Mr. Yakubu James Laubakta was born in SIM Hospital Sabon Gari Kano on the 18th of December 1943 to a missionary parent who were among the first Christian converts in Tangale land. His parents were identified to be the first couple in Tangale to boldly ignore and challenge the authority of the white man that blacks should not wear trousers and shoes to church service.

Little Laubakta began school at a very early age when his parents returned home from their missionary tour of Northern Nigeria. He was enrolled in SIM Primary School Billiri–Lawishi from 1953 to 1956. He suffered a temporary setback in school when he lost his father at the final stage of his school in Billiri where he followed his mother to Ladibin in Kaltungo who at that time was offered employment at Kaltungo Teachers College by the SIM Missionaries to help her cushion the effect of the loss of her husband.

He later joined Senior Primary School Termana Kaltungo but could not complete his studies as a result of differences in principles between him and the missionaries in the school. It is worthy to note that as a child he did not leave anybody in doubt of the fact that he is a carbon copy of his late father. His firm approach to issues and doggedness to whatever he believes to be the truth set him on a collision course with school authorities at different times. He left Senior Primary Six Kaltungo in October 1959 and relocated to Kaduna and later to Jos to pick up a job at UAC as Record Clerk. He worked there briefly before going to Kano to explore the possibility of completing his primary education through the help of one Mr Kello. But ECWA Management Billiri and Kaltungo got wind of the admission and demanded its termination.

He returned home with the promise from (Pobe) Mr Harlin that he should be absorbed into Billiri ECWA Primary School for close monitoring but just as he was settling down for schooling, trouble cropped up again and consequently culminated in his sack, being the third time. This time, he insisted that programs meant for Tangale Kingdom must be held in Kingdom Headquarters Billiri and led a protest march to emphasize that Billiri is the Headquarters of Tangale.

His teachers did not take it kindly and in the process gave an ultimatum for his removal or else they would resign. Laubakta decided to honorably leave for the sake of peace and to save his colleagues from humiliation. As a principled fellow, his strong stance on issues while growing up as a boy landed him in trouble when one day on a visit to the house of “Pobe” as he was about to enter, he was accosted to remove his shoes but he declined and was left unattended. Some of his uncommon trail pitched him against people who looked at him as stubborn and pompous.

He left for Jos to resume his work at UAC and in 1963 when he came for Christmas, he met an admirer of his by name “Sanda Larapa” who was heading a school in Kaltungo. Larapa gave him a lifeline by inviting him to join ECWA Primary School Pokwangli Shongom to facilitate his completion of primary education.

Afterward, fate smiled on the since-forgotten principled adventurer whose motto had been and is still “The bitter, the better” with admission into Gindiri High School in Jos and Toro Teachers College in Bauchi after passing both entrance examinations but opted for Toro Teachers College and as a disciplined and intelligent student he was appointed a junior Prefect in form Two in 1966 and was later transferred to the south, precisely Ikere-Ekiti on a school exchange program and was appointed leader of the northern students and a senior prefect in the school.

On completion in 1969, he returned home to take up a job with ECWA (SIM) LEA Tangale Waja and taught in Banganje for two years before he was transferred to Sansani SIM/ECWA School. He joined the Nigerian Army in 1972 and was specially enlisted into the Education Corp and trained in the Nigerian Army Depot Zaria for six months.

He was then deployed to Ojo Cantonment Lagos but withdrew in favor of furthering his education as he had earlier applied for admission at ABU Zaria. When the result came out in his favor, the military refused to sponsor him, he decided to opt out of the service. He studied Fine Arts and graduated with a Diploma in 1976 and immediately joined the Ministry of Education in the then Bauchi State as an Adult and Non-Formal Education Officer. He also worked as a Cultural Officer in the Council of Arts and Culture to oversee the setting up of the center and later transferred to the Education Resource Center (ERC). He was responsible for the participation of Bauchi State at the FESTAC “77 festival.

The establishment of the council allowed him to play a vital role because the young state of Bauchi had a good representation in a world-class event of immense magnitude and thus kicked off a solid base for the subsequent development of the culture of Bauchi State.

In 1979 he went back to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria to obtain a degree in Industrial Design and upon completion had his NYSC in his organization in Bauchi.

In August 1985, he was deployed to the Ministry of Education with a specific instruction to be posted to the ERC as Head of Reprography and Printing, a place he worked until 1987 and was later transferred to the Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA to fill up Bauchi State quota. He assumed duty in the Department of Planning, Land, and Survey and was appointed Head of Division for street naming and numbering, outdoor advertisement, and visual communications, which was a designated operation in the FCT Abuja. He rose to the rank of Assistant Director and served in the department for 15 years until retirement in December 2004, after attaining the mandatory 35 years of service.

He was conferred with the title of “Dallatun Tangale” in 1983, because of his high level of patriotism, fearlessness, and sacrifice for the Tangale Kingdom when he single-handedly wrote a petition directly to the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, General Yakubu Gowon on some activities of the administrator in collaboration with some prominent persons in Tangale-Waja to distort and strangulate the setup of traditional council institutions and abuse of the distribution of relief materials meant for draught neighboring countries spanning 1974-75 and gang up against Mai Iliyasu Maiyamba by other Chiefs and the administrative district officers.

His petition signed “Tekki Sam ta Kebe” changed the cause of events and led to the sack of all ADOs that served in Tangale Waja, except Alhaji Jalo, who was commended accordingly. In appreciation, the Mai Tangle, Malam Iliyasu Maiyamba accorded him recognition and appointed him Dallatun Tangale, and with the appointment, he joined the cabinet of the Tangale Traditional Council as one of its Chief Advisers. He was subsequently upgraded to "Mai Nar Tangle" in 2002 (the only existing indigenous traditional title) and was officially coronated and turbaned on 2nd November 2002.

Notable Achievements and Efforts

*Designed the logo and flag of Mai Tangle in 1974

*Designed the National Uniform of Tangale Community Development Association.

*Asst Secretary NUT Tangale Waja Branch 1970 – 1972

*Donated his uncle’s residence as an accommodation to the transferring staff of Tangale Waja Native Authority to Billiri from Tula and was amongst the facilitators in that respect in 1970.

*Secretary, Upgrading and Official presentation of staff of office to Mai Tangle, Malam Iliyasu Maiyamba in 1982.

*Secretary, Installation, and official presentation of staff of office to Mai Tangle, Malam Muhammadu Iliyasu Maiyamba in 1988.

*First Secretary TCDA registered association of ABU branch and in charge of Maiden TCDA Almanac in 1974

*First TCDA Chairman, Abuja Branch for 7 years.

*Spokesperson representing Tangale Waja in a summit on the creation of Gombe State, Tangale Waja, Abuja Forum.

*Award of excellence TCDA Women wing Abuja in 1993

*Award of merit by the TCDA Headquarters Billiri in 1994

*Merit Award by TCDA ABU Branch

*Compilation of the Historical Evaluation of the Bible Training School Billiri and launching during the Golden Jubilee of the School in 1995.

*Appointed Mai Lodongor (Hakimi) by the first Democratic Governor of Gombe state, Alh Abubakar Habu Hashidu in 2001.

Mr. Laubakta passed away on October 12, 2020 in Gombe, Nigeria, Gombe, Nigeria at the age of 76.