by Zara Mustapha

Kofar Gada  in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi state has almost  become a pilgrim site as people have been trooping in to see a boy who could be called a miracle baby.

Muhammad Mustapha has been tagged a miracle baby due to the circumstances surrounding his birth – he was born with a white Muslim rosary (tesbah) round his neck.

The Tribune paid a visit to the miracle baby and his family in Bauchi and wrote about the baby who has brought fame to the home of the Mustaphas.

Nigerian Tribune reports:

KOFAR Gada is a rustic settlement that can easily be ignored. The journey to the settlement takes about 20 minutes from Wailo, which is about 65 kilometres from Bauchi, the state capital, on a bike through rough bush path. The buildings were sparsely distributed, all with thatched roofing. It is a typical rural set up.

The settlement remained quiet until recently when the birth of a baby boy changed that quietness. Since then, the settlement, located in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, has seen turned into a Mecca of sort as people keep trooping in to take a look at the baby, who was born with a white Muslim rosary,  tesbah, round his neck.

The baby boy, named Muhammad Mustapha, according to his father, Isa Umar, was born on Friday, February 28, 2014 at about 11a.m. As expected in most rural setting in the country, baby Mustapha was born at home as the mother, Balki Isa, revealed that she had never attended any hospital to deliver any of her children.

Speaking with Sunday Tribune during a visit to the settlement, Umar, who said he was 40-year-old, though he looks older, stated that the baby was their ninth child, saying that he had four boys, including Mustapha, and five girls “He is the ninth child of the family. Interestingly, none of my children was born with any miraculous sign like this baby. He was born normally like the other children but the difference was that he came to this world with a white tesbah round his neck.”

Umar stated that the only inkling he had that the baby would be a miraculous child was the dream his wife had during her pregnancy, which she narrated to him and he advised that they should keep it to themselves and be prayerful about it.

“When she was pregnant with the baby, there was a day my wife told me that she dreamt that she would give birth to a baby boy who would attract people, including big people and emirs to our settlement.

“On hearing this, I told her that she should not tell anyone this and that we should keep it within ourselves and be very fervent in praying to Allah and see what He would do,” Umar, who said he was a cattle rearer and farmer, told Sunday Tribune.

The mother’s dream eventually became a reality as people, including the village head (Sarki) of Wailo, Alhaji Iliya Musa, have since kept coming to the settlement to see the baby boy. People come as far as Kano to the settlement to see Allah’s wonder, which He blessed the family with.

According to Umar, revered Islamic scholar, Sheikh Usman Dahiru Bauchi on hearing of the birth of the baby sent a vehicle to the settlement to convey the family and the baby to Bauchi, where the cleric prayed for the baby and the family and shower the baby with material and cash gift.

Also speaking, Balki, who said she was 27-year-old told Sunday Tribune that save from the problem she had with her legs which made it impossible for her to walk and do house chores, she had a normal pregnancy.

But, according to her, “on the day I gave birth to the baby, I was able to do all the house chores. It was after I finished every chores I had for the day that I fell into labour. I had him inside this room (where the interview took place).”

She added that, “when I first saw the Tesbah round his neck, I was initially afraid and was asking what type of baby is this. Despite the fear, I was still very much sure that he is a human being. People around kept telling me that I should not fear anything that what I gave birth to is a miracle baby.

“They told me that I should be happy that I gave birth to such a baby. My initial fear disappeared and I became happy and grateful to Allah for blessing me with a baby who is a sign of His greatness.”

Balki informed that, like all her previous births, the birth of Mustapha never gave her any problem, saying that, “the labour went on smoothly like I used to have my babies. I had never been delivered of any baby in the hospital. I always have my babies at home.”

She declared that the birth of the baby was a blessing to the family and expressed optimism that he was going to be an important personality in the future, considering the fact that his birth had drawn the attention of people not only to the family but also to their settlement.

The father told Sunday Tribune that since the birth of the baby, people had not stopped coming to the settlement, adding that, “people who have been visiting have been giving the baby little, little cash gift like N10, N20, N100 and so on according to their capacity. But Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi gave the baby cloths and N10,000 when we visited him.”

Umar stated that he felt very happy and proud being the father of the baby, declaring that, “I really am very happy to be blessed with this miracle baby. Had it been that I have money, I would have because of him changed the thatched roof of this building to corrugated iron roof and even changed that of the mosque I built in this community.”

Asked what he wished for the baby, the father stated that he would preferred the boy stays in the city where he could have easy access to both Islamic and Western education and become an important person in life.

He added that he wished he had the wherewithal he could have bought a car for the baby, saying that, “I don’t have that kind of money but I wish all the best and good things for not only this baby but also my other children.”

According to him, “I want all my children to go to school and acquire knowledge. Unfortunately, we don’t have any school in this community. For now, they are only attending Islamiyya school.”

He solicited government’s intervention in providing school at Kofar Gada as well as constructing motorable road to link Wailo to the settlement.

An aunt to both parents, who simply identified herself as Hauwa, told Sunday Tribune that the birth of Mustapha had brought joy and happiness to every member of the family, adding that she felt proud of both the baby and the parents.

Hauwa, who said she came on a visit to the parents of the baby from Kafin Magaji as of the time Sunday Tribune visited the settlement said, “when I heard that this happened in my family, I was very, very happy. I am happy that I witnessed the birth of a miracle baby in my family. I really am very proud of the baby and his parents.”

Sunday Tribune learnt that since the news of the birth of the baby filtered into town, commercial motorcyclists in the area had been making brisk business. This is so as the number of people going to the settlement surged up with the visit of people to the family.

According to the okada rider who took this reporter to the settlement from Wailo, who identified himself as Ibrahim, “we have been making money now unlike before. People have been visiting this place. Most of the visitors come from Bauchi, Kano and other places to come and confirm if it is true that a baby was born with Tesbah round his neck.

“The baby’s birth is not only a blessing to his family; it is also a blessing to us. It is a blessing because we witness a boom in business.”

Reacting to the incident, the National Secretary of Dawa’ah Coordinating Council of Nigeria (DCCN), Ustaz Ahmad Gumba, told Sunday Tribune that issue like this could not be disputed , adding, however, that it was not something to be celebrated but deeply reflected upon.

He stated that people needed to go back to Allah and turned sincerely in repentance to Him, submitting that they should understand that Allah could do anything He wanted without taking permission from anybody.

According to him, “Issue like this is very possible. In fact, it cannot be disputed since Allah (SWT) has told us that He will be showing us His signs so that we will know that He is indeed Almighty.

“He is capable of doing this like the boy’s birth since He created Adam with out any parent; Hauwa (Eve) without a mother and Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) without a father, He can still do this.”

Ustaz Gumba added that, “this is, however, not an issue to celebrate. It rather calls for sober reflection by all. We all need to go back to Allah; turn to Him in sincere repentance and change our ways of life in accordance to what He wants us to do all the times,” reflected Gumba.