Masarautarmu Book 1 Compelet Novels By Sumayya Takori

Description

 MASARAUTAR MU!" ("Our Kingdom!") by Sumayyah Abdulkadir.

Front Matter & Dedication

OUR KINGDOM!
A Novel by SUMAYYAH ABDULKADIR
DEDICATION: To Bilkisu Askira (Billie Askira), Maiduguri, for your immense contribution during the writing of this book.
APPRECIATION: As always, my appreciation goes to all members of the TAKORI'S ONLINE FORUM WhatsApp group. The book MASARAUTAR MU is a tribute to you. Thank you for the love and encouragement. Our connection is ordained by Allah. May Allah preserve our ties until we meet in Paradise.
 

Preface / The Scene Sets

The sun was setting, at around five o'clock in the evening. It was Sunday, the local market day in Tsanyawa, a local government area within the city of Kano. At this exact time, the town's market had begun to disperse; everyone was trying to return home to their families as the Maghrib (sunset) hour approached.
Malam Hashimu, one of the elders of Tsanyawa town—a dignified gentleman of about sixty-five years—was leaving the market on his bicycle. It was an old bicycle whose tires barely turned due to rust and old age. He traveled slowly along the edge of the road, the bike squeaking kikiki-kikiki... The back of his bicycle carried market provisions: fresh soup ingredients (local vegetables) that he sold, alongside a large plastic bag packed to the brim with garden eggs, boiled cassava, sugarcane, and white star apples (agwaluma).
As soon as he drew near the straw fence of his house, he caught the sound of his daughter SA'ADE crying. His heart sank—just like every other time he heard his young daughter cry. Shaking all over, he pedaled faster to reach the house. He hurriedly leaned the bike against the thatched roof structure without even checking on his bag of market goods. He rushed into the house with desperate speed, his grand robe (babban riga) tripping his steps so badly he nearly fell. Managing to steady himself against the wall of his room with great effort, he burst into the compound as if he had been violently thrown inside.
What he feared was exactly what he saw. His wife, Inna Laure, was beating Sa'ade with a thick, heavy branch of a neem tree with all her strength. The girl was screaming and begging for help, just as she did every day. He reached out his hands and lifted the girl, who was crying as though her soul were leaving her body, sobbing:
"Baba, save me! Inna is going to kill me!"
Inna Laure dropped the branch, venting her fury and screaming:
"Tomorrow, you dare bring back unsold starch (gasara) again, and you'll see what I will do to you in this house! Just like that, you keep causing me financial losses. It wasn't your father who gave me this business capital! If you won't hawk for me, then he should take you away and marry you off! I won't stay here feeding you for nothing—lazy, useless gluttons who know nothing but eating and emptying their bowels in the latrine! You must go out and find money for me since you and your useless, good-for-nothing father—who can't even feed his own household—have become a plague to me!"
Malam Hashimu said nothing, but no word cut his soul deeper out of all her insults than being called "useless" (sullutu). He pulled the girl up, took her hand, and they headed toward his room. Even then, Sa'ade continued to cry, her body covered in dark welts and trembling violently. She sat on the edge of a single, old chair inside her father's room, curling her body into a corner, sobbing and catching her breath.
Malam Hashimu said, "Stop your crying and tell me, have you eaten any food?"
Sa'ade shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "Baba, not since the morning porridge (koko). I haven't eaten anything else."
He stood up, walked back to where he had leaned his bicycle, fetched the wrapped plastic bag he brought home, returned, and sat in front of his daughter. Untying it, he pulled out a warm wrapper of fried bean cake (awara), pushed it toward her, and said, "Hurry up, eat it all."
Just as Sa'ade began shoving the awara into her mouth with ravenous hunger, the curtain of the room was violently yanked open.
Laure snatched away the entire bundle of awara, snapping: "Oh, look at this! Spoiling her rotten! If I don't give you couscous (dambu) to eat until you are full, you go telling your father that I didn't feed you, right? Well, both you and him are far too insignificant to challenge my authority in this house! If you won't eat what I cooked with my own hands, then you will sleep with an empty stomach!" She marched out like a venomous spitting cobra, muttering and raging as if she were newly possessed.
Malam Hashimu lowered his head, only God knowing what he was thinking. After a while, he looked up and called, "Sa'ade!"
Filled with resentment toward her father—who could never do anything in his own home because Laure completely disrespected him due to his passive nature—Sa'ade raised her head and fixed her large eyes upon him.
He asked, "Why didn't you eat the dambu when she offered it to you?"
She opened her mouth, her voice heavy with the exhaustion of long crying, and said, "Baba, she never gave me any. There was no dambu given to me. I wasn't even home! Since morning, she loaded me with the gasara starch to hawk. Instead, I went to Hanne's school and stood outside by the window, listening to how they are taught to read. It was only after they were dismissed that I went to hawk the gasara. By evening, I hadn't sold it all, and when I brought back the remainder, she beat me."
He shook his head and said, "Be patient, do you hear me, Sa'ade? One day, this will all be history. By God's grace, Laure will benefit from you in the future. Whether I am alive or dead, I always tell her this. Allah did not give me a temperament for fighting and shouting; I don't like it, and I don't know how to do it. That is why I leave her to her behavior. Continue to obey her; despite everything, she is still a mother to you. For better or worse, she raised you until you reached the age you are today. That is why I overlook all her mistreatment, so she doesn't claim it's because she isn't your biological mother..."
Sa'ade quickly cut her father off with the question that had long burned in her heart:
"Then Baba, who is my mother? Where is she? You say she is alive, but why have I never seen her, not even in a photograph?"
Malam Hashimu's face instantly tightened and wrinkled like a wet rag. He did not want to remember her... he did not want to remember anything that reminded him of her! She had left a scar on his heart that would never heal! Nor would he ever tell Sa'ade where she was until Sa'ade searched for her on her own—though he knew that would be incredibly difficult, considering the high status the mother held now compared to the poor man she had abandoned. And the fact that she hadn't given birth to Sa'ade willingly!
He firmly believed that sooner or later, she would seek Sa'ade out, and at that moment, he would show her that he was the girl's father, despite his deep poverty. Her royal power wouldn't be enough to tear her daughter away from his hands. His eyes turned blood-red as he recalled the mother's intense hatred for him—a bitter hatred unmatched even in folklore—for no reason other than the fact that he was a poor man. Especially when he considered where she was married and living her life now. Only she, he, and her Lord knew the true reason for her malice toward him.
In a quiet voice, he said, "There are garden eggs and boiled cassava. Hurry up and eat, then fetch water from the clay pot to drink. I am going to perform my ablutions." He spoke while avoiding the sharp gaze of Sa'ade's large eyes, which frequently terrified him because she looked exactly like BILKISU!
Sa'ade did not take her eyes off him until he left the room. Then, she ate the boiled cassava until she was full, pushing the garden eggs aside as they weren't to her taste. She washed it down with the cold, sweet water from her father's clay pot nearby. Standing up, she crept out, spying on Inna Laure in the kitchen area. Seeing that Laure's attention was fully consumed by stirring the thick tuwo grain paste, Sa'ade snatched her shoes in her hands and bolted out of the house.

The Escape & The Secret Schooling

Five houses separated her home from the one she entered. She disguised her voice, shouting, "Is Hanne in? Tell her Iliyasu is asking for her!"
Hanne, who was performing ablutions by the well, smiled without turning around and said, "Baba's Sa'ade, Hanne's Sa'ade! It's Naziru who is calling you to the village square!" They both burst out laughing.
Sa'ade walked in saying, "Oh, I haven't even told you! Yesterday when he came to see me, Inna Laure insisted I go out to meet him. The moment we started greeting each other, he let out a foul fart like a dead donkey! The stench was so bad I ran right back inside. I’d rather take Inna's beatings than handle Naziru's gas! And it’s a rule with him—every time he visits, he must do it. What do I want with Naziru anyway? He’s quick to pass gas and talks entirely too much!" Hanne laughed so hard tears filled her eyes.
"Inna Laure only likes him because he brings her sweet potatoes from his stall and gives her old coins when he visits," Hanne replied.
Hanne's mother came out from the back of the house holding a kettle for ablutions. Having overheard everything they said, she smiled warmly at their deep bond. She said, "Oh, Hanne's Sa'ade! No going out around sunset. I’ve forbidden you, but you never listen. Come, I saved some food for you, because I know you haven’t eaten." Sa'ade knelt to greet Hanne's mother, then walked straight into the kitchen area to grab the food. Almost every single day, Hanne's mother made sure to save a portion of food for her.
After performing their prayers, Sa'ade and Hanne ate the food together from a shared bowl, gossiping about their suitors and laughing. Hanne begged her mother to let her walk Sa'ade back home so Inna Laure wouldn't beat her.
Hanne escorted Sa'ade right up to Inna Laure's room. Sa'ade crept along the wall like someone who knew they were in trouble. The moment Hanne turned her back to leave, Inna Laure grabbed Sa'ade, pinned her violently against the wall, and snarled:
"So, just to avoid serving my tuwo, you waited until my back was turned and ran off to wander the streets? Fine! You've lost your portion of tuwo; I won't give you a single morsel! You will sleep hungry, you wicked girl, with a terrible character just like your mother's!"
Sa'ade didn't utter a word. She was entirely used to hearing Inna Laure call her biological mother a wicked woman. Furthermore, she was already full, so she didn't care at all about being denied the night's dinner.
The following day, when Inna Laure loaded her with starch to sell, instead of walking house-to-house as she was supposed to, Sa'ade diverted her path and went straight to Hanne's school. Today, she stood outside by the window right next to where Hanne sat, leaving her tray of starch discarded to the side.
While the teacher was delivering his lesson, he spotted her peeking through the window. Walking around quietly without her noticing, he appeared right behind her. She startled and tried to run, but he blocked her path.
"Go inside the classroom and sit down. I will have the Village Head speak to your father. I see you every day peeking at your friends, which proves you have a deep desire for the education we are providing here."
Sa'ade's face beamed with pure joy. However, she knew deep down that Inna Laure would never allow it, and Baba would only do whatever Laure demanded out of absolute fear of her explosive anger. Inside the class, her attention became fully locked onto the lesson: "A B C D E F G..." Sa'ade repeated the letters louder than anyone else, which caught the teacher's attention and proved to him just how desperately she wanted to learn.
True to his word, the teacher tracked down Malam Hashimu at the market after closing hours. Gently, he requested that he allow Sa'ade to attend school regularly and stop forcing her to hawk during school hours. Malam Hashimu fell silent. After a long pause, he said sorrowfully:
"Her foster mother does not want that. Please do not invite chaos into my life when I am living in peace."
When Sa'ade returned the next day, the teacher told her to take her seat. As soon as school closed, the teacher went straight to the Village Head (Dagaci) of Tsanyawa and reported the matter. The Village Head sent for both Malam Hashimu and Laure. In front of her, the chief commanded Malam Hashimu to put his daughter in school and ordered that she must never be forced to hawk during school hours. He warned them that if they refused, they should pack their bags and leave Tsanyawa entirely. He noted that neither of them was native to the town anyway; Laure had at least come to Tsanyawa from the nearby village of Kiyawa and was an indigenous citizen of the region, whereas Malam Hashimu's true origins remained completely unknown to the town council to this day.
This was how Sa'ade gained her freedom to attend both Western school and Islamic school, though it did not stop Laure from forcing her to hawk the moment she returned home. Laure worked while constantly grumbling and cursing the Village Head of Tsanyawa. It was during this period that the physical signs of womanhood began to shape Sa'ade; she experienced her very first menstrual cycle at the tender age of just twelve. It was Hanne who taught her how to use traditional sanitary rags and how to perform the ritual purification bath, secrets Hanne's mother had already taught Hanne since she had started her cycle first.
Suitors swarmed around Sa'ade—both young boys and older men. You would think she was a prominent young woman of high standing. Aside from Naziru the potato seller, her suitors now included the son of the Village Head (who was studying in the city) and a wealthy man named Alhaji Talle, who already had three wives but possessed substantial wealth. The primary draw for these men was the sheer beauty of her face. She possessed a soft, striking beauty characteristic of the people of a specific region in BORNO, often referred to as the Shuwa-Arab look. No one could understand where she inherited it from, as she looked absolutely nothing like her father, who was dark-skinned, deeply wrinkled, and had a short, flat nose.
Many people in the town openly whispered that Sa'ade was not his biological daughter and that he must have found her somewhere. No one had ever known him to be with her mother; they had simply woken up one day years ago to find him in the town with a three-year-old girl whom he was raising alone. Later on, he sought Laure's hand in marriage, and she was given to him immediately without any background checks into his ancestry, simply because she had become a burden to her guardians and had failed to find a husband across the entire village.

Tragedy Strikes

During this period, a mysterious, undiagnosed illness struck Malam Hashimu. It began gradually until it physically incapacitated him from going to the market. Day by day, his condition deteriorated. He had no access to proper medicine except for local herbal concoctions, because Laure made it clear that she wouldn't spend a single penny of her money on hospital bills to cure a headache, grumbling that since she had no children with him, she wouldn't allow herself to be ruined financially.
Sa'ade stopped attending school entirely to nurse her father. Every day, he whispered to her that this sickness would be his end. He didn't mind dying; his only torment was Sa'ade. Who would take care of her? Where would she go when he was gone? He knew all too well that if Sa'ade were left in Laure's custody, Laure would cut her loose and throw her away due to her deep-seated hatred for the girl. This psychological burden worsened Malam Hashimu's illness to the point where he could no longer open his eyes.
Sa'ade could hear Laure telling visitors that he was suffering from cancer.
Hanne's father, Malam Sale, deeply pitied Sa'ade's exhausted and broken state. Even though he was a poor man himself, he managed to scramble resources together, hired a local transport truck (akori-kura), and took Hashimu to a hospital inside Kano city. Sa'ade begged frantically to go with them, but Malam Sale insisted she stay behind, promising they would return the very same day.
Three days passed, and they did not return. Throughout those three days, Sa'ade was entirely beside herself, unable to eat or drink. On the fourth day, while she was kneeling by the mud hearth blowing into the fire to cook Laure's tuwo, she suddenly heard voices outside shouting:
"Bring him inside! Bring out the floor mats!..."
Then came the loud wailing and dramatic screaming of Laure, crying out: "Malam, so the hour has come? Is this our final goodbye?"
Sa'ade sprinted out of the kitchen kitchen, running face-first into the scene as they laid a corpse flat on the ground in the middle of their compound. She rushed forward, pulled back the cloth covering the face, and confirmed it was indeed her father... He was dead! He had gone on the journey from which there is no return.
Thud! She collapsed directly onto the corpse, losing consciousness completely.
When she finally woke up, she found herself inside Hanne's house. Hanne was weeping beside her while her mother fanned her back to consciousness. The weight of reality flooded her mind, and she burst into tears, crying, "Hanne, is it true that my Baba is dead?" Hanne's mother held her tight against her chest, comforting her with gentle words.
Even after seven days had passed, Sa'ade could not stop weeping. Hanne's parents showered her with every ounce of love and care imaginable to help her calm down and accept the permanent loss of Malam Hashimu.
On the day after the seventh-day funeral prayers, Hanne's father, Malam Sale, called her into his room. He instructed her to go pack all her belongings, say her final goodbyes to Laure, and return to his house. He explained that he was going to fulfill a final, sacred deathbed wish that Malam Hashimu had entrusted to him while they were on the way to the hospital. He was going to personally hand her over, face-to-face, to her biological mother.
Startled, Sa'ade looked up at him, her large eyes wide with shock. He nodded gently with a faint smile and said, "Hurry, go pack and come back. Between today and tomorrow, I will reunite you with the birth mother who brought you into this world."

The Journey East to Borno

From the moment they arrived at the bus terminal, Sa'ade's eyes darted everywhere in confusion; this was her very first time leaving the town of Tsanyawa since she was born. Her separation from Hanne was deeply heartbreaking. Since childhood, they had never spent even two days apart, remaining together day and night. Today, she was told she was leaving not just Tsanyawa, but Kano State entirely, journeying to a completely unknown destination she had never even visited in her dreams. She was going to a mother she didn't know and had never seen.
How would her mother receive her? Would she accept her as her true daughter, considering she had never known her? And that they were only meeting today because of death—the great revealer of secrets?
These were the looping thoughts filling Sa'ade's mind as they left Tsanyawa inside a rugged pick-up truck, hitting the straight highway that led toward Kano city. The roads in those days were unpaved and dusty, kicking up heavy clouds of red dust that choked their eyes in the back of the open truck, forcing them to shield their faces completely with their veils.
They were dropped off at the Unguwa Uku motor park in Kano. The drivers informed them that evening had already set in and traveling further would be unsafe in the dark. They advised them to find a place to sleep and catch the very first morning vehicle. Malam Sale begged a local food vendor to let Sa'ade sleep inside her temporary market stall, while he spent the night sleeping on the floor of the motor park mosque. At dawn, right after completing their morning prayers, they became the very first passengers to board a long-distance commercial bus bound for the city of MAIDUGURI.

"A journey is a fragment of torment."

Sa'ade muttered this classic proverb to herself because of how intensely she suffered during that grueling road trip. By the time they finally reached Maiduguri, evening had fallen completely, and both she and Baba Sale were utterly exhausted, covered in grime and dust. Along the highway, he had stopped twice to buy her local skewered meat (balangu), flatbread (gurasa), and sachet water to keep her fed. But as for that selfless old man, she didn't think a single morsel of food had crossed his own lips the entire day.
They were dropped off at the Bama motor park in Maiduguri, where they spent another night roughing it out. At dawn, they boarded a mass transit bus heading straight for the remote town of ASKIRA.
Sa'ade would never forget the names of the towns they passed along the way, thanks to an incredibly talkative passenger in their bus who announced the name of every single territory they encountered. They cruised past Damboa, cut through Chibok, passed through Uba, and finally arrived at the destination she heard called ASKIRA. (Note: At this time, there was no insurgency; the towns of Borno State were entirely peaceful, safe, and serene).
Sa'ade raised her head, staring intently at the town of Askira—the place where she was told she would finally see the biological mother who had carried her, the place where she was alive. It was a massive town that boasted various forms of modern development unique to the Borno region. When they finally disembarked at the terminal, she overheard Baba Sale asking locals for directions on how to reach the Emir’s Palace (Gidan Sarki).
Sa'ade asked herself in absolute bewilderment:
What could my mother possibly have to do with the palace of a King?
There was no one there to answer her.
Following a string of questions and landmarks, they were led directly to the massive, towering gates of the grand Askira Emirate.

Inside the Askira Emirate Palace

The palace of the King of Askira—or rather, the Askira Emirate—was a magnificent architectural marvel sitting right in the center of the town, in a royal residential district known as the "Eastern Ward" (Unguwar Gabas). It was a massive estate featuring breathtaking multi-story buildings.
Royal palace guards (Dogarawa) in colorful traditional attire lined the estate, starting from the very first entrance hall and extending deep into the interior, positioned in distinct ranks—some sitting, others standing at strict attention. Right from the first outer courtyard, anyone entering the palace—man or woman—was required to remove their shoes.
The primary structure sitting in the dead center of the palace grounds was a beautiful, elevated multi-story building housing a lavishly decorated royal court reception hall. It was here that the King held high-level audiences with his dignitaries and long-distance visitors. The adjoining balcony area served as the official seating area for the King and his traditional king-makers during major cultural events, such as the grand Eid durbar horse riding festivals (Hawan Sallah), turbaning ceremonies, royal weddings, and state celebrations. Below, a long, cool veranda stretched across the ground floor; here, the King would sit every single afternoon to interact directly with the townspeople, listening to their grievances, settling local disputes, and holding open court.
To the right side of the main building lay a massive, heavy wooden gate that opened directly into the royal horse stables (Barga). Every afternoon, countless numbers of stunning peacocks wandered gracefully across the front lawns, proudly fanning out their spectacular, colorful long tail feathers, showcasing the breathtaking natural beauty given to them by God—a visual splendor unmatched by any other bird or beast on earth.
A vast, immaculate open courtyard stretched cleanly from the main outer gate all the way to the first entrance of the palace interior. A visitor had to traverse at least six distinct courtyard halls (zauruka) before arriving at the King's primary public greeting area. From there, you had to pass the inner council chamber of the king-makers, followed by a long walk through secure pathways before finally stepping into the private residential wing of the royal family.
Positioned between the King's public chambers and the horse stables were the residential quarters of the young princes and the foster boys being raised within the palace walls. Walking past this area and continuing down a long, private walkway brought you to the highly secured internal gate of the royal household (Cikin Gida).
Upon entering this inner sanctum, the King’s private residential quarters were the very first thing you encountered, directly connected to the inner gate. Branching out from his central quarters were dedicated, private entry doors leading directly into the individual wings of each of his legally married queens. In front of the main building structure was a beautiful, private balcony veranda facing the King's ornate living chambers; this was the intimate space where he met with his children, his wives, and his sisters. These intimate family gatherings typically took place during the cool of the evening or late at night.
In this highly exclusive royal family zone, crowds were non-existent. Everyone remained strictly within their designated private wings, with the exception of royal domestic maidservants who quietly glided back and forth across the corridors without making a sound, each attending quietly to her duties as they moved between the various private quarters of the royal wives.

2. Structural & Visual Context

To help visualize the dramatic shift in Sa'ade's life, the table below contrasts her humble upbringing in rural Kano with the grand royal environment she discovers in Borno.

Environmental Contrast: Rural Kano vs. Royal Borno

3. Literary Analysis & Narrative Commentary

Core Themes

• The Exposure of Secrets (Mutuwa Mai Tonon Asiri): The text explicitly refers to death as a force that uncovers hidden truths. Malam Hashimu's passing serves as the narrative catalyst that dismantles a 12-year-old secret, uprooting Sa'ade from the only life she knew and thrusting her into an elite world she didn't know existed.
• Class Inequality and Resentment: The backstory of Malam Hashimu and Sa'ade's biological mother, Bilkisu, highlights a deep-seated class conflict. Bilkisu's intense hatred for Hashimu stemmed from his poverty. Even after fleeing, Hashimu harbored a quiet pride, believing that his fatherhood carried more weight than her royal status.
• The Cruelty of Foster Upbringing: Inna Laure represents the classic fairy-tale stepmother archetype, driven by economic anxiety and personal bitterness. Her abuse of Sa'ade is framed around financial loss, using physical violence to offset her frustration over unsold market goods.

• Socio-Cultural Geopolitics: The story charts a geographic transition across northern Nigeria—moving from the traditional Hausa agrarian setting of Tsanyawa (Kano) to the Kanuri/Shuwa-Arab cultural landscape of Askira (Borno). The text notes a time before modern security crises, painting a portrait of peaceful long-distance road travel through iconic towns like Damboa and Chibok.

  Character Profiles

• Sa'ade: A resilient 12-year-old girl caught between extreme poverty and an impending royal destiny. She possesses a distinct, elegant Shuwa-Arab physical beauty that alienates her from her environment, serving as an unspoken physical clue to her true heritage. Her thirst for education is highlighted by her peeking through school windows despite her stepmother's restrictions.
• Malam Hashimu: A dignified, highly passive man who values peace over confrontation. His refusal to fight back against his abusive wife stems from a gentle nature, though it draws resentment from his daughter. He carries deep psychological scars inflicted by his former aristocratic partner.
• Inna Laure: Hashimu’s volatile, aggressive wife. Bitter over her barrenness and her husband's financial struggles, she takes out her anger on Sa'ade. She respects money over family ties, as seen in her preference for Sa'ade's suitor, Naziru, who bribes her with produce and coins.
• Malam Sale: The epitome of communal solidarity and honor. Despite being poor, he takes Hashimu to the city hospital and selflessly spends his own resources to travel across the country to fulfill his late friend's dying wish, neglecting his own hunger along the way.