For any average Nigerian, the prospect of being a king and having subjects at their beck and call is a life dream. But not for Usman Baba Pategi, a prince and rightful heir to the throne in his native town in Niger State where his grandfather and father had proudly worn the crown as Etsu Pategi.
Rather than use his influential family’s status to climb the ladder of success, Usman, born in Pategi on May 20, 1942, preferred the harder and uncertain route. He gave up his spot to be king for his younger brother Etsu Umar Chata, preferring instead to focus on his burgeoning career in broadcasting. In 1969, when Usman was still in the process of building his career in drama as a staff of the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), he made another sacrifice by volunteering to join the Nigerian Army in the Civil war.
While on the battlefront, Usman’s sight remained fully set on becoming a respected actor and after his retirement from the Army in 1985, he joined the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Kaduna broadcasting station. By the time Usman retired from the Army, he had seen more than enough to be able to expertly dramatise Nigerian soldiers’ common practices.
Usman, who had his early education in Pategi and later Ilorin Middle School, said in a 2017 interview, “It was while in the Army that I started observing how our Sergeant Major controlled the other ranks and related with his superiors. And as an active soldier, it was easy for me to gist and interact with the rank and file. And so after the war, I left the Army and returned to my first love, which is drama. Acting gives me joy. It makes me happy.”
And then Samanja was born.
In the late 80s, the mock military drama series which focused on the lives of soldiers, off, on and in the barracks, quickly became a fan favourite on NTA. As Samanja, Usman gave Nigerians more than enough to cheer. His ungroomed moustache, amusing mix of English, Hausa and pidgin, as well as his antics on the series set in the barracks fascinated the audience.
In one hilarious episode, the brash soldier got swindled by a conman and he slumped to the floor of the conman’s empty room upon finding out, while his juniors desperately tried to revive him by fanning him with their military hats. The series went on to get an unusual endorsement from the military, with Usman and his team getting flown from Kaduna to Lagos by General Ibrahim Babangida to perform during the Army Day celebration and later to Aso Rock by General Sani Abacha’s wife, Maryam.
Sadly, Usman’s bad eyesight and the lack of sponsors meant that the producers of Samanja would pull it off air after a short period.
“The fall [of Samanja] was the lack of sponsorship and my failing eyesight, as it will deny me the ability to act on action scenes during drama,” Usman said in his 2017 interview when he was shortlisted among distinguished theatre practitioners to be inducted as Fellows of the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP).
Although he wasn’t able to regain his sight after two medical trips to India sponsored by billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote, Usman has expressed his desire to help a new cast bring the series back to life. Whether that becomes a reality or not, Nigerians will never forget the soldier who made them laugh.