1he cousin of my wife staying with us quietly walked into my room yesterday, May 17, 2026, after taking permission, to simply hand his handphone to me. He apologized for waking me up from sleep, which I usually has after my early morning devotion. When I looked at the phone screen, what I saw jolted me up. I didn’t know when I shouted out with “inna lilLahi waina ileihi Rajiuun” (From Allah we came and to Him we are returning).
It was the announcement of the death of Prince Nazir Ado Ibrahim, son of the immediate past Ohinoyi (King) of Ebiraland in Kogi State, late Dr. Ado Ibrahim.
My eyes cleared immediately from the unfinished sleep. I jumped to my feet. I began to repeat the same words… Inna lilLahi waina Ilaihi Rajiuun.
The reality gradually dawned on me that I had never met Prince Nazir physically all the while that I interacted with him. His death hit me so bad as though the two of us just parted a few minutes before his death.
As a matter of fact, the contact number of Prince Nazir was given to me by his father, late Dr. Ado Ibrahim at the time I was gathering materials for the purpose of writing a biography on him. The late King had been a witness to Ebira-English Dictionary which I authored. He actually offered prayer for its successful outing as far back as 1996,a year to his ascension of the reverend stool. The Dictionary was launched in Kano.
The late King was also instrumental to the launching of the Holy Qur’an Translation into Ebira language, which I Co-authored. He personally hosted the launching in his famous Azad Palace. He gave out the sum of N2 million in cash.
The two successfully completed projects gave me the courage to sell the idea of writing his biography. He bought the idea without any form of resistance. From then, he made it so easy for me to be close to him, so much that I could walk into his palace at anytime; I could call him on his special private line from anywhere anytime.
In the process of interacting, and on my request, he obliged me the contact numbers of his children: Prince Malik. Prince Colonel Ahmed, Prince Nazir and that of his Personal Assistant, Prince Alonge. The idea was that I should have access to his top ranking children for whatever material I would need from them.
Of all his children whose contact numbers he gave me, it was only Prince Nazir that responded to me positively, with humility.
In September 2024, after a series of chats via WhatsApp, I brought up the issue of the biography of his father. At the time, I had done 75 percent work on the compilation of relevant materials. What remained were interviews with relevant people connected to him in one way or another, including his children, mother (s) of the children, friends, associates and so on.
Prince Nazir welcomed my suggestion that I should be given a go-ahead with the project. He pleaded with me to give him time to consult with his siblings who would be home on October 29, 2024 for the first anniversary prayers for their father, late King Ado Ibrahim. He died on October 29, 2023.
Two weeks after October 29, I engaged him in another chat, requesting to know the outcome of his consultations with his siblings. He responded promptly by pleading with me to give him more time to get the acceptance of what he called “complex family.”
With such response, I was wise enough to read between the lines. I comforted myself that Prince Nazir was just trying to be nice and diplomatic. I therefore decided to rest the matter and allow it to take its natural course.
At another time, I invited him to the launching of a book by the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Abuja in October 2024. He promised to attend the event, which I considered to be an opportunity for the two of us to meet one-on-one. However, he could not make it to the event as he was engaged in another very important event in Lagos. He however transferred the sum of N250,000 to my account and asked me to present it as the contribution to the book launch in the name of his late father, King Ado Ibrahim. Two copies of the book were packaged for me to be delivered to him. As a matter of fact, I was praying fervently to God to make it possible for us to meet one-on-one.
What seemed an opportunity came last year when I invited him to grace the special annual get-together of Ozuka Agidima Worldwide, a prominent Clan in Ebiraland to which I belong. He gave me his word that he would attend. On the day of the event, December 6, 2025, I virtually glued my eyes to entrance gate of the venue. He didn’t seem to be coming. I had to call him on his handphone. He apologized that he couldn’t make it and that he was actually in Lagos airport getting set to fly out.
Since then, I cautioned myself not to take his humility and respect for granted, because each time we engaged in discussion, he would be responding to me as “sir.” I decided to apply some kind of wisdom, believing that he needed to be allowed to “flex” without any kind of cajolement.
One can therefore imagine the kind of feeling that I had when the news of his death was announced to me on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
This was a man that felt free talking to me whenever I contacted him. This was the man who was so close to me, but the man I never really met in life.
Prince Nazir, I pray to Allah subhannahu wata Allah to forgive all your shortcomings and admit you in His Aljanatu Firdausi. Adieu!!!
Yusuf Ozi-Usman, nipr
