Umaru Yusuf

Registry,
Bayero University,
Kano-Nigeria.

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

Today 13th December 2014, I set to write these unusual sightings after reading a book
titled True UFO stories by Terry Deary this year (December 2014). The first two stories were
of my personal experiences while the third was a story narrated by a friend. My two stories took
place sometimes in 1989, while the third story was narrated to me also in that year.
Moving light
The first sighting took place in Kaduna. I was then serving as a Radio Operator at the
Naval Wing of the Nigerian Defence Academy (old site) and on that faithful night I was on duty.
It was at about 9:00 P.M. during the raining season because the sky was threatening to rains
which was what made me to go out and purchase some items including mosquito coil to wade off
mosquitoes that had started biting me. Just as I turned towards the Mami Market after the MRS
gate, I sighted what at first looks like an approaching man holding a torch light just by the gate of
the Cadet Mess gate. Midway however I met the moving light, it was the size of a table tennis
ball moving in wavy manner as if as if someone held it with an invisible sting from above. It was
1

going in the opposite direction to where I was going. I stood and turned watching it. It proceeds
towards the MRS gate, passed it and continued towards the golf field and the grave yards
beyonds it. What was it? Could it be a small craft made by intelligent tiny beings that could be
seeing us as giants? Could it be a single living organism which I never know existed?
Big black dog
The second sighting was in Zaria just about 75 Km North-East of Kaduna. Not long after
that first sighting, I went to Zaria for a weekend. That is my home town. In the night at about
2:00 A.M. a prayer calls woke me up. I checked the time; prayer calls supposed to starts at about
4:30 A.M. what could be the problem? The prayer calls persisted in succession. Sometimes when
there is danger in the night a prayer call is normally made as an alarm to alert the people. I
reason that as a military man if some people were expected to react to that odd hour call, I should
be one of such persons. That sense of duty made me to go out and traced the direction of the call.
As I moved I kept on reciting the Ayatulkursiyyu (description of God in the holy Quran repeated
as an incantation for protection from evil forces) I lived at Anguwan Juma, in between Gidan
Alhaji Bello by Ahmadu Fatika Road and Gidan Limamin Jumaa.
I crossed the road and walked towards Massalachin Maigwajo where the prayer call was
made. Approaching the junction by Anguwan Masa where the footpath forked into two, one
going towards Massalacin Maigwajo and the one leading to Gidan Shaihi, I sighted something
just in front of a mosque where a bicycle repairer use to work. An unusually large black dog
lying and casually and leisurely linking its body hair while about five other dogs that surrounded
it but backing it and were barking loudly as if telling people to come and see the black unusually
large dog. Its size was about the size of the five combined. I stood for sometime considering the

situation. This dog seems to me out of reality. I was sure it did not see me so instead of going
towards the footpath leading to Gidan shaihi I decided to take the footpath leading to
Massallchin Maigwanjo and coincidentally that was where prayer call was coming from because
the prayer caller has repeated the call again once more and the sound was clearly coming from
that direction.
As I moved towards the mosque I kept thinking why the black dog do seems be
unconcerned with the other dogs? Or rather why were the other dogs barking and why do they
surround it? As I approached the mosque I sighted the prayer caller performing ablution but then
just when I was some few meters to him that big black dog appeared ahead just behind the prayer
caller. There is a road that connect the position where the dog was and mosque. The prayer caller
seems to be unaware of the presence of the dog behind him.
I salute him and he answered but I did not tell him what was behind him instead I simply
requested to used his kettle. He was washing his legs which were the last stage of the ritual
purification. All along however my eyes was on the dog whose hair stands and eyes glows. He
me the water and enters the mosque some few steps to his left without turning to the direction of
the big black dog while I turned my back to the dog when I collected the kettle and commence
the ritual washings. I never turn, and immediately after the ablution with the rather warm water I
joined him in the mosque and observed a Salat (a two rakaat prayer). He was also doing the
same thing. We remained until about 5:30 A.M. praying without uttering a word to each other
and neither does he call the prayer again. By then other people had began to came for Subuh
(morning) prayers.

He then stood and calls the prayers. We all observed that morning prayer
congregationally as customarily done in all other mosques. Then everybody left for home. From
that day I never heard him call prayers again at that odd hour but neither do I find out from him
why was he calling the prayers at that odd hour. However enquire some days after whether
someone have a big black dog in the area but got a negative reply.
Two years back I was narrating the story to a secondary school students (Failatu College
of Arabic and Islamic Studies) in Anguwan Masa Zaria City when one the students, a girl
claimed that the prayer caller was her grandfather and that he dies some years back, she said that
at one time people used to complained that he use to call prayers at odd hours but he never tells
anyone why.
An old woman that transforms into a hyena
One day a friend told us this story. That one day he saw his grandmother washing her
cloth and he decided to lend her a helping hand. He thus collected the cloth but after washing it
while trying to reduced the water in the cloth as well as straightens it before sun drying, the
water thus released was splashed on her. She did not expect it and because of that she
immediately transform into a hyena. He said, the transformation was not automatic. It starts from
the face with the ears becoming hairy and extending outwardly. Then the remaining part of the
body but then again she transforms back into human in the same stage by stage manner she
transforms into the hyena just few moments ago noticing that he became very scary.
Back to her human nature calms him