By Matthew Tukura
Today, October 10, 2023, is a special day for Justice Suleiman Galadima who clocks 77 years. No doubt, a day like this calls for celebration because of the numerous impact the erudite jurist had made in the lives of countless people.
Expectedly, family, friends and well-wishers will put on their dancing shoes and join the jurist in cutting his birthday cake. The celebration will be massive.
Indeed, the drums will be rolled out with fanfare in celebration and most importantly, thanking God for the life of Justice Galadima, a father, a mentor, a community leader and an epitome of peace and humility.
For me, it is difficult writing few things about our daddy Justice considering the fact that I have been privileged to have a fruitful relationship that spanned over 42 years with him. It started in 1981 and metamorphosed into father- son relationship.
I can vividly recall on a fateful day in the second week of December, 1981, Alhassan Zubairu, Musa Adamu and yours sincerely had just left Government Secondary School, Langtang, and are heading home-Toto LG of present day Nasarawa state for the Christmas holiday.
We got to Terminus in Jos, precisely near Modern Bookshop, and were waiting for a lorry that will convey us to Toto. Suddenly, a man came with a Mercedes-Benz, looking at us battling the stubborn cold of the Tin-city, said “those of you going to Toto should come and join me”. The man turned out to be Justice Galadima who eventually rose to the pinnacle of his career by serving and retiring at the Apex court.
Indeed, those words were all we needed and without hesitation, we rushed and entered the car. We made a stop-over at Hawan-Kibo, where the Justice bought fried potatoes and chicken for us. As the journey progresses, Musa Adamu, Alhassan Zubairu and yours sincerely spoke Ebira dialect all through.
Though I am of the Bassa ethnic extraction, I speak Ebira fluently because as a boy I grew up with my Ebira peer group. We did everything together.
The journey from Jos proceeded smoothly and when we got to my village, Gbokoro, at kilometer 7 along Toto-Umaisha Road, I told daddy Justice in Ebira dialect “Mba chi tizane” (Meaning, I will drop here). He was surprised thinking I am Ebira boy also going to his village (Sofiyo) with him.
He advised me to always be a good boy and study well in school and then handed me his green complimentary card and said “when you finished your school at a higher level, come I will give you a job”.
Indeed, this journey from Jos to Toto and eventually my village marked the beginning of my closeness with Justice Galadima whose wise counsel and other support, I, like many others, will live to cherish till eternity.
Exciting moments with Daddy Justice
Some years back during a fasting period, I visited him at his country home in Sofiyo, after spending time with him, I was ready to return to my village but Daddy Justice said I should stay and break the fast with him. Of course I reminded him that I am not fasting and his reply was it does not matter. When it was time for breaking the fast, he entered the kitchen and brought fried cake (Akara) in a tray as he was going round serving his guests, I moved forward to take over the sharing but he refused saying “Matthew go and sit down.”
Indeed, Justice Galadima is humility personified and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar captured it succinctly when he described daddy Justice thus “He is a true lover of the human family.”
Men like Justice Galadima appear once in a generation and his achievements are even more meaningful when you juxtapose them with his humility. Everybody that knows his lordship knows that he is a humble person.
During his 73 birthday in 2019, I requested for a media chat with him but he declined, took me to his library for a private discussion. After our discussion he removed a pamphlet from his Shelf titled “Songs that we sang and Poems that we recited” Qua Iboe Mission Primary School Shafa- Abakpa (1940-1981)
Daddy Justice on that day to my excitement sang one of the songs taught by the 2nd Head-Master of the School in 1953, Mr E.E Hogan.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart. Be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord. My God is my redeemer”.
On Monday 10th October, 2016 a valedictory session was held in his honor at the Supreme Court Complex, Abuja. As should be expected, it attracted people from all walks of life but I was not in attendance. Daddy Justice noticed my absence at the occasion and after three days of the event he called and rebuked me.
The following day I set for Abuja and on reaching his residence I was told he traveled. Of course, I put a call to him and he told me he was in Lagos but I should wait and be served breakfast.
Why celebrate Daddy Justice’s 77-year sojourn?
It is worth celebrating daddy Justice at 77 because he is vanguard of peace, watering the tree of peace.
In 2013, Daddy Justice visited the Bassa Community Leader, Pa D Z Tukura in Nasarawa where their talk centred on peace. On December 25, 2017, Christmas day, the Jurist in company of some personalities were in the remote village of Mateni, a Bassa Community where they marked the day with the natives. When the peace of Toto was shaken to its foundation, daddy Justice went round the entire local government and preached peaceful co-existence and dialogue as the best way of re-solving issues. He was instrumental to the successful launching of fund raising organized by “Uzhe Wa Bassa Women Association” held at Sofiyo in 2012.
He has also been very instrumental in giving voice to the voiceless. God is to be praised for sparing his life thus far knowing fully well that he has passed through a lot of dangers but the grace of God kept him safe.
Daddy Justice grew up in a agrarian homogeneous community that virtually sees every one as brothers, far beyond the boundaries of blood relations, this accounts for the reason why he loves people unconditionally.
Daddy Justice attended Qua Iboe Mission Primary School Shafa- Abakpa, Senior Primary School Laminga, Katsina- Ala Provincial Secondary School, Government College Keffi and prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He rose through the ranks to the Supreme Court and retired in 2016 after spending 47 years in public service.
At Laminga Senior Primary School/ ABU- Zaria
In 1957, having completed his Junior Primary School, daddy Justice left for Laminga Senior Primary School, a journey he described “One recurring experience during the journey was that any time we got to a hill, we had to disembark from the lorry popularly called “mammy wagon” and trek to the top of the hill, so as to lighten the load on the lorry and prevent the engine from going off during the climb.”
The first civilian Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was his good friend, classmate and seatmate, late Dr. Salihu Santali Karshi, Alhaji Umaru Maiasabari, Dr. Bature Shuaibu, Alhaji Aruwa Musa, Usman Ozaki, Suleiman Ozaki, Mamman Galadima, Alhaji Musa India etc were some of his classmates.
For a man who has served the nation to the apex court of the land and still rendering humanitarian service, God has reasons for keeping him alive, one of which is to see to the complete return of peace in Toto. With daddy Justice’s slogan “Be your brother’s keeper” a brand new Toto is possible.
It is your day, enjoy it, age gracefully.
Mathew, a veteran journalist is a staff of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Information and former Secretary NUJ, Nasarawa State Chapter.
