Sule Yau Sule: Modesty Moulded by the Mildness of a Mallam
By Bala Ibrahim
I don’t know Sule Yau Sule from childhood. Our paths crossed later in life, in the course of duty, the job of journalism. But one thing I can say is that, his parents did a good job in bringing him up. He exhibits the qualities of a child that is from a good home. If you know Sule Yau Sule, an Associate Professor of Strategic Communications, from the famous Bayero University Kano, who has just been conferred with the prestigious title of a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, you would agree with me that, the word arrogance does not exist in his dictionary. Prof. Sule is simple and humble to a fault. And that is not surprising, because, he has received, or is still receiving, career guidance and moulding from a Mallam, Mallam Ibrahim Shekaru, the Sardaunan Kano, and the former Governor of the same Kano State. It may interest the reader to know that, the same Mallam, who has been everything in Nigeria but the President, is amongst the simplest Nigerians that exist today.
Although the main mission of this article is to touch on the modesty of Prof. Sule Yau Sule, one can not do justice to such mission, without talking about the meekness of his mentor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekaru, who trained as a teacher, and turned his life into a mobile mentor of morality and nobility. At a later time, I would find space to spell out the reasons why I always see Mallam as a man of righteousness, because, Mallam is modest. Mallam is meek and Mallam is mild in everything he does. For now, the issue at hand is the character of his mentee, Prof. Sule Yau Sule.
Prof. Sule is being celebrated now, and righty celebrated, for being the first Northerner to be honoured with the fellowship of all three statutory and major professional bodies of mass communication. These are- Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising. In mass communication, whose ambition is the sharing of information and messages with large audiences, through different channels like television, radio, print, and digital media, when one attains the position of fellowship in these three bodies, he is good to be seen as an icon, superstar or even a megastar. And Prof. Sule Yau has gotten there with an added quality-the quality of simplicity. Prof. Sule already holds the Fellowships of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and the Advertising Registration Council of Nigeria, ARCON. Certainly this is a good career development that marks a milestone in the life of a teacher, that was moulded by another teacher of repute.
When a teacher, who was schooled by another teacher, in the calibre of people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekaru, and he progresses in his career, the way Prof.Sule Yau is progressing, then we can say, the road to bright future for other generations is signposted. It is the duty of every teacher to plan, by engaging in whatever endeavour that would bring progress, not just to the students, but the society at large. And mass communication is one field that avails such opportunities, because it allows for the creation of a safe and inclusive space, through the adaption of teaching methods for diverse learners. That is why teachers in such a field are encouraged to engage in professional bodies for development in current affairs, as well as academics. And Prof. Sule Yau Sule seems to be doing so, silently.
So, I join the media world in celebrating prof. Sule Yau for this milestone achievement, particularly his ability to attain such height, without the arrogance of attaching to himself, an overrated view of one’s value. Indeed the acclaim is his, but the commendation goes to the moulding of Mallam, Mallam Ibrahim Shekaru.
