ALH. ADO BAYERO: WE STILL MOURN YOU

(The tribute below was published in 'Polo & Event International Magazine' of July 2015, and later, it was translated into Hausa and published in 'Leadership Hausa' of 2-8/10/2015.)

Exactly a year ago, torrents of tributes are still tearing the media space. That's because the exit of the revered emir Alhaji Ado Bayero was very painful. One of such tributes was a 'Gloomy Friday', a dirge written by my humble self and published in both Sunday and Daily Trusts newspapers after it was read in Freedom Radio, Radio Kano 2 and other radio stations.

Alh. Ado Bayero, of blessed memory, was a member of a ruling house of Gidan Dabo, a clan of Sullubawa, the 13th emir of Kano since after the holy war of Uthman Danfodio, and until his ascension to the throne in 1963 at the age of 33, he was the Nigerian ambassador to Senegal. The emir was a former Police Boss and Member of Parliament. He answered the call of his Creator on one fateful Friday morning, after a protracted illness, at the age of 83, leaving behind 30 sons, 32 daughters and over 300 grand children of his own as well as thousands of others within his extended family.

I still recall the most striking part of his golden jubilee speech which portrayed him as some one who harbored no grudges against any one where he said: '...I want to use this unique opportunity to seek for forgiveness from all and sundry whom I might have offended directly or indirectly. I have forgiven all'. This is a rare quality especially of people of his personality. Ninety nine times out of hundred the emir was out of his palace, undoubtedly, he was attending one Islamic school Quranic graduation or another.

On the sight of their darling king, you would hear children of Kanawa chanting: 'Allah Kara maka imani, Allah Kara maka imani, Allah Kara maka imani...' Meaning, 'may Allah increase you in faith'. And for the adults they would break into welcoming smiles with their thumbs up. The emir would then responded with gentle smiles. Sometimes, he would be out commissioning Islamic structures like, mosques, Islamic schools or research centers, etcetera, which he used to do not by the usual cutting of tape but by leading the prayer, in which cases he donated in millions. The emir was also a promoter of Western education and a critic of the dreaded Boko Haram.

Dr. Ado Bayero gave a sense of belonging to all and sundry under Kano emirate, including the non-indegenes. This habit help in making Kano a center of commerce. During annual Durbas, he made tours round Kano to greet his people. For the Hawan Nassarawa, the emir would visit the settler area of Sabon Gari to see and great the people there. To facilitate peace, he appointed leaders among them, for instance the sarkin Yarabawa (traditional leader of Yoruba), sarkin Inyamurai (traditional leader of Igbo) and Sarkin Nupawa (traditional leader of Nupawa) among others. To exemplify inter ethnic marriage, the emir married Hajiya Maryam, popularly called 'Illorin'.

As an embodiment of peace, the leader settled disputes among his subjects in such a way that his decision was acceptable by both parties more than that of the conventional courts. Closeness or relationship with the emir doesn't immune one from his dispensation of justice and fairness as it was evident in some cases involving his district or ward heads and host of others. His dispute settlement didn't only stop among his ordinary subjects, even the high and mighty within and outside the state sought his help in settling dispute, which he offered with much interest. A clear example was a time when two warring kings from southern Nigeria couldn't sheath their sword despite efforts by their colleagues from other kingdoms. But when the Kano monarch intervened, their war became history.

Common people visited him in his palace and he gave them attentive audience. They took gifts to him like moringa, a loaf of bread, a piece of pineapple or any other thing they could afford which he always collected happily. He was so generous and concerned about common man to the level that he recognized the places some of them used to sit in his mosque that when he didn't see them he asked after them, sometimes he would be told that the unavailable person was ejected from his rented house that was at a trekking distance with the palace but now he relocated to a far place. In such a case Bakan Dabo would order for a purchase of a nearby house and gift it to the man. Or if it was sickness that prevented the man from showing up, he would sponsor his medical bills, even if that required taking him to a hospital abroad. These and many more exceptional qualities earned the emir reverence among his people to such a level that he was immortalized since during his lifetimes as many young and adult men who bear the name Ado in Kano and its environs, were named after him. I have never known a famous person, celebrities inclusive, whose pictures adorns the house walls, offices, buses, taxis, screens, and bikes like the emir Ado's. Many schools, roads, hospitals, bridges, libraries, halls, gates, shopping malls, research centers etc, within and outside Kano were named in his honor.

Just like Chinua Achebe in the field of literature, or Aliko Gote in business who carved a niche for themselves in their respective specializations which gave Nigeria a good name in the eyes of the world, Alh. Ado Bayero who was close to Her Majesty the Queen of England uplifted the image of the country in the world because of his royal uniqueness. In his life time, Her Majesty and her son Prince Charles at different times payed homage visits all the way from the Great Britain to the Kano Emirate Palace to great the emir. Maimartaba was indeed among the great Africa Who's Who.

Our father Takawa, as you reach one year away from us, we remain fatherless, and still mourn your demise because of the huge legacies you bequeathed us. We will continue praying and writing about you. We love you, but Allah loves you most. Glory to Allah for giving us the chance to benefit from him. May Allah admit him in jannatul Firdaus. May You help his successor, the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria: Muhammad Sunusi the 2nd reign well. 'Kano ta dabo tunbin giwa, ko da me kazo anfi ka'

(C) Bello Sagir Imam 2015.