Politicising Kano Emirate

*Tribalisation of Emirship: The Story of Ilorin Princess Turned Kano Queen*
By Yushau A. Shuaib

Politicising Kano Emirate
Recently, there were rumours that some individuals and groups had been hired to tarnish the reputation of the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, and his family, especially his wife, Nana Maryam from Ilorin, who shared his life for 54 years before his demise, as well as their two sons, who were appointed Emirs by the past government.

It was, therefore, shocking when Hashim Dungurawa, the chairman of the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano, made a baseless claim that President Bola Tinubu was eager to reinstate a son of the late emir because of Yoruba ethnic connection.

Described as an apostle of the Kwankwasiya movement led by Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, Dungurawa, said: “If the president thinks he will use a few of his kinsmen in Kano and the alleged Bayero’s Yoruba lineage to continue to keep the deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero in the State, let him wait for 2027, we will show him that those people will not help him.”

As someone born and raised in Kano, I could never have imagined that politics in the state would descend so low as to fabricate falsehoods laced with hate speech against the family of one of the most respected and longest-serving traditional rulers in Nigeria.

Ethnocentric rhetoric and irresponsible statements driven by arrogance, ignorance, intolerance, and fanaticism can incite mob actions and lead to civil unrest. We’ve seen how irresponsible behaviour and poor leadership have contributed to the rise of terrorism and banditry in some Northern states.

It is instructive that Kano Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo recently showed maturity by apologising to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, for making a similar unsubstantiated allegation.

Meanwhile, Emir Ado Bayero was a bridge builder and asset in promoting peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding, and conflict resolution during his reign. Not only was Kano receptive to all tribes and cultures, the Emirate was also so accommodating that many top public figures and leaders known as Kano indigenes were actually from other states, like the spirit peace-loving Yoruba people of Lagosian who accepted and empowered strangers, especially under Governor Tinubus administration.

Kano was not only receptive to all tribes and cultures, but the Emirate was also remarkably accommodating, as evident in the fact that many top public figures and leaders, though known as Kano indigenes, hailed from other states. This spirit of peace and love for strangers was exemplified by the Yoruba people of Lagos, who accepted and empowered others, particularly during Governor Tinubu’s administration.

It would be recalled that a few years after his death and immediately after the dethronement of his successor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, his two sons from Nana Maryam, Aminu and Nasiru, were appointed Emirs of Kano and Bichi by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. However, the new Kano governor, Abba Yusuf, announced the dethronement of the two emirs and others this year while reinstating Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir.

Afonja and Alimi, A Brief on Yoruba and Fulani of Ilorin

Though people in Ilorin primarily speak Yoruba, their traditional and religious leadership comprises Fulani, Gambari, Kanuri, Nupe, and other ethnic groups. At the start of the 19th century, Kakanfo Afonja, a Yoruba warlord, fled the Oyo Kingdom and emigrated to Ilorin to avoid a suicidal war with the Alafin (the king) . Around the same time, a Fulani Islamic scholar named Salih Janta, popularly called Shehu Alimi due to his Islamic knowledge, also arrived in Ilorin.

Shehu Alimi and Afonja later allied to repel the punitive forces of Oyo when the Alafin planned to suppress the formers rebellion and eliminate the latter for converting Yoruba to Islam. With support from Shehu Usman Danfodiyo of Sokoto, Ilorin’s forces launched a preemptive strike by attacking and burning down Oyo-Ile, the capital of the old Oyo Empire.

Meanwhile, after a communal conflict, Afonja was also assassinated. When Shehu Alimi died in 1820, his eldest son, AbdulSalami, whose mother was a Gwandu princess in the present Kebbi, became the emir of Ilorin and pledged allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate around 1829.

Throughout the 19th century, Ilorin was a significant trade hub between the Hausa-Fulani in the North and the Yoruba in the South. It was later incorporated into the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1900.

Therefore, Nana Maryam belonged to the fifth generation of Ilorin descendants of Shehu Alimi, a pioneer flag bearer of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio. Her ancestral line is traced to the first son, Emir AbdulSalami.

In a simple illustration, Maryam was the daughter of the eighth Fulani Emir of Ilorin, Shehu AbdulKadir (1919-1959), granddaughter of the seventh Emir, Shehu Shuaib Bawan-Allah who reigned 1915-1919, great-granddaughter of the third Emir, Zubair (reigned c.1860-1868), and a great-great-granddaughter of AbdulSalami, the first Emir of Ilorin (c.1823-c.1836) and first son of Shehu Alimi (c.1740-c.1823).

As the daughter of Emir AbdulKadir, Maryam’s siblings included Mallam Aliyu Baba Agba, the 10th Emir of Ilorin (reigned 1992-1995); Hajia Aishat Bolanta ZulKarnaini Gambari, wife of the 9th Emir (HRH Alhaji Muhammed ZulKarnaini Gambari, who reigned 1959-1992) and mother of the 11th Emir (HRH, Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, 1995).

Princess Maryam was a young girl when she was sent to a boarding school in Kano and entrusted into the care of Queen Hasiya, the wife of Emir Abdullahi Bayero. Maryam shared the school with the Emir’s daughters, Princesses Rakiya and Hadiza Abdullahi Bayero.

A young Prince, Ado, became interested in Princess Maryam through her relationship with his sisters. He started paying regular visits to the school, and their closeness grew as their meetings became more frequent but restrained.

Marriage Between Prince Ado and Princess Maryam
Surprisingly, the then Emirs of Ilorin and that of Kano did not unite the young lovebirds in marriage. In conformity with the cultural tradition, Maryam and other eligible maidens and princes were married off during a mass wedding the Emir of Ilorin arranged in his palace. She got married to her relation, Malam Muhammad Bello and bore a son, Saad, a year later.

Similarly, Emir Abdullahi Bayero married off Ado, alongside seven other princes, including Aminu Na Dawaki, Dan Iya Ado, Wambai Tijjani, Barde Cigari, Wambai Abubakar, Dan Darman Tijjani, and Da Ummaru Me Zaure Dan Amar. Ado’s first wife was Nana Aishatu, his first cousin and daughter of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Inuwa. Nana Aishatu was the mother of his first son, Lamido Sanusi (not the former CBN Governor), and his first daughter, Fatima (Magajiya).

A few years later, after the collapse of her marriage, while furthering her studies in Kano, Maryam reconnected with Prince Ado Bayero, the Chief Clerk of the Kano Town Council.

Considering their rekindled relationship after the death of their parents, the then-new Emirs of Ilorin and Kano, Zulkarnaini Gambari and Muhammadu Sanusi, endorsed the marriage of Maryam and Ado. Gambari was Maryam’s in-law and first cousin, while Sanusi was Ado’s senior brother. The Nikkah, the Islamic wedding, was held in the Ilorin Palace with a delegation from the Emir of Kano comprising Galadima Hamidu Bayero, Malam Ibrahim Kado, and Malam Buhari Gwadabe, Sarkin Fulanin Ja’idnawa.

In 1961, Maryam gave birth to their son, Aminu, while Ado was serving as a no-nonsense and incorruptible Police Chief of the Kano Native Authority. Ado’s rising profile and reputation led to his appointment as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Senegal in 1962. He took Maryam and their young son Aminu to Dakar, where they settled into a new life.

However, political tensions were brewing in Kano, leading to Ado’s elder brother, Emir Sanusi, dethronement in 1963. In his place, Ado’s uncle, Muhammadu Inuwa, was appointed as the new Emir. Tragically, Emir Inuwa’s reign was short-lived, as he died just six months later due to illness.

Following Emir Inuwa’s passing, the kingmakers and the Northern establishment turned to Ambassador Ado, still serving in Senegal, to succeed his late uncle. Despite his diplomatic posting, he was recalled and was officially coronated by the Governor of Northern Nigeria, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, in February 1964. It was the same month his wife Maryam delivered Prince Nasir.

Throughout her life, Nana Maryam held the esteemed position of a charming princess, a humble daughter of a King. Her royal stature was solidified by becoming a queen, the beloved wife of a king. Additionally, she was a sister to a king, a compassionate sister-in-law to another king, and a caring mother to the two kings and other children, making her a matriarch of unparalleled influence. Ultimately, her remarkable life of humility, kindness, sincerity and enviable legacy culminated in her well-deserved title of Queen Mother, a testament to her extraordinary status and enduring impact on the Emirates of Ilorin and Kano.

In addition to the famous historical accounts of the two Emirates, I am drawn to the following books: Omar Farouk Ibrahim’s “Prince of the Times: Ado Bayero”, Abubakar Sidiq Imam’s “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”, and Hajo Sani’s “Maryam Ado Bayero: A Woman of Royal Virtues”, which offer fresh perspectives on the subject.

For those who lack knowledge of history and cannot trace their heritage but are envious of others’ historical legacies, history books have a name for them.

To be continued on this same page

_Yushau Shuaib Agaka is currently the Custodian of one of the oldest copies of the Quran, which was brought to the Ilorin Emirate by his progenitors from Kanem-Borno

www.YAShuaib.com yashuaib@yashuaib.com

The post Tribalisation of Emirship: The True Story of Ilorin Princess Turned Kano Queen appeared first on YAShuaib.

Since his election as governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has endeared himself to the people by his unassuming disposition, gender equality initiatives, developmental programmes and the prompt payment of the remuneration of workers.

In fact, in October 2019, Kwara ranked third on the list of states that had attracted huge foreign investments, recording an accumulated inflow of $1.14 billion. It was next to Lagos and Abuja.

It was therefore surprising that the gender-friendly and youth-centric administration of Governor AbdulRazaq would commit a public relations blunder within a year of its first tenure by destroying Ile-Arugbo, a popular charity home for the aged (particularly old women) established by late Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the father of the former governor of the State and Senate president, Bukola Saraki.

The compound of the home had served as a constituency office where old and young beneficiaries converged to receive relief materials, financial support and health care services, as part of the philanthropy of the late politician’s family.

The government should have considered several factors before taking such a delicate decision in an environment riven by mutual suspicion and political sentiments that could easily revive the alleged old rivalry between the major patriarchs in the power elite of the Ilorin Emirate, including the Belgores, Gambaris, Akanbis, Oniyangis, Gobiris, Sarakis and AbdulRazaqs.

There is no denying the fact that the AbdulRazaq and Saraki families have huge influence in Kwara because of their very rich credentials and huge contributions to the development of the State. Nevertheless, there has been a seemingly strained, no love lost, relationship between the two families, reputed to have been passed down by their patriarchs, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunso (AGF) AbdulRazaq, an iconic legal luminary and the late Dr. Oloye Olusola Saraki, a renown political juggernaut in his days.

Born on November 13, 1927 in Onitsha, Anambra State, Alhaji A.G.F. AbdulRazaq is a Pan-Nigerian who attended secondary school in Buguma, Rivers State, obtained a law degree from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State and established his law firm in Zaria, Kaduna State. In fact, he was the first legal practitioner in Northern Nigeria, who subsequently became appointed as national legal adviser of the Northern People’s Congress.

Meanwhile, Dr. Olusola Abubakar Saraki was born on May 17, 1933 in Ilorin and attended Eko Boys High School, Lagos, before proceeding to University of London, and St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, for his medical training. On his return to Nigeria, he worked as a medical officer at the Lagos General Hospital and the Creek Hospital.

Apart from serving as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Cote D’Ivoire and a Member of Parliament in the Northern Regional House of Assembly, the senior AbdulRazaq was equally Minister in charge of the railway in the First Republic, and the first Commissioner for Finance in Kwara State. He also established the first private secondary school in Kwara State, Ilorin College (now Government High School, Ilorin), which provided affordable education for the children within the immediate and surrounding communities.

Although the senior Saraki failed in the 1964 parliamentary election for Ilorin as an independent candidate, he was nevertheless elected a senator in 1979, and became the Senate Leader. He was re-elected into the Senate in 1983, before the military took over political power shortly afterward. Subsequently, the elder Saraki set up a bakery and other ventures for empowering people in the state

Alhaji AbdulRazaq, who holds the traditional title of Mutawali of Ilorin, has groomed young people who became successful administrators and businessmen. He is also blessed with children that have excelled in different fields of endeavours, notable among who are the immediate past Chief Finance Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Isiaka AbdulRazaq; Senator Khairat Gwadabe; Barrister Alimi AbdulRazaq; Hajiya Aisha Lawal; and the current governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

On his own part, elder Saraki, who held the traditional title of Wazirin Ilorin, was instrumental to the elections of many of the former governors of Kwara State, including Adamu Attah in 1979; Cornelius Adebayo in 1983; Shaba Lafiaji, 1992; Mohammed Alabi Lawal, 1999; and his son, Bukola Saraki in 2003. His daughter, Gbemisola Rukayat Saraki was also elected as a member of the House of Representative in 1999 and a Senator in 2003, while his son emerged Senate President in June 9, 2015.

The rivalry between the two powerful Kwara families manifested in an interview granted by Alhaji AbdulRazaq to TheNEWS magazine in 2010, where he claimed that the Saraki family was not from Ilorin. The distinguished diplomat then said that Dr. Olusola Saraki’s father, the late Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, who was a businessman across West Africa, had informed him about their ancestry during a discussion.

In Alhaji AbdulRazaq’s recollection: “He (Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki) asked me where I come from. I told him I am from Ilorin. Alhaji Saraki said he was an Egba man from Abeokuta. By this time, I did not even know the existence of Olusola Saraki. So, the man told me he was from Abeokuta, but he went to a Quranic School in Ilorin at Agbaji, an area reputed for Islamic scholarship. The man with his own mouth told me he was an Egba man from Abeokuta, not an Ilorin man. This was in early 1963.”

Alhaji AbdulRazaq also disclosed that Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki had later introduced his son, Olusola Saraki, to him, at a time when he was studying Medicine in London. He recollected that at their first meeting, as the younger Saraki had stretched out his hand to shake him, but his father slapped him instead. However, he managed to calm the elder Saraki down. After the meeting, the father informed him that he was putting the younger Saraki in his care, stressing that he should, “Take care of him for me.”

Meanwhile, the families have always been on opposing sides of the political spectrum, contesting against each other in elections for decades. In 1979 Alhaji AbdulRazaq contested the gubernatorial election under the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), while Saraki sponsored Adamu Attah under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN); also, in 1999, Dr. Alimi Abdulrazak contested for the Kwara governorship under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the Saraki sponsored retired Admiral Mohammed Lawal of the All People’s Party (APP).

In 2003, Bukola Saraki contested for governorship of Kwara State under the PDP, against AbdulRazak’s in-law, Mohammed Lawal; and in 2011 AbdulRahman AbdulRazak constested under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) against the Bukola Saraki sponsored Fatai Ahmed of PDP. Later in 2015 AbdulRahman AbdulRazak contested for the Senate under the PDP against Bukola Saraki of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was only in the year 2019 that Sarakis were defeated as the AbdulRazaq family won all the seats they sponsored and supported under APC, including that of AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as governor, against Saraki’s sponsored candidate, Razak Atunwa of the PDP. In fact, it was the year that all the candidates sponsored by Bukola Saraki were defeated woefully at various levels of election.

Meanwhile, since the interview of the patriarch of the AbdulRazaq family about a decade ago, neither Dr. Olusola Saraki nor his children responded or showed any sign of the rivalry between the two families, until after the demolition of Ile-Arugbo.

In a statement he signed, Senator Bukola Saraki described the revocation of the family’s land as ‘the height of vengeance’ against his father, adding that quite unfortunately, Governor Abdulrahman had been attacking his father’s legacies from the moment he came to power.

“This action is clearly a manifestation of vengeance … in his narrow-mindedness, the governor believes his victory at the polls is an empowerment, entitlement and enablement to settle scores, provoke and pursue inter-family rivalry… His open antagonism against my late father and his legacies is unwarranted and will not be tolerated,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki accused Governor AbdulRahman of using security agencies to settle old generational family political scores in what she described as an ‘unwarranted assault on her late father’s heritage.’

While stating that that “revenge cannot be a policy thrust of governance,” she rounded off by saying that, “We must stand up against vindictive politics, driven by envy, motivated by jealousy and practised without integrity.”

My take in this family feud is that both patriarchs had been pathfinders, pacesetters and philanthropists who not only inspired and motivated younger generations to excel in their different endeavours, they had also provided employment opportunities, scholarships and financial support to their people.

In this regard, therefore, the children of these distinguished patriarchs and families should sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue to enable mutual understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Kwara State should not be turned to a battlefield through heightened tension, like a state in Nigeria where due to a slight misunderstanding, the leader of a religious sect was shot and arrested, his properties destroyed, while his family members and followers were equally killed and nothing happened because of the powerful position of the aggressors in the polity.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com

The post Ile-Arugbo: Beyond the Politics of Saraki-Abdulrazaq Feuds in Kwara appeared first on YAShuaib.