Famous Nigerian author dies at 63

Malam Abubakar Gimba, an outstanding author, died yesterday at the Minna General Hospital, aged 63.

The cause of the death was his prolonged illness, Leadership reports.

To be mentioned, Gimba was born on March 10, 1952 in Nasarawa town of Lapai Emirate and obtained his first degree at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria with a BSc in Economics in 1974.Then he went to the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the USA 1976 for a Master degree. Besides, he subsequently attended the University of Bradford for a UK’s Project Planning Course on Infrastructure in 1982.

It should be remembered as well, Gimba was executive director of United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Union Bank of Nigeria and permanent secretary of Finance and Economic Planning during David Mark’s time as governor of Niger State.

Besides, he was the national president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), ABU Alumni Association and chairman of the Concern Foundation and Savannah Publications Ltd, among the others.

In the year 2000, he attended the University of Iowa’s writing program sponsored by US Embassy in Nigeria at the behest of the State Department and was an election observer in Washington DC during the election of George Bush Jr. He was also University of Iowa’s Honorary Fellow in writing.
He is the author of several novels, including Witness to Tears; Trail of Sacrifice; Innocent Victims; Sunset for a Mandarin, and Golden Apples.

Abubakar Gimba  was awarded by the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), a prestigious merit award from the federal government, among the others.

He had three wives and many children.

In a brief comment on his death, president, Gamji Members’ Association, Malam Abdullahi Bala Isa, said: “Gimba was a leader who is always willing to encourage the younger generation. We will continue to cherish his exemplary leadership attributes, which Nigeria will sure miss and I pray Allah grant him Aljannatul Firdausi.”