By Khalid Idris Doya The family of the late renowned Islamic scholar, Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, has told President Bola Ahme...
The family of the late renowned Islamic scholar, Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, has told President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that their late father has mentored, guided, and commanded the loyalty of over 63 million Muslims across Nigeria and beyond during his lifetime.
Speaking on behalf of the 820-member family, the successor of the late cleric, Khalifa Sheikh Ibrahim Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, made this known on Saturday in Bauchi when President Tinubu paid a condolence visit following the passing of the respected Islamic leader.
According to Khalifa Ibrahim, for over 56 consecutive years, the late Shaykh organised between five and ten annual Islamic gatherings, each attracting millions of followers, disciples, students, adherents, devotees, and admirers, numbering more than 63 million people.
He emphasised that despite commanding such a massive following, there was no record in Nigeria's history from 1969 to 2025, that Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi ever instigated violence, unrest, or chaos.
A formal message from the family, read by Dr. Bashir Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, expressed profound appreciation to President Tinubu for personally visiting the family and for earlier delegating top government officials to represent him during the funeral and burial rites on Friday, 28 November 2025.
"All 820 family members of Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, OFR, his 82 surviving children, and his more than 63 million followers, disciples, students, devotees, adherents, and lovers sincerely welcome you and appreciate your unswerving loyalty and compassion in this moment of grief," they told President.
The family also commended the President for sending the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and the Minister of Health, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, to honour the late scholar during the funeral.
Reflecting on his life, the family described Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi as a man who lived 101 years, five months, and three days, dedicating his life to faith, education, peace, unity, and service to humanity.
They disclosed that the late cleric fathered 100 children 50 males and 50 females, out of whom 82 are alive, saying that 84 of his children (42 males and 42 females) memorised the Holy Qur'an, a feat the family described as unprecedented.
The family further revealed that Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi's lineage comprises 512 grandchildren and 206 great-grandchildren, bringing the total family population to 820 members, which they described as one of the largest single-family lineages in the world.
They also noted that Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi produced over 400 Qur’anic memorizers within his family alone, cutting across children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
According to the family, the late cleric performed Hajj and Umrah continuously from 1960 to 2023, completing a total of 303 pilgrimages, believed to be the highest ever by an individual.
They added that for 56 consecutive years, he organised special national prayers for peace, unity, and divine protection for Nigeria, and conducted Qur'anic Tafsir sessions for about 75 consecutive years, from 1948 to 2023.
"He was the brain behind the creation of Federal Government Girls' Colleges. He was the brain behind the performance of the opening & closing prayers before & after some of the functions, meetings, gatherings and occasions in 1969."
"He was the brain behind the sending of Islamic clerics to support & guide Nigerian pilgrims in Mecca and Madina. Sir, he was one of the pioneers in 1969," the family said.
The family formally presented five requests to President Tinubu which include the upgrading of Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi’s national honour from OFR to GCON, a special presidential dinner for his 82 surviving children and demands federal sponsorship of a 500-page biography documenting his life and legacy.
Other demands included enhanced support for the 1,000 Qur’anic schools he established across Nigeria and parts of Africa as well as the naming of a Federal Institution or National Monument after Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi.
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