Emir Ado Bayero (July 25 1930–June 6 2014): Exit Of A Royal Statesman After more than 50 glorious years on the throne of his forebears and becoming, in the process, one of the most influential monarchs in the country, the Emir of Kano Alhaji Dr Ado Abdullahi Bayero, breathed his last in the early hours of Friday, June 6 2014. He was 83 years old. Emir Bayero ascended the throne of Kano on October 22 1963, when Muhammadu Sanusi, his half-brother was dethroned and Inuwa, who succeeded him, reigned for only three months. Ado Bayero’s reign remains one of the longest in the history of the Kano Emirate. The debonair former Nigeria’s ambassador to Senegal was a reference point for how a modern system of republican democracy and traditional institutions can coalesce to promote good governance through people-oriented policies. He came face-to-face with the nation’s security challenges on January 19 last year, when armed insurgents attacked his convoy in the ancient city of Kano and he survived. For most, such attempt on his life was a sacrilege, a disdaining of royalty. His driver and orderly died in that attack, but he took it in his stride as one of the signs of the times. His death and burial yesterday, however, were without controversy, as is befitting of a royal of his stature. As mortals, we are pained by the loss of the rare gem that he was. We take solace in the legacy of the lofty deeds of the suave, urbane and competent royal father, who mingled seamlessly with the rich and the poor alike, and whose roles and responsibilities as a traditional authority did not impede the formalities of the office. Also, his understanding of the composite framework of modern democracy and his traditional assignments stood him out like a colossus. He had a cross-cultural mien that transcended provincial inclinations, parochial sentiments and religious beliefs. As a sovereign in his own right, he waded through the drudgery of political adversity exemplified by the excision of parts of his traditional territory and the creation of six additional emirates by the Abubakar Rimi administration, restriction of traditional homage to him by district and village heads in 1981 during Hawan Sallah, as well as the travel ban placed on him by the then military government for travelling to Israel, which had no diplomatic ties with Nigeria at the time (1984). At almost 84, the scion of Abdullahi Bayero Dan Muhammad Abbas and Hajiya Hasiya saw it all in the evolution of post-independent Nigeria. Turbaned at the age of only 33 when the nation had not attained the status of a republic, history is charitable with the late emir for using his exalted office to transform the city-state from the mere native authority he inherited to an expansive, industrial and cosmopolitan epicentre for the Hausa language and Islamic tradition. Under him, Kano became a veritable melting pot for cultures, commerce and religions. The 56th traditional ruler of Kano was the 13th in the line of succession of the descendants of the Fulani Jihadist, Usman Dan Fodio. The late Bayero’s contributions to national development were beyond being an emir. He was a bank clerk, police officer and foreign affairs officer. Educated at Kano Middle School now Rumfa College, the School for Arabic Studies and Zaria Clerical College (now Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria), the emir was an elected member of the Northern Regional House of Assembly in 1954. The late emir was an astute businessman and boardroom guru, who contributed from his stupendous wealth and connections to religious and patriotic uses and to turn adversity into opportunities. He was a devout Muslim and a devoted family man. May the Almighty grant the soul of the inimitable monarch Aljanna Firdausi
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 05:23:18 +0000