By Farooq Kperogi
I am shattered beyond words can express by the sudden passing of my dear friend and brother, Ndagana Baba Alhaji. His loss feels like a wound that words cannot heal.
I first wrote about Ndagana on September 29, 2019, when he was honored with the Bob Freeman Humanitarian Award for “working to provide medical supplies and equipment to under-served communities across the African diaspora.”
Today, I write in biting, disabling sorrow and grappling with the reality that he is gone.
I learned of his passing through a call from his close friend, Malam Ishaq Nasidi, on December 27. He told me that Ndagana had died suddenly Thursday night and was buried on Friday.
I was having lunch when the call came, but any appetite I had vanished. Since then, I’ve been an emotional wreck, consumed by grief over this monumental loss.
To me, Ndagana was more than a friend; he was family. I affectionately called him “Alhaji bakon Makkah,” a Hausa phrase of endearment for people who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
He embodied the best virtues of humanity: compassion, humility, honesty, loyalty, sincerity, unwavering goodness, and an unrelenting desire to spread joy and improve the lives of others.
His purity radiated not just through his actions but even in his sartorial choices; every piece of clothing he owned was immaculately white. It reflected the simplicity and clarity of his heart.
Ndagana’s humanitarian work was extraordinary. The Bob Freeman Humanitarian Award, which he received in Atlanta from MedShare—a global organization dedicated to redistributing surplus medical supplies and equipment to under-served hospitals—was just one recognition of his immense contributions.
His dedication to medical humanitarianism was born from a deeply personal experience. In 2008, during a visit to Chicago, he faced a life-threatening health crisis. He needed heart surgery that would cost half a million dollars, a sum he did not have.
The Advocate Christ Medical Center performed the surgery for free, asking only that he commit “to this possibility for others.”
Ndagana took this charge as his life’s mission. He poured his heart into helping countless others in Nigeria and beyond.
His sincerity, diligence, and compassion earned him the admiration and love of everyone he worked with, especially at MedShare.
But to me, his impact was deeply personal. He wasn’t just a humanitarian; he was an extension of my family. Ndagana’s warmth enveloped not only me but also my wife and children. He had a unique gift for making everyone feel valued and cherished.
In December 2020, he showed his love in a gesture my family will never forget. He sewed beautiful Nigerian attires for each of us and shipped them from Nigeria.
Our then 3-year-old daughter, Ramat, was so enchanted by her first Nigerian dress that she refused to take it off for days, even wearing it to bed.
She insisted her mom take a photo of her with me in our outfits. I shared the photo here on Facebook on December 20, 2020. It received thousands of “likes.”
Ndagana made an indelible impression on my children, always ensuring to talk to them whenever he called. When I told Ramat, who is now 7, about his passing, she was inconsolably heartbroken. Her tears mirrored my own heartbreak.
Yet, amidst the sorrow, I find solace in the extraordinary life he lived. He touched several lives and left a legacy of complaisance, compassion, generosity, and love. I pray that Allah forgives his shortcomings and grants him al-Jannah Firdaus.
Ndagana leaves behind a wife and four lovely children. For those who wish to honor his legacy, I will reach out to his wife to share details for supporting the family of this remarkable man who gave so selflessly to others.
Rest in peace, my dear friend. The world is dimmer without you, but your light lives on in the lives you touched and the hearts you mended.
