Nana Asma'ah Shuraihu Isah, this is her name. She is about 18 years old. If there is anyone she hates in the house, it is Aliyu. The reason for this animosity is that she feels their father, Alhaji Shuraihu, shows favoritism towards his son, Aliyu, compared to the daughters, in her opinion. Nana is fair-skinned, of medium build, with large, cat-like eyes. Masha Allah, Nana has a beautiful face, but lacks good manners. She is in SS3 in her modern education.

Who is Alhaji Shuraihu?

Alhaji Shuraihu is a wealthy man. He got married at the age of 25 to Hajja. They were together for seven years without children until she gave birth to their first daughter, Jamila, who passed away shortly after. She continued to have children, but each of them died until she gave birth to Nana. After Nana, she did not have another child for five years. Then, Alhaji married Hajiya Salma, who gave birth to Aliyu, and two years later, Nafisah. This is their story.

*ALIYU_HAYDAR*

    Page ((5))

©Kausar M Hassan

The next day was Friday. After Ummi dressed Aliyu and packed his belongings and lunch box.

"Aliyu, make sure you come back, okay?"

He kissed her on the cheek.

"Bye Ummi, I'll be back."

Ummi smiled and waved at him.

He ran and got into the car. Nana was in the back seat, and he opened the front door and got in. Smiling, he greeted the driver, named Musa, who took them to school.

"Good morning, Uncle Musa?"

Musa smiled and replied,

"Good morning, Aliyu the mighty, Aliyu by God's grace."

Nana glared at him with intense disdain.

"Oh, just drive us to school and stop chatting nonsense."

"Hmm," he muttered and started the car. They opened the gate and left for their school, which was quite far from home.

When they arrived, he parked, and they each went to their respective classes. Their school had both primary and secondary sections, so they attended the same school.

******

Hajiya Salma was sitting in her room after having breakfast. She sat quietly, lost in thought. Mama looked at her and spoke,

"Salma, please stop worrying. Don't give yourself high blood pressure."

Salma turned to look at Mama.

"Mama, all I think about is my son Aliyu. I feel so sorry for him because he's my only child. Even though I know Hajja takes care of him, I'm afraid of Nana. Nana has no kindness and doesn't like the boy, and I don't know why."

Mama placed her hand on Salma's shoulder.

"Salma, be patient. Keep praying for him. Allah answers parents' prayers, especially a mother's for her children."

"Okay, Mama," she said softly.

At 1 pm, Aliyu and his friend Shafi'u left school. Aliyu took his bag, and they started walking out of the school. Aliyu would always wait for Nana to finish before they could be picked up together.

Shafi'u was Aliyu's best friend at school. They were always seen together. What strengthened their friendship was that Shafi'u's sister was in the same class as Nana and was also her close friend.