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Here is the English translation, summary, description, and analysis of the provided Hausa novel excerpt ("NI DA YAYA HABEEB"):
1. English Translation
Days later...
Haleesa was lying on a 3-seater sofa when Hannah greeted her, walked in tiredly, and collapsed onto a chair with a heavy “Washh…!” “Yaya Habeeb’s wife, I swear I am exhausted! Is there any food in this house?”
Haleesa sat up, pouted her lips, and said, “Go call the young girl to bring you something.”
After Hannah finished eating, she unzipped her handbag, pulled out an invitation card, and handed it to Haleesa. “Here is the invitation for Yaya Sageer’s wedding. It’s taking place in Sokoto, hosted by Aunty Mami.”
Listlessly, Haleesa took the invitation, looked at it, and placed it beside her. “When are you guys leaving?”
“Maybe on Wednesday, because Mom said we are traveling by road so that no one gets stranded without a car to run errands. Are you going to come?”
Haleesa let out a deep sigh and said in a soft, subdued voice, “I will go. At least it will help me escape this loneliness and the constant agonizing thoughts of someone who cares nothing about me and you—”—she didn’t finish her sentence as tears streamed down her face.
Hannah stood up, moved close to her, and sat down. “Do you mean nothing has changed yet?”
Haleesa shook her head, and crying softly, she recounted everything that had happened between her and Habeeb to Hannah, because she trusted Hannah one hundred percent.
Filled with frustration, Hannah hissed. “I just don’t understand what kind of wicked person Yaya Habeeb is! Aside from his arrogance and disrespect, if he doesn’t love you and only desires your body, he shouldn’t have come out openly and told you so.”
“Well, it’s actually better that he told me where I stand in his heart. You see, now I know that he only wants my body and not me. But in all honesty, your brother has really hurt me because my heart has gone too far in loving him. I feel like I have never loved any man before except him.”
Hannah hugged Haleesa and began to comfort her, whispering sweet words to her until she successfully calmed her down and stopped her crying. “The advice I will give you is that anytime he comes to you with his desires, give him your cooperation. That is how you will trap him; do whatever he wants, but never show him that you also love him. Just show him that it is mere marital obedience making you do what he wants—even if his chest is made of stone rather than a heart, one day he will surely give you a place in his heart. Now, get up and pack your clothes so we can go to Mom's house since the trip is the day after tomorrow. I see no point in you continuing this useless loneliness.”
8:00 PM
Madam Hindu was sitting in her spacious parlor, talking on the phone with Habeeb. As soon as she finished the call, she began calling out for Haleesa.
Haleesa quickly stepped out of Hannah’s room. “I’m here, Mom!”
“Just now, I finished speaking with your husband. He said you didn’t tell him you were going to Sokoto, so you need to call him on the phone and seek his permission—even though I know he won’t stop you.”
Dejectedly, Haleesa turned back, went into the room, and lay down next to Hannah. “Hannah, did you hear this new trouble?”
“Inji ’yan caca, what is going on now?” Hannah asked, staring into Haleesa’s face.
“This call Mom just made—she said she spoke with Yaya Habeeb, and he told her I didn’t inform him that I was going with you guys to Sokoto, and that I should call him and ask for his permission.”
Hannah hissed. “I swear, Mom is the one making Yaya Habeeb so arrogant! What is the point of saying you must ask for his permission? Mtww…!” she hissed again.
Haleesa said, “My biggest nightmare is that ever since we returned from Lagos, I’ve kept my phone switched off.”
“Just force yourself, Haleesa, and call him so Mom doesn’t suspect there is bad blood between you two.”
Haleesa let out a sigh, got up, retrieved her phone, and lay back down. Turning to Hannah, she said, “Hannah, I am madly in love with your brother.”
Hannah laughed and said, “Don’t worry, through my right hand, inshallah, one day he will also shed tears for the love of you.”
Haleesa shook her head. “Crying, you say, Hannah? This wicked man will cry for me? Let me just call him so you can see how things will go between us.” With her heart pounding, she dialed his number...
(Jeeddah Aliyu 🌹) (Hafsat Yau Abdullahi) (NI DA YAYA HABEEB — 89)
The phone rang until it disconnected, but Habeeb didn't pick up. Haleesa hissed and said, “Hannah, you see your brother's attitude? Mom just finished talking with him a moment ago, but look, when I called him, he refused to pick up.”
“Make excuses for him and call him again; maybe he is playing hard to get with you. You know my brother is high-class,” she finished saying with a laugh.
Haleesa pouted and muttered, “Hmm… yeah, I see.” She pressed to call Habeeb’s number again, but it still rang until it ended without him picking up. Three missed calls was how many Haleesa made to him before she angrily placed her phone beside her.
“Just ignore him. Call him again later; if he doesn't pick up, it's his loss. You know you called him, and it's his usual arrogance that’s stopping him from answering.”
Haleesa sighed. “I don't understand what I did to Yaya Habeeb that he hates me so much. Days ago, Yaya Habeeb was showing me so much care; at all times you would find us clung to each other. In that short period, he managed to detach my heart from the love of my late [ex]... Yaya Habeeb.”
“At that time, I was even thinking maybe he had started loving me, but alas, it was just my own thoughts deceiving me.”
Hannah took Haleesa’s hands in a comforting manner and said, “Haleesa, I know what Yaya Habeeb is doing to you is not right at all, but please bear it and keep taking your grievances to God. Soon, God will bring an end to this problem. Before we go to sleep, force yourself to call him one more time.”
Without saying anything back to Hannah, Haleesa turned her attention to the movie they were watching.
1 hour later...
“Haleesa, please call Yaya Habeeb again. I swear I don't want us to make this trip without you.”
“Ugh... Hannah, even you know that even if I call, he won't pick up. But since you are insisting, let me just call.” She dialed the call and pressed the phone to her ear.
JAPAN
At the time Habeeb finished his phone call with Mom, he had placed his phone on charge and gone out to the courtyard of the hotel where they were lodging. That was why when Haleesa called earlier, he didn’t pick up because he wasn’t near the phone.
Now, however, even though her call came into his phone, he had already gone to deep sleep because it was very late over there. The ringing of his phone was what woke him up.
He hissed with his eyes closed, reaching his hand onto the bedside table to grope for the phone, wondering how sleep had overcome him without him switching off his phone. His intention upon picking up the phone was to switch it off.
With great difficulty, he opened his eyes due to overwhelming sleepiness, then forced them wide open in shock: Leesa! OMG! I can't believe it, Leesa is calling me!
With trembling hands, he accepted the call, placed it to his ear, and simply went silent.
“Hello, Yaya Habeeb!”
A wave of profound, sweet comfort rushed through his bones, and he closed his eyes in bliss.
“Hello? Hello, Yaya Habeeb, can you hear me?”
“Yeah! I’m listening to you,” he said curtly.
Uhm... uhm... Haleesa couldn't find words to say to him, so she was just stuck saying “Uhm... uhm...”
That was what provoked Habeeb. He hated being woken up from his sweet sleep, and furthermore, it seemed Leesa had nothing to say—she had merely called to interrupt his wonderful sleep.
He snapped at her angrily, “What kind of nonsense disrespect is this, Leesa? You couldn't find any other time to call me except in the middle of the night, interrupting my sweet sleep, and yet you can't even state the reason for your call! If you are capable of talking, just go straight to the point instead of doing all this 'uhm... uhm...'”
She sighed, feeling amazed by Habeeb’s extreme temper. “I actually just called you to seek your permission; I am going to Sokoto for a wedding.”
He drew in a sharp breath. In his mind, Leesa had called him just to get over her anger toward him. Alas, that wasn't it! He remembered how much he had missed her, how much her love tormented him, and how he had been dying to finish his assignment in Japan so he could go to her and express the depth of his love for her...
“Hello, Yaya Habeeb, aren't you saying anything?”
His voice cut through her train of thought. He drew a breath and exhaled, his heart boiling with frustration. “So only now have you realized that I hold a status where permission must be sought before taking a trip? Well, I have not agreed! Don’t let your foot cross the main gate, and you better prepare strong arguments to present to me as to why you left Lagos without my permission. Make sure you rack your brain to find solid reasons why when I called your phone you wouldn’t pick up, and also make sure you have a valid reason to present to me as to why you switched off your phone for all this long time!”
“On Wednesday, I am landing in 9ja [Nigeria], Leesa, and I promise you that I am coming to bring you something that will terrify you—perhaps even make you lose your sanity!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up.
He left Haleesa in utter confusion. She looked up and saw that Hannah had already been carried away by deep sleep.
With a sinking heart, she put down the phone, pulled the blanket to cover half her body, and sank into deep thoughts. What does Habeeb mean by what he will bring to me? Thump... thump... her heart pounded, and she pressed her chest with both hands. Could Yaya Habeeb mean he is going to divorce me?!
A terrifying dread engulfed her, and she started crying silently. Sleep completely fled from her eyes.
2. Summary
In this chapter of Ni da Yaya Habeeb, Haleesa is resting at home when Hannah returns exhausted from an outing and shares news of an upcoming family wedding for Yaya Sageer in Sokoto, hosted by Aunty Mami. Seeing an escape from her loneliness and ongoing heartbreak caused by Habeeb, Haleesa agrees to accompany Hannah on the trip, despite having her phone turned off since their return from Lagos to avoid Habeeb.
Later, Madam Hindu (Haleesa's mother-in-law) calls Haleesa to inform her that Habeeb (who is currently in Japan) called to complain that Haleesa did not seek his permission before planning the Sokoto trip. Urged by Hannah to maintain appearances, Haleesa reluctantly dials Habeeb’s number. After initial missed calls, Habeeb—who has been tormented by thoughts of her—wakes up in Japan and answers. When Haleesa awkwardly asks for his permission to travel to Sokoto, Habeeb becomes furious that she woke him up and left him in the dark with her phone turned off. He strictly forbids the trip, threatens severe consequences upon his return to Nigeria on Wednesday, and hangs up, leaving Haleesa terrified that he intends to divorce her.
3. Description
The excerpt is a poignant, emotionally charged segment of a contemporary Hausa romance novel. It captures themes of marital tension, psychological distress, communication breakdown, and the complexities of forced or problematic familial marriages. The setting shifts between a cozy home in Nigeria where Haleesa and Hannah confide in each other, and a hotel room in Japan where Habeeb reacts with a volatile mix of longing, anger, and controlling behavior. The narrative highlights Haleesa's emotional vulnerability and deep attachment to Habeeb contrasted against his harsh and unpredictable temperament.
4. Analytics
- Character Dynamics:
- Haleesa: Deeply in love against her better judgment, emotionally battered by Habeeb’s mixed signals, anxious, and fearful of abandonment.
- Habeeb: Controlling, moody, deeply obsessed with Haleesa yet quick to anger, using his authority as a husband to demand submission and punish perceived defiance.
- Hannah: Supportive, pragmatic, and acting as Haleesa's confidante and advisor, pushing her to assert herself while navigating marital politics.
- Plot Progression: Moves the storyline from domestic stagnation to impending conflict, setting up high stakes for Habeeb's upcoming return to Nigeria and the confrontation in Sokoto.
- Themes: Emotional dependency, patriarchal authority in marriage, miscommunication, and the toxic cycle of toxic romance tropes in modern Hausa literature.
