El Rufai, took to his Facebook wall to pay tribute to
his younger brother, Hamza El-Rufai (pictured left),
who died in a fatal car crash on July 29th. Find his
moving tribute below..
"Hamza El-Rufai was born on February 14th
1991 in Kaduna state and attended Essence
International School before transferring to
Sacred Heart, a Catholic Primary School in
Kaduna. He took the Common Entrance
Examination from Class 4 and began... his
Secondary School Education in Nigerian
Turkish International School. His journey to
secondary school 2 years before his time was
more pleasing due to the several awards he
received. He is my younger brother and was
one of my best friends." Continue...
He excelled in high school, and obtained his IGCSE
Certificate with distinction. Hamza He completed
his IB Diploma in 2009 at the United World Collage
of the Atlantic, before moving to the University of
Virginia to study Chemical Engineering.
Unfortunately, he had to transfer due to visa issues
during his sophomore year in college. Hamza's next
and final academic destination was at the Rochester
Institute of Technology in Dubai. He had settled on
studying Mechanical Engineering, after managing
to transfer his credits to his new school.
He came back for the holidays after taking summer
classes to compensate the delay he went through as
a result of the aforementioned visa complications.
In all his academic days, he was engaged in various
extracurricular activities. He enjoyed football;
basketball, skiing, traveling, and video games
among many other hobbies. He was an avid
Manchester United supporter, a staunch Chicago
Bulls fan and Pittsburg Steelers fan. Hamza was a
huge fan of the critically acclaimed actor James
Dean and the American artist Jean-Michel
Basquiat.
He enjoyed going on ski trips and traveling around
the world, the most adventurous was a Spring Break
trip to Columbia. The playful picture of him jumping
over a Columbian flag was taken while he was
there, Hamza enjoyed learning more about the
diversity in Latin America. He had always been
interested in the political ideologies of numerous
revolutionary fighters, particularly, Che Guevara
and Fidel Castro. He got to witness the legend of
Pablo Oscar, the drug lord of Medellin whom the
poor protected during the height of his power. All in
all, he described the trip as a life changing
experience. His friend, the son of a former Vice
President of Columbia, invited him.
Hamza was simple, unpretentious and too
nonchalant at times in my view. He loved t-shirts,
bathroom slippers, akara, and was never distracted
by the finer things in life. He was extraordinarily
blunt, a trait I believe he got from both of our
parents. He was a loyal friend that went the extra
mile for others and they reciprocated the affection in
return. He enjoyed diverse genres of music, from
Classical, Hip Hop, House, Rhythm & Blues and
Rock. He was huge fan of Bob Marley, Bon Iver, Il
Divo and the Kings of Leon. He was also addicted to
Football Manager and loved FIFA. Our FIFA career
mode is still in our PS4.
Hamza was open and comfortable with strangers
regardless of their position or status. From the
newspaper vendors by Federal Secretariat, the credit
sellers by Transcorp Hilton, the street hawkers
selling orbit chewing gum on Adetokumbo Ademola
Crescent to the security workers in Amigo, Hamza
managed to touch their lives in some way or the
other. A few days ago, a security guard at Dalema
Bakery in Kaduna approached my humble self,
Adam and Bashir to condole us and compliment
Hamza. He was patient enough to know their
names and kind enough to assist them in anyway
he could. And, they will never forget him for that.
They regularly confused me for him when he was
back in school.
I have been called the politician of our family.
Having a degree in Political Science and
International Relations, coupled with a Masters in
Public Relations & Corporate Communications
might be the reason why. But while I had to study
and learn the art of politics, it came naturally to
Hamza. It was this inherent character that enabled
him to relate with a cross section of individuals in a
more authentic manner than I ever could. The
reputed intelligence of our father was also a gift he
inherited, leading to the great pressure he had to
endure. As children, when I came back home with a
B+, it was accepted, but, when Hamza came back
with an A-, he was criticized for not putting his best
effort.
He had his shortcomings as a young adult, but I am
yet to meet a human being that does not. I always
had a problem with his somewhat carelessness and
overly free spirit. I was more calculative and
reclusive than he was. But I also knew he would
have outgrown his spontaneity with maturity and
time. Yet, despite his occasional absentmindedness,
I valued Hamza's judgment and counsel in
everything I did. He was instrumental in my
decision to propose to my fiancée. He was my
debating and arguing partner on a number issues,
ranging from politics, social life and ethical
conduct. Even before his double promotion from
Class 4, I knew he was more intelligent and
straightforward than I was. Most of us believe he
grew up too fast was very wise for his age and that
made him a friend, as well as a brother to me.
As Muslims, we are cautioned to not speak ill about
the dead and that prayer is better than any form of
compliments. Therefore, may the gentle soul of my
darling boy rest in peace along with all the other
Nigerians we have lost to natural causes or the
insecurity situation in Nigeria. He will be
remembered for being a caring young man with a
huge heart. He had friends from all over the world
from different cultures and religions and interacted
with them as fellow brothers and sisters before
anything else. He lived a fulfilled life of smiles and
laughter, and will be remembered for being there for
his relatives, friends and most importantly, his
parents. His affection for our mother was true love
at its purest form.
To my parents, who have now lost two children in
less than 3 years, I beseech you to pray and accept
the will of God. I recall a kind reminder from an
uncle, Jimi Lawal; on the day we lost Hamza. He
mentioned that even the Prophet Muhammadu SAW
(PBUH) lost 5 out of his 6 children during his
lifetime. Therefore, my parents must do well to
remember that as special as they are, they are not as
unique as the Messenger of God. And he still had
his 3 more children taken away from him.
To my siblings, I urge them to come together to
sustain the dreams and memories of both Yasmin
and Hamza. I also assure them of my full support
and affection. For in this capricious world, it is
important to consistently express your love for your
relatives. One of the things that I am glad Hamza
and I practiced was that we never hesitated to tell
one another that we loved each other. We expressed
this feeling in public and in private countlessly. To
our friends that were physically here and those that
could not make but had to send their wishes, I
would like to thank you on behalf of my family. It is
no exaggeration that we could not have endured
Yasmin or Hamza's death without your support and
prayers.
To Hamza's girlfriend, Iman Abubakar, I hope she
remembers the good times she had with Hamza,
and their joint sense of humor. He was fond of
showing off her pictures and reminding us that he
had the prettiest girlfriend within our group of
friends. It is the combination of her beauty,
discipline and kindness that endeared her to
Hamza. She should continue to be what she is, a
strong and independent minded woman. And as our
father said, she will meet a better person than
Hamza by the grace of God. It might seem a
herculean task, but nothing is impossible with
prayer and patience and life must go on. Iman, my
sister, you will always be a part of our family!
To other well wishers that reached out via phone
calls, message or social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter, thank you and may God
continue to protect your loved ones. To our not so
well-wishers that bombarded our father's social
media platforms and other news outlets to air out
their hatred, we thank them as well. But they must
do well to remember that it is fruitless to take joy in
someone's Ioss. We will all leave this world when
God wishes it. I re-call Hamza's reaction when we
witnessed something similar after Yasmin passed
away. He believed it is the price we pay for the
choice our father took to participate in public service
and politics. But our stalkers must remember that
for every one of them, there are ten others that will
continue to support and believe in us. This group of
people will continue to pray for Hamza's eternal
soul to rest in peace. And your obsession and hatred
continues to be the fuel that drives us.
To the countless dignitaries that visited and prayed
for Hamza, I would like to thank you for taking the
time out of your busy schedules to mourn with us.
May God protect you and your loved ones! I would
also like to thank President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan for his statement condoling our family.
Though politics may divide us, death should serve
as unifying incident for reflection and repentance.
In Suratul Imran, the Qur'an states that kullu nafsin
zaikatul mau, which translates to "verily, every soul
shall taste death." On this absolute truth by
Almighty God, I have accepted the loss of my
Hamza, or shall I say our Hamza for he belonged to
us all. And as a friend pointed, Hamza's loss is a
loss to all of us and not just his family.
A few days after he died, I noticed some posts that
totally captured what Hamza embodied. The general
theme was that Hamza El-Rufai belonged to
everyone. "Hamza El Rufai was a true gentleman
and a great loss to all who knew him." Another
stated that, "today we mourn Hamza and celebrate
his life, pray for him, give charity in his name, say
good things about him for he deserves it all." Such
words brought me to tears but made me realize that
Hamza truly belonged to many others, and not just
us. But more than others, or us, Hamza belonged to
God, and to God he returned.
I will end this with two quotes that have kept me
stable since his death. The first is an extract of a
speech that Robert Kennedy gave at the funeral of
his brother, President John F. Kennedy. It
originated from William Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet and aptly describes how valuable our Hamza
was to me. "When he shall die, take him and cut
him out in little stars. And he will make the face of
heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with
night. And pay no worship to the garish sun." If
there was one person that could dim or outshine the
sun, it was Hamza. And finally, as Helen Adams
Keller once said, "the best and most beautiful things
in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they
must be with the heart." We can no longer see or
touch Hamza, but as the best, Hamza has been
embedded into our hearts. May God forgive his sins
and reward him for the many good things he did.
For at the end of the day, his good far outweighed
his negativity.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in comments are
those of the comment writers alone and does not
reflect or represent the views of Somayina.
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