A 93-year-old man, Sa’idu Abdullahi, who was presumed to have died before Nigeria’s independence in 1960 has returned to his home in Kano State after 67 years.
Sa’idu, who left home when he was 26 returned home in the Northwest at the age of 93 after spending 67 years in Ibadan.
Sa’idu was said to have left his village, Dakatsalle, in present-day Bebeji local government area, in 1953, during the reign of the Late Emir Abdullahi Bayero.
He was said to have moved to Ibadan, in South-West Nigeria where he lived for 67 years, until he returned home to Dakatsalle, last week.
The family compound of Sa’idu has turned into a mecca for villagers, who have been going there to see the man thought to have died over 60 years ago.
Speaking to newsmen in Hausa, Sa’idu said, “I left Dakatsalle when I was 26, a vibrant young man, during the reign of Emir Abdullahi Bayero of Kano, whose rulership started in 1926 to 1953.
“For a long time, I’ve longed to return home; which I left before Nigeria’s independence. I relocated to Ibadan to trade in kolanut and to also find my maternal uncle who left home early in similar circumstances.
“Since I left home and settled in Ibadan, I’m setting my foot on my home for the first time in over 60 years.”
There were tears of joy and wild jubilation as children and grandchildren of his siblings, supported by neighbours celebrated the return of the man whom they thought had died.
