How do you measure the worth of a man? The seventeenth century English poet Alexander Ope concluded that the answer lies not in fortune, because that disintegrates, not in power, because it is temporary, and not in accomplishments, because that fade with the passing of time. A man’s worth, then, must be measured by the constant things in a life that changes from season to season.
By this measure, Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu the Dan Amana Dutse, must be classed a good man. If warmth and benevolence are delightful traits to possess, then the northern businessman is a very delightful man indeed. If showing kindness to only those in your familial and fraternal circles is the sign of a narrow-minded individual, then the man acclaimed as one of president Buhari’s favourites possesses an intellect that encompasses heaven and earth.
The young man who was turbaned by the Emir of Dutse few years back is one of the most generous human beings this side of the equator and the less privileged count it their fortune that he exists. Nasiru Danu has made an annual tradition of giving to the impoverished during the Sallah season. In a celebration that emphasizes devotion and sacrifice as the highest of all virtues, the wealthy dude doesn’t see it as a drain of his resources to open his barns and invite the hungry in.
This year’s Sallah hasn’t officially begun, yet Buhari’s favourite godson already at it again. He was spotted in several places offering gifts and generally reaching out to the needy. Instead of locking himself behind the high walls of luxury and drinking expensive wines with his compeers, ensuring a few deprived humans enjoy a little bit of festive happiness is what is paramount in his mind.
The prominent APC politician is a household name in the northern caucus. A detribalized Nigerian whose interests span oil and gas, construction and agriculture, Nasiru Haladu Danu is unflinchingly loyal to president Buhari. They have known each other for almost two decades and in that time Danu never jumped ship once, even when the president was a figure of fun as a serial electoral failure.
