Professor John Garah Nengel will be buried in a Private Interment on Wednesday, 13th May 2020 at the Family Residence in Farin Gada, Jos.

In keeping with the guidelines for gatherings during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be a private family event. We appeal to everyone to kindly understand with the family and the decision at this time to have only a few participants at this private event. As soon as the country returns to normalcy, another date will be scheduled to have a full service of songs and tribute ceremony in honour of Baba Nengel.

Thank you.

We, the family of Professor John Gara Nengel, appreciate the fact that we lack the capacity to write the biography of a man that was born, lived and died as an enigma. Moreover, there is such an emphasis on the enigmatic nature of our dad, husband and brother that even the thought of eulogising him is truly awesome. The one thing that is and shall ever remain true however, is the fact that he is physically departed from us but his love and memory shall never wax cold until the resurrection morning when we shall all be fulfilled in Christ.

On the night that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in 1968, Bobby Kennedy, tried to ease the pain of black Americans by quoting one of the poems of the ancient Greek poet and father of tragedy, Aeschylus,

In visions of the night, like dropping rain,

Descend the many memories of pain

Before the spirit's sight: through tears and dole (grief)

Comes wisdom o'er the unwilling soul-

A boon, I wot (think), of all Divinity,

That holds its sacred throne in strength, above the sky!

Yes, indeed, it is somehow true that in our sleep the pain, which we cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, brings wisdom through the awesome grace of God.  

Father was self-made, extremely humble and self-reliant. From his education to his career, from his religion to his worldview, our father engaged with the world as a man who would be its master. Father was proud to be, as he said it, “first and foremost” a Seventh-day Adventist Christian and, then, a historian. Thus, the man who was an icon of history, a great man in the academic world and a mentor cum patron to the myriads of people, young and old, that he drew to him was, to his family, absolutely enigmatic in his principles and their application, in his idiosyncrasies and lifestyle, even in his communication, the man was the enigma. However, overall, he was,   

Only a dad,

With  a tired face,

Coming home from the daily race,

Bringing little of gold or fame

To show how well he has played the game,

But glad in his heart that his own rejoice

To see him come, and to hear his voice.

Only a dad,

Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,

With never a whimper of pain or hate,

For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad,

Neither rich nor proud,

Silent, whenever the harsh condemn,

And bearing it all for the love of us (them).

Only a dad,

Nevertheless, he gave his all

To smooth the way for his children (and humanity),

Doing, with courage, stern and grim,

The deeds that his father did for him

This, therefore, is the line that for him we write,

Only a dad, 

But, the best of men.

(Adapted from Edgar Albert Guest)

That is exactly how we feel about our departed father

John Garah Nengel was born to the family of Sarkin Busa, Alwaye Garah and Aninmai Nengel, on March 15 1947 at Jejin Fili Gurum Village in Buji District of Pengana Chiefdom, Bassa Local Area of Plateau State. He abandoned his half traditional and half Christian parents and the government primary school at Mista’ali and opted for the Seventh-day Adventist church and primary school at Jengre in 1957. From there he proceeded to the Seventh-day Adventist Teachers Training School at Ihie, Mbawsi in the then Eastern Region, in 1964. When the civil war broke out in 1966, he was forced to return and complete his teacher training at Toro. On finishing at Toro, he proceeded to the Federal College of Education at Zaria where he read History as his teaching subject.

On completing his NCE programme at Zaria, he took over from Mr. Onesimus N. Kakwi as Headmaster at his former school, the Seventh-day Primary School at Jengre. A short while later, he sought and obtained admission at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, where he obtained his first degree in History in 1977. After his Youth Service, he secured appointment with the University of Jos as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of History. He obtained his Masters degree from Andrews University in Britain and later, his Doctoral at the University of Jos.

He got married to Sarah Dariya on the 5th of August 1973 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jengre. Their life together produced many children and eleven happy grandchildren.

His resume grew in such proportions at the University that it would be preposterous to try to squeeze it here. Suffice it to say that he reluctantly allowed himself to be pushed to submit his wrings for Readership and later, Professorial upgrading. Indeed, Professor Mallum, as Vice-Chancellor of the University, virtually ordered him to submit his papers for upgrading.

Baba was not only an Adventist to a fault, but an ardent disciple of late Bala Usman who was a true Marxist. It did not therefore come to us as a surprise when he always would return the left-over of monies given him for official assignments.

He retired fully from his lecturing job at the University of Jos in 2018.

A strict disciplinarian who subjected himself to such disciplinary life-styles that often left us worried and, on a few occasions, even scared.   

Before and quite a while into his retirement, he was visiting Professor of History in a couple of Universities – Babcock University and the University of Nigeria Sokoto.

His writings included, inter alia,

• Precolonial Intergroup Relations in the Kauru and Pengana Highlands of Central Nigerian Highlands 1800-1900,
• Peter Lang, 1999; Plateau State: The Heritage and Hope, Plateau State Publishing Company, 2001;
• History of the Chawai of North-Central Nigeria to 1932, A.B.U. Press, Zaria, 2002;
• History Research and Methodology in Africa: Essays in Honour of Professor Charles Creswell Jacobs, Aboki Pubishers, Makurdi, Abuja, 2007;
• Several articles in national and international journals.
• Until his death, he was the Editor-in-Chief of MANDYENG, Journal of Central Nigeria Studies, A Publication of the Department of History and International Studies, University of Jos.

All we can say for now is, he was a great man to the rest of the world who knew a lot less about him than we did. Still, the world shall miss him very much. How we shall miss him is best imagined.

Adieu DAD!!!