Guestbook

Raufu was my closest friend and colleague; this was true for many others. I am proud to be among them.
Gavin

I became aware of Raufu’s death only when it was listed in the 2018 St Peter’s College Record that I received in the last week of December. My two friends who also knew him and I exchanged messages within hours of reading of his death. He was listed as a donor to the College as well as in the deaths column.
Raufu lived in the same college house as us during the academic year 1987/88 which was my final year as an undergraduate. I guessed he was around ten years older than us finalists, which turns out about right. I remember him as kind, friendly, and funny. Evening conversations with him during the exam season would leave me feeling I had learned something whilst also that he was interested in me and would leave me feeling refreshed. That routine got me through my Finals and a tough year in which my tutor had died. We lost touch after I Ieft and I was only vaguely aware of his subsequent career but I am not surprised by his success and the esteem in which he was held. It is humbling to have known someone who achieved so much respect.
Reading the guestbook comments it is clear he touched many lives positively as he did mine and is remembered affectionately. I wish the best to Kate and his children.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.

He was my tutor and was very helpful. It was sad to read of his passing.

I came to Know Abdul Rauf Mustapha Through Various Ways the must Important is his writings And many Articles he Authored, he was a Pan African Hero. And we will continues to Remember in in Academic cycles and many other forums, May I use this Medium To Register my Condolence to the entire staff of Oxford as well as student over his saddened demise.

Innalillahi wa'inna ilahir raji'un! Allahummagfirlahu warhamhu! May Allah be pleased with your soul, Prof. - a fellow Kwaran and ABUSITE! Rest on!

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the sudden death of Raufu. During my DPhil time at St Antony's, he was an inspiration for my research on Somalia. I well remember his joyful and scholarly nature when meeting with him.

Raufu is already greatly missed. He was a supportive supervisor and mentor to me during the years of my Oxford DPhil, and afterwards as I continued research and writing in Nigeria at postdoctoral level. I continue to learn from his scholarship and the important insights he brought to bear on Nigerian society and politics. Raufu’s work was exemplary and he was a much loved and respected teacher. But there was something more distinctive about him than that; he had some rare qualities and was in many ways a one-off. I now more fully understand that this was to do with his particular upbringing in Nigeria and the social and intellectual consciousness he developed during the political ferment of his youth (roughly the 1960s-80s). As I learned only recently, he was from a working class family but as a brilliant student he had a solid educational foundation from school and university at ABU Zaria. He was a student activist and leader who apparently spent most of his time as an organiser of radical politics, yet he still graduated top of his year at university. What was always obvious to me was that Raufu was a scholar whose work was informed by a deep humanity and commitment to social justice. He was not interested in scoring cheap points for self-aggrandisement, but rather there was always real purpose and thought behind his actions and work. That integrity and sense of purpose shone through and I think is worth remembering and emulating. As Jibrin Ibrahim said at Raufu’s memorial service in Abuja, there was that strong sense of wanting to leave the world in a better condition to how he found it. That informed everything he did.

Raufu cared about his students and I think influenced many of us in more ways than we realised at the time. He was not dogmatic and he was not one for waffle or loose words. He was always direct and incisive, including in criticism. Raufu was straightforward and honest – always upfront with people; he didn’t go behind people’s backs. His feedback was often short and sweet (or not so sweet in some instances!), even minimalist, but he made his points precisely and imparted insights and knowledge. He was always in demand and took on a lot of academic work, in Oxford, in Nigeria, and elsewhere. Ideally he would have had a personal secretary to handle his admin! Another thing I appreciated was that he gave me and I presume others the leeway to pursue their own ideas. He was not a control freak who had to dictate the direction of his students’ research. He provided essential guidance and gave good advice, but having this intellectual space to formulate one’s own ideas and make independent discoveries in the field was an important part of my formation as a researcher.

Raufu had a good sense of humour but also a clear sense of right and wrong and he was courageous in expressing his views. At the time of his passing I’d say Raufu was the pre-eminent political sociologist / political scientist writing on Nigeria. A distinguishing aspect of his knowledge was that it was both deep and broad. He had a deep understanding of all regions of the country and spoke the three majority languages of Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo (wazobia). This is not common even among Nigerian researchers. His understanding of pretty much the whole country was first-hand. Raufu also had impressive versatility, writing with great clarity and insight on a wide range of topics. As others have commented, even though Raufu is now physically no longer with us, he will live on through his scholarship. He will remain a judicious voice on contemporary African and especially Nigerian society.

It is partly through Raufu’s influence that I took to Nigeria and appreciated the country in its tremendous diversity. Despite the many social, economic and political problems that persist there and the endemic corruption, it is still a fascinating place to live and work and I have many close friends there now. I went to Ilorin for Raufu’s burial. It was my first time there and my first time meeting his very generous, kind and large family, including his aged father. It was a very sad occasion and I regretted not having been there with Raufu before. The opportunity didn’t arise, as it’s far from where I usually work. There was a large crowd of people who came to pay their respects, different people coming to the family house day after day. There was deep sadness and fond memories and an appreciation of Raufu’s life and achievements. Kate, Asma’u and Seyi were remarkably strong and even in those hard times they were amazingly gracious and hospitable to all the friends and visitors who came to Ilorin. After the burial Islamic prayers were led by the Chief Imam of Kwara State. Then two weeks later on 26 August there was a memorial service at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja organised by Raufu’s close friends, many of them from his schooldays and university from ABU Zaria. The memorial was incredibly well attended – it was in a very large hall (a beautiful venue) that was packed to full capacity with friends and well-wishers; Nigerians of different backgrounds and from different parts of the country who knew Raufu from various stages of his life – whether from academic institutions, civil society, trade unions, or from the field in Rogo in Kano State where he did much field research. It was extremely moving and inspiring to hear the flow of eloquent, heart-felt tributes. In the process I learned a lot of new things about Raufu and his remarkable personal qualities. I left with an even greater sense of admiration for him and realised how modest he was about his many achievements. He touched the lives of so many people and despite his untimely death, he certainly lived life to the full. The more I reflect on Raufu, the more I am impressed by him and the more I miss him.

I will remember Raufu as being supportive, kind, and wise, and when need be, tough. I also remember him as a first rate scholar who was socially committed and always logical, clear-thinking, and rigorous. Condolences again to Kate, Asma’u, and Seyi and to all Raufu’s friends, comrades, and colleagues in Oxford, Africa and the rest of the world. You have every reason to be proud of his achievements and of the values he lived by. I’m writing this on Nigeria’s 57th independence anniversary, which seems appropriate given Raufu’s attention to history and to Nigeria. Raufu loved Nigeria but he was well aware of the country’s problems and he was highly critical of most of its political class. Still, he could see the country’s potential and as he once told me and as Kate emphasised at the memorial service, even when he was in Oxford, Nigeria was always home. His friends in Nigeria expressed their thanks to the family that they brought him home and laid him to rest in Ilorin. Rest in peace Raufu and thanks for everything you did to help me and so many others along the way.

I was really shocked and saddened to hear that Raufu Mustapha had passed away. A brilliant mind, a fantastic lecturer, and a pillar of all that was good about African studies at Oxford for so many years. I will remember his ability to give incisive lectures with humour, wit and warmth that I could never dream of. He was very kind to me when I was a student, and always supportive - including when he was the internal examiner for my PhD, when he was just want you would want: firm, fair, and constructive. Hearing this news, I was jolted out of the Kenyan election and cast back to my early years at Oxford when he would ask great questions at seminars that were always sharp but always looking to help people to improve their work, helping to make it an incredibly special place to study the continent.
Thinking of his wit and wisdom, his class, and of course his wonderful family, today. A very long time ago I had the pleasure of playing Father Christmas for them at an event - I always remember thinking that one day I wanted a family like that. Kate and Raufu always struck me as fantastic parents and great role models.
So soon after his good friend Georg, it feels so unfair. Love to the Oxford family.

(This was first posted on facebook shortly after the news broke. I thought it might be nice to reproduce it here.)

I remember the first day Matthew and I met with you at the Buttery [in St Antony’s]… [A]s we noted after the meet, you were passionate about Africa and Africans. You will be missed, most especially as a voice for Africa in Oxford. Goodbye Raufu, you will live in our hearts by your works.