, and various parts of Northern cities. In some instances, parents were executed right inside their homes, leaving the children to flee as internally displaced persons, running day and night. This tragedy gave rise to a massive population of refugees. Among these refugees were young children left to survive a bleak existence defined by orphanhood, ignorance, hardship, hunger, and absolute neglect. Reports of their dire plight eventually reached the United Nations—highlighting that young children among the displaced were wasting away from severe trauma and disease in camps known as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Upon analyzing the situation, UNICEF, in partnership with the World Bank, launched this urgent initiative to intervene. After all, what would happen if these children were left to grow up in ignorance, disease, and total abandonment? If compassion and mercy were absent from the government, it had to come from local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There was no food, no education, no healthcare, and no support from anyone—on top of losing their parents. These are the very youths who, if left to grow up under such conditions, turn into ruthless, heartless criminals with no mercy for anyone. They are the exact demographic currently terrorizing society, attacking people on highways and invading homes, fueled by the bitter conviction that society never showed them mercy when they desperately needed help to build their lives. No one pitied them enough to enroll them in schools, provide medical care when they were sick, or offer them the education, care, and protection that every human being deserves. UNICEF’s research revealed that these refugees were left living in sub-human conditions, with the young children suffering from poor health due to a complete lack of basic childhood immunizations, let alone other daily life necessities. Reports of their degrading lifestyle in the IDP camps were what compelled UNICEF to bring immediate emergency relief to their lives. One of UNICEF's core, noble objectives includes ensuring that vulnerable, underprivileged children receive a quality education—as though they were under the care of their own parents—and comprehensive healthcare through routine immunization. Armed with these objectives, UNICEF (under the UN umbrella) designed a 6-Month IDP Renovation Project and deployed them to Nigeria, starting with Zamfara State, where the crisis was most severe. He was deployed alongside two subordinates from headquarters: Femi Ogunbiyitan and a female colleague named Mrs. Ngozi Sylvanus. The project scope involved constructing primary and junior secondary schools across all IDP camps in Zamfara State and its surrounding environments. Furthermore, they were to build fully equipped dispensaries, clinics, and hospital wards for inpatient care. They were also tasked with ensuring a redundant supply of essential medications and deploying doctors and nurses to work hand-in-hand with the Zamfara State Ministries of Education and Health to seamlessly execute UNICEF’s noble goals for the refugees. Before their strictly allotted six-month deadline expired, it was expected that all these facilities would be fully operational so that the refugees could immediately begin schooling and receiving medical treatment, thereby elevating their quality of life through education and healthcare.
The Flight Departure
He pulled himself back from his deep reverie just as his thoughts reached this point. It was only then that he realized Femi, sitting right next to him, had been chatting away continuously, though his mind had been entirely elsewhere. He could hear Femi’s voice, but he hadn't processed a single word of the conversation. Consequently, even when the pre-flight safety announcements were being blasted over the intercom instructing passengers to fasten their seatbelts for takeoff as the plane prepared to leave the ground into the open skies, Mr. Yassar Jalloh hadn't even nudged, let alone thought about fastening his belt. He was simply too far gone in his nostalgic reflections about his roots and the parents he had left behind today, his heart brimming with intense love and longing for them. Eventually, Femi—the absolute king of meddling (Sarkin kankanba), as Mr. Yassar often privately labeled him in his native Hausa/Fulani tongue (without Femi ever knowing the meaning of the word kankanba)—noticed that his boss hadn't buckled his seatbelt. True to his meddlesome nature, Femi reached across Yassar’s back and personally buckled the belt for him without uttering a word or disrupting his boss’s deep train of thought. This action forced Mr. Yassar to snap out of his nostalgic thoughts and return to the reality in front of him. Slowly, his lips—bordered by a dark, soft, meticulously groomed mustache and goatee that wrapped around his jaw, a classic youthful style often dubbed a "quarter million"—curved slightly as he murmured a silent word of gratitude. As their aircraft pierced through heavy cloud cover, cruising smoothly, Yassar leaned his back deeply into his seat, propping his head up with his right hand. He inevitably found himself slipping right back into reflection. However, this time, his mind focused on the emotional farewell he experienced today with the parents he affectionately calls Abbih and Ammih—his mother, Hajiya Tarha, and his father, Ambassador Muhammad Jalloh Ahmad. He was deeply troubled by how visible their distress over his departure had been. It was as if he weren't even traveling back to their home country; they simply couldn't mask their profound anxiety and impending loneliness, which etched itself clearly onto their mature faces. One could read it plainly in their words and within the very pupils of their eyes. Both Ammih and Abbih had made it crystal clear that they despised this particular trip, primarily because it would keep him away far longer than any of his previous deployments, and the volatile nature of his destination was completely different from his past assignments. It was almost as if Ammih and Abbih possessed an ominous foresight that this journey was destined to completely flip his life upside down. Despite the fact that this was far from his first international work deployment, it marked the absolute first time he would be executing such a task in his native country, Nigeria, which was currently gripped by a severe lack of peace and stability. Although he was a Nigerian through and through, he rarely spent extended periods in the country. Whenever he visited, it was almost strictly for brief vacations due to the nature of his father's career; since birth, Abbih and Ammih had traveled with him across various continents. Later, when he came of age and completed his university education, he charted his own career path, which turned out to be equally travel-heavy. UNICEF constantly deployed him to the remotest corners and hidden tracks of developing African nations. This lifestyle had alienated Yassar significantly from his motherland, despite his status as a highly cherished, special grandson within the grand lineage of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmadu. He knew intimately that his parents would miss him terribly, especially his Ammih. No one needed to tell him how deeply his mother loved him—she cherished him above anyone and anything else. He was absolutely certain that if providing a livelihood weren't an absolute necessity for human existence, especially for a son, Ammih would never have allowed him to leave her side for a single moment. Had he been a daughter instead of a son, it would have been highly unlikely...
Part 2: Summary
The text serves as the opening chapter/introduction to a Hausa novel, structured into three distinct segments: a commercial endorsement, an elaborate family genealogy, and the introduction of a prestigious international humanitarian assignment.
1. Product Endorsement
The text opens with a promotional note by the author praising LAZEEZUN food products (Danwake flour, Kunun flour, and Yaji spice blend) produced by Hajia Aishat Aliyu Sabuwa of Kaduna. The author vouches for their superior quality, noting their widespread availability in major Nigerian supermarkets, expansion into international markets (UK, Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia), and provides a contact number for orders.
2. The Lineage of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmad
The core narrative introduces the background of the main character's family: the vast, highly prestigious, and aristocratic Jalloh Ahmad lineage based in Sokoto.
Family Reputation: Known for their striking physical beauty, deep Islamic scholarship, immense wealth, and exceptional internal unity. Unlike typical large extended families, they actively avoid toxic co-wife rivalries or sibling jealousy, channeling their energy into healthy intellectual and commercial competition.
Household Structure: The late Grand Khadi practiced strict polygamy with four wives (Inna Jari, Yaya Suwaiba, Inna Badejo, and Hajia Hadiza). They lived a communal lifestyle sharing a single kitchen under his deeply just leadership.
Key Family Members: * Alhaji AbdulQadir (Yaya Babba): The eldest son, a wealthy oil mogul who acts as the iron-clad patriarch maintaining family unity after their father's death.
Ambassador Muhammad Jalloh (Abbih): The second son, a highly educated diplomat who breaks family tradition by practicing strict monogamy. He is the father of the protagonist.
Justice Shafa'atu: The eldest daughter and a prominent judge.
Other siblings: Abdulqayyum, AbdulWahhab, Barrister Nasiba, and QS Attahiru (Baba Sultan).
3. The Official Sojourn (Mr. Yassar Jalloh's Mission)
The perspective shifts to the protagonist, Mr. Yassar Jalloh, a brilliant, highly acclaimed young humanitarian worker for UNICEF.
The Setting: Yassar is on an Air Mexico flight departing from Mexico to Nigeria alongside his subordinates, Femi Ogunbiyitan and Mrs. Ngozi Sylvanus.
The Mission: Due to his stellar performance during a famine relief project in Tanzania, UNICEF and the World Bank have appointed Yassar to lead a critical 6-Month IDP Renovation Project in Northern Nigeria, specifically starting in Zamfara State. The mission aims to combat the devastating humanitarian fallout of terrorism (Boko Haram and armed banditry) by building schools, clinics, and providing critical healthcare/vaccinations to orphaned and displaced children to prevent them from slipping into a cycle of heartless criminality.
Internal Conflict: As the plane takes off, Yassar feels deeply nostalgic and anxious. His parents (Abbih and Ammih) were visibly shaken during his farewell, harboring an intense, unspoken dread that this specific deployment to a volatile Nigeria is destined to alter and turn his life completely upside down.
Advertisement: Lazeezun Ventures
Before we begin, I am delighted to promote the LAZEEZUN food products by Hajia Aishat Aliyu Sabuwa from Kaduna, owner of Lazeezun Venture and Global Services. We have the delicious and deeply satisfying Lazeezun Danwake flour, the rich Lazeezun Kunun flour, and the highly flavorful, finely ground Lazeezun Yaji (spice blend).
I assure you that LAZEEZUN products are entirely different from any other Danwake flour, Kunun flour, or ground Yaji you have ever known. I am a living testament; I have tested and trusted LAZEEZUN products. My family and I ate them and loved them, which is why I decided I couldn't keep this deliciousness to myself without advertising Khairun Lazeezun to you all.
Lazeezun Danwake flour, Kunun flour, and Yaji are readily available in various supermarkets across major cities like Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, and even in the Niger Republic. Currently, these products have begun crossing borders overseas, reaching the UK, Dubai, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Simply contact Hajia Aishat Aliyu at this phone number (08030802900) from whichever city or country you are in to taste our delicious Lazeezun products.
I wouldn't tell you about something I haven't personally tasted and enjoyed!
Thank you all.
Yours truly.
Introduction: The Lineage of the Late Grand Khadi
The lineage of the late Chief Judge of Tambuwal—widely known as the "Grand Khadi," Judge Jalloh Ahmad—is an eminent, famous, aristocratic, and extraordinarily vast family deeply rooted in the city of Sokoto, the City of Shehu.
Whenever the history of Jalloh Ahmad's descendants is told, people frequently highlight their profound unity, mutual affection, and deep love for one another. Furthermore, they are a point of reference for the striking physical beauty that Allah bestowed upon both their men and women. Allah blessed them with peace and mutual understanding.
For instance, historically, it is well known that wherever a sprawling extended family exists, daily friction, frequent disagreements, jealousy, envy, and the toxic backbiting typical of half-sibling rivalries (co-wife politics) are bound to arise among family members, their wives, children, or in-laws. Remarkably, the vast majority of these issues are entirely non-existent within the household of the Chief Judge.
It is universally agreed that the Jalloh lineage has turned its back on such petty squabbles. They do not exhibit toxic half-sibling rivalries. Even if a semblance of it exists, it is channeled through maturity, intellect, and education; it is never driven by malice or envy, but rather by a healthy race toward personal advancement. "If you won't make a move, step aside so I can surpass you" (in the pursuit of knowledge and self-reliance)—this is the philosophy the Jalloh family prioritizes. Their daily interactions are deeply meaningful, admirable, and highly impressive to anyone who knows them or hears their story. There is a genuine understanding of individual character and profound mutual respect within the Jalloh Ahmad lineage. From the eldest to the youngest, everyone maintains their proper boundaries and respects their status.
The Dynamics of Polygamy
Although the Grand Khadi’s children were born to different mothers, the household explicitly embraced polygamy, marrying up to four wives simultaneously. They lived in close proximity, a face-to-face communal lifestyle where the quarters of one wife faced those of another, and the entire household shared a single central kitchen. Each wife gave birth to her own fair share of children under the umbrella of a single, exceptionally just husband who was worth more than ten men to his wives—a man of profound humility who upheld absolute justice and benevolence among his spouses. The Grand Khadi's constant, tireless effort was to ensure happiness and unity among his family.
The four wives of Grand Khadi Jalloh, all of whom bore him children, were: his first wife, Inna Jari (the anchor of the house); Yaya Suwaiba, the second; Hajja Badejo, whom he married from Wurno; and his youngest wife, Hajia Hadiza, whom everyone in the household called Maman Nasiba.
No matter how you look at it, the peace and unity thriving in this family can be directly traced to the fact that nearly every member of the Jalloh Ahmad household was deeply grounded in Islamic knowledge. Allah blessed the Jalloh family with scholars of the Holy Qur'an, and materially, the vast majority could be classified as wealthy or highly self-sufficient.
The Jalloh family did not achieve fame through Islamic scholarship alone; they excelled equally in western education, which explains the peaceful coexistence within this massive estate. Every individual you encounter in the Jalloh lineage possesses a substantial livelihood, nearly rivaling or even surpassing their siblings in wealth and financial security. It is incredibly difficult to pinpoint who is the most fortunate among them because they never allow a single member to cry out in want; they immediately organize, mobilize, and compete to come to their aid.
Consequently, since the typical catalysts for conflict in extended families—such as poverty, a lack of mutual support, a lack of religious education, and unemployment—are absent, their only real flaw is a sense of "competition." This rivalry strictly occurs among the young women of the family, as the young men are entirely defined by dignity, maturity, and noble character. Among the young Jalloh women, however, there is no malice or bitter jealousy. Instead, each simply strives to outdo her sisters in fashion, sophisticated hijab styling, matching elegant outfits, or owning the most high-class cosmetics. Elegance and vanity are traits universally acknowledged to run deeply in the blood of the young women of the Jalloh house.
The Family Structure
The patriarchs of the family all shared the same parents. Jarin Gida gave birth to the eldest sons of Judge Jalloh, a factor that further solidified the family's unity, as each son held absolute authority within his own household, and whatever decision the elders made was strictly binding on the younger ones.
The wife who followed Jarin Gida, Hajiya Suwaiba, initially gave birth to a female child who became the eldest daughter of the family. She was the only one who inherited the Grand Khadi’s exact profession: Judge Shafa'atu Jalloh (Justice Shafa'atu), affectionately called Yaya 'Yar Dada.
Inna Badejo, who was married after Suwaiba, gave birth to the youngest of the sons—a man worth a thousand others, named Baffa Attahiru.
Hajiya Hadiza (Maman Nasiba) was the mother of the absolute youngest child of the entire household, a daughter named Nasiba Jalloh, who is currently married and living in Mubi. Maman Nasiba was the final bride among the wives of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmad.
Grand Khadi Ahmad Jalloh lived for 77 years before Allah took his soul. Thus, he personally raised all his children; they grew up directly under his care, and he instilled in them the exact upbringing he desired. Today, this upbringing has become a celebrated standard, drawing admiration for its exemplary unity and mutual love.
Following the death of the Grand Khadi, things took a painful turn when Jarin Gida passed away shortly after him following a brief battle with asthma. Truly, Jarin Gida and the Grand Khadi lived a long, blessed life, leaving behind an honorable legacy of education and impeccable upbringing, alongside a lineage that continues to expand and grow daily. As for the Grand Khadi’s remaining wives, because he passed away while they were still relatively young, they returned to their respective parents' homes after completing their mandatory mourning periods (Iddah) and eventually remarried in their various hometowns.
Part 2: Official Sojourn
Deeply lost in thought, his mind drifted further into the history of his lineage and ancestors, just as the Air Mexico aircraft carrying him and his two colleagues began to taxi, preparing to depart from Mexico.
The moment he settled into his seat and the announcement broadcasted that the plane was departing for his ancestral homeland, "Nigeria," his mind and soul were completely consumed by thoughts of his origin, filled with a profound wave of nostalgia. He began recounting his own history and that of his entire family. Many of the historical details flooding his mind today were fragments he had gathered from his father, Abbih, since he hadn't even been born when many of those events occurred.
This is the story of the family of Jalloh Ahmadu Tambuwal! Beyond being a prominent family in the city of Sokoto, they are proud bearers of the Uthmaniyya flag. Their history shows that the ancestors of the Grand Khadi were present within the city of Shehu when the Sokoto Caliphate was founded, sharing deep ancestral bloodlines with the Sultanate of Sokoto. Consequently, the lineage of Chief Judge Jalloh Ahmadu is highly esteemed and respected throughout Sokoto and its neighboring regions. This prestige is not merely due to their vast wealth or their abundance of children and properties, but rather because of the absolute purity of their lineage, the nobility of their origin, and the untainted sanctity of their roots.
Professionally, the majority of their parents are prominent businessmen dealing in various sectors of commerce. Being of royal Islamic descent did not hinder them from pursuing advanced Western education; both the elders and the youth have completely mastered modern schooling—not to rely on it blindly for employment, but for its practical utility in daily life, given that their primary focus remains commerce.
Allah blessed them with a vast lineage of both sons and daughters. Nearly every child of the Grand Khadi went on to have large families of their own, as they inherited their father's practice of polygamy. They rarely marry just one woman; they marry two, three, or four. Polygamy is a fundamental fabric of their lifestyle—the very environment in which they were raised and for which they are widely known.
Muhammad Jalloh, who happens to be the second son of the Grand Khadi's household, is the only one who married a single woman, treating her like his very soul! This man is his Abbih (father). His father stands completely apart from the rest of the Jalloh children; from his core beliefs and philosophy to his character, he is entirely unique compared to his siblings. Because Abbih was a deeply intellectual academic from the start, his son would often playfully tease him, saying, "Abbih, your Western education is just too much."
The eldest sons of Grand Khadi are his father, Ambassador Muhammad Jalloh (the second child born to the late Grand Khadi and Jarin Gida), and the head of the household, Alhaji AbdulQadir Jalloh Ahmad. Alhaji AbdulQadir is a seasoned, veteran "Oil Mogul," universally addressed by the entire lineage as Yaya Babba. Since the passing of the Grand Khadi, Yaya Babba has held the reigns of this family with absolute integrity and trust. His younger siblings obey him blindly as they would their own father; his word is final, and his directives are executed without question.
His Abbih has five younger siblings: Abdulqayyum Jalloh, AbdulWahhab Jalloh, Hajia Shafa'atu Jalloh (Yaya 'Yar Dada), Barrister Nasiba Jalloh (the youngest daughter), and their absolute youngest brother, a Quantity Surveyor named QS Attahiru Ahmad Jalloh, who was named after the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Attahiru, and is affectionately called Baba Sultan. All of them reside with their respective families within the city of Shehu (Sokoto), with the exception of Nasiba, who is married in Mubi. Apart from his own father, none of them have relocated outside of Nigeria. Abbih only left the country due to the demands of his diplomatic career.
In short, this was the complete history of his ancestors and parents—a history he kept reciting within his mind ever since boarding the plane today. As their aircraft gathered speed to leave Mexican soil, he remained deeply immersed in the world of his lineage, missing his parents profoundly. The main catalyst for these thoughts was the realization that he was heading back to a home and a Sokoto he hadn't visited in a very long time. They anticipated landing in Kano, Nigeria, in approximately twelve hours and a few minutes, from where they would board a domestic flight connecting to Sokoto.
The UNICEF Assignment
It had been a long time since he last embarked on an extended official deployment, not since completing his previous project where they delivered humanitarian aid to women and children affected by a devastating famine in Tanzania—a project that kept them deployed on the ground for three solid months without a single glance back home.
It was during that assignment that their organization, UNICEF, fully recognized his brilliance, unwavering dedication, and deep experience in the humanitarian space, especially after the immense success and subsequent promotion he achieved in Tanzania. From that moment on, UNICEF kept him at the forefront; whenever a highly demanding, heavy-budget project requiring expertise, deep empathy for the marginalized, and self-sacrifice arose, they placed him in the lead.
He personally recognized that UNICEF was drawing him much closer into their inner circle this year. As it stood, he had become the shining star when it came to securing projects—a brilliant young officer whose star outshone all other youths in the organization this year. He had become the golden boy whom UNICEF executives deeply cherished. They integrated him heavily into their major operations, allocating him incredibly lucrative projects, making him the absolute favorite of the leadership.
In its ongoing mission to provide educational support to children orphaned by the scourge of terrorism, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was stepping in to address a catastrophic crisis that had suddenly plagued Northern Nigeria: namely, terrorism, Boko Haram, and armed banditry.
The primary consequence of this crisis drastically affected the lives of countless young children in Nigeria, following the brutal, mass slaughter of their parents in the villages of Zamfara, the forests of Borno, and various parts of Northern cities. In some instances, parents were executed right inside their homes, leaving the children to flee as internally displaced persons, running day and night.
This tragedy gave rise to a massive population of refugees. Among these refugees were young children left to survive a bleak existence defined by orphanhood, ignorance, hardship, hunger, and absolute neglect. Reports of their dire plight eventually reached the United Nations—highlighting that young children among the displaced were wasting away from severe trauma and disease in camps known as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.
Upon analyzing the situation, UNICEF, in partnership with the World Bank, launched this urgent initiative to intervene. After all, what would happen if these children were left to grow up in ignorance, disease, and total abandonment? If compassion and mercy were absent from the government, it had to come from local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There was no food, no education, no healthcare, and no support from anyone—on top of losing their parents. These are the very youths who, if left to grow up under such conditions, turn into ruthless, heartless criminals with no mercy for anyone. They are the exact demographic currently terrorizing society, attacking people on highways and invading homes, fueled by the bitter conviction that society never showed them mercy when they desperately needed help to build their lives. No one pitied them enough to enroll them in schools, provide medical care when they were sick, or offer them the education, care, and protection that every human being deserves.
UNICEF’s research revealed that these refugees were left living in sub-human conditions, with the young children suffering from poor health due to a complete lack of basic childhood immunizations, let alone other daily life necessities. Reports of their degrading lifestyle in the IDP camps were what compelled UNICEF to bring immediate emergency relief to their lives.
One of UNICEF's core, noble objectives includes ensuring that vulnerable, underprivileged children receive a quality education—as though they were under the care of their own parents—and comprehensive healthcare through routine immunization. Armed with these objectives, UNICEF (under the UN umbrella) designed a 6-Month IDP Renovation Project and deployed them to Nigeria, starting with Zamfara State, where the crisis was most severe. He was deployed alongside two subordinates from headquarters: Femi Ogunbiyitan and a female colleague named Mrs. Ngozi Sylvanus.
The project scope involved constructing primary and junior secondary schools across all IDP camps in Zamfara State and its surrounding environments. Furthermore, they were to build fully equipped dispensaries, clinics, and hospital wards for inpatient care. They were also tasked with ensuring a redundant supply of essential medications and deploying doctors and nurses to work hand-in-hand with the Zamfara State Ministries of Education and Health to seamlessly execute UNICEF’s noble goals for the refugees. Before their strictly allotted six-month deadline expired, it was expected that all these facilities would be fully operational so that the refugees could immediately begin schooling and receiving medical treatment, thereby elevating their quality of life through education and healthcare.
The Flight Departure
He pulled himself back from his deep reverie just as his thoughts reached this point. It was only then that he realized Femi, sitting right next to him, had been chatting away continuously, though his mind had been entirely elsewhere. He could hear Femi’s voice, but he hadn't processed a single word of the conversation.
Consequently, even when the pre-flight safety announcements were being blasted over the intercom instructing passengers to fasten their seatbelts for takeoff as the plane prepared to leave the ground into the open skies, Mr. Yassar Jalloh hadn't even nudged, let alone thought about fastening his belt. He was simply too far gone in his nostalgic reflections about his roots and the parents he had left behind today, his heart brimming with intense love and longing for them.
Eventually, Femi—the absolute king of meddling (Sarkin kankanba), as Mr. Yassar often privately labeled him in his native Hausa/Fulani tongue (without Femi ever knowing the meaning of the word kankanba)—noticed that his boss hadn't buckled his seatbelt. True to his meddlesome nature, Femi reached across Yassar’s back and personally buckled the belt for him without uttering a word or disrupting his boss’s deep train of thought. This action forced Mr. Yassar to snap out of his nostalgic thoughts and return to the reality in front of him.
Slowly, his lips—bordered by a dark, soft, meticulously groomed mustache and goatee that wrapped around his jaw, a classic youthful style often dubbed a "quarter million"—curved slightly as he murmured a silent word of gratitude.
As their aircraft pierced through heavy cloud cover, cruising smoothly, Yassar leaned his back deeply into his seat, propping his head up with his right hand. He inevitably found himself slipping right back into reflection. However, this time, his mind focused on the emotional farewell he experienced today with the parents he affectionately calls Abbih and Ammih—his mother, Hajiya Tarha, and his father, Ambassador Muhammad Jalloh Ahmad.
He was deeply troubled by how visible their distress over his departure had been. It was as if he weren't even traveling back to their home country; they simply couldn't mask their profound anxiety and impending loneliness, which etched itself clearly onto their mature faces. One could read it plainly in their words and within the very pupils of their eyes. Both Ammih and Abbih had made it crystal clear that they despised this particular trip, primarily because it would keep him away far longer than any of his previous deployments, and the volatile nature of his destination was completely different from his past assignments.
It was almost as if Ammih and Abbih possessed an ominous foresight that this journey was destined to completely flip his life upside down. Despite the fact that this was far from his first international work deployment, it marked the absolute first time he would be executing such a task in his native country, Nigeria, which was currently gripped by a severe lack of peace and stability.
Although he was a Nigerian through and through, he rarely spent extended periods in the country. Whenever he visited, it was almost strictly for brief vacations due to the nature of his father's career; since birth, Abbih and Ammih had traveled with him across various continents. Later, when he came of age and completed his university education, he charted his own career path, which turned out to be equally travel-heavy. UNICEF constantly deployed him to the remotest corners and hidden tracks of developing African nations.
This lifestyle had alienated Yassar significantly from his motherland, despite his status as a highly cherished, special grandson within the grand lineage of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmadu. He knew intimately that his parents would miss him terribly, especially his Ammih. No one needed to tell him how deeply his mother loved him—she cherished him above anyone and anything else. He was absolutely certain that if providing a livelihood weren't an absolute necessity for human existence, especially for a son, Ammih would never have allowed him to leave her side for a single moment. Had he been a daughter instead of a son, it would have been highly unlikely...
Part 2: Summary
The text serves as the opening chapter/introduction to a Hausa novel, structured into three distinct segments: a commercial endorsement, an elaborate family genealogy, and the introduction of a prestigious international humanitarian assignment.
1. Product Endorsement
The text opens with a promotional note by the author praising LAZEEZUN food products (Danwake flour, Kunun flour, and Yaji spice blend) produced by Hajia Aishat Aliyu Sabuwa of Kaduna. The author vouches for their superior quality, noting their widespread availability in major Nigerian supermarkets, expansion into international markets (UK, Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia), and provides a contact number for orders.
2. The Lineage of Grand Khadi Jalloh Ahmad
The core narrative introduces the background of the main character's family: the vast, highly prestigious, and aristocratic Jalloh Ahmad lineage based in Sokoto.
Other siblings: Abdulqayyum, AbdulWahhab, Barrister Nasiba, and QS Attahiru (Baba Sultan).
3. The Official Sojourn (Mr. Yassar Jalloh's Mission)
The perspective shifts to the protagonist, Mr. Yassar Jalloh, a brilliant, highly acclaimed young humanitarian worker for UNICEF.