A dirge for 12th Etsu Agaie

Late Etsu Muhmmadu kudu was the son of the 10th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Abubakar III Bagudu Bello (reigned 1995-1998); and grandson to 8th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Muhammadu Bello (reigned 1953-1989) who for now had the longest tenure of 36 years as Etsu Agaie. Between 1989 when the 8th Etsu Agaie died and now, which is […]

Late Etsu Muhmmadu kudu was the son of the 10th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Abubakar III Bagudu Bello (reigned 1995-1998); and grandson to 8th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Muhammadu Bello (reigned 1953-1989) who for now had the longest tenure of 36 years as Etsu Agaie. Between 1989 when the 8th Etsu Agaie died and now, which is a period of 25 years, Agaie has had three emirs qualitatively and four quantitatively. They include the 9th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Muhammadu Attahiru (reigned 1989-1994); the 10th Etsu Agaie Alhaji Abubakar III Bagudu Bello (reigned 1995-1998); Alhaji Muhammadu Attahiru (reigned 1999-2004); and Alhaji Muhammadu Kudu Abubakar (reigned 2004-2014).
Agaie is the name of a Nupe town, emirate and local government in Niger State of Nigeria. Among the group of Hausa/Fulani scholars who, as disciples of Shehu Usmanu Danfodio, set out from Sokoto to spread Islam to other parts of Northern Nigeria were Malam Muhammadu Babba and his brother Malam Sulaimanu. Other members of this jihadist group included Malam Dendo (a.k.a Manko) and Shehu Alimi who respectively brought Bida and Ilorin under the Islamic Sultanate of Sokoto. Babba and Sulaimanu who both hailed from Yantumaki in Katsina State arrived Agaie in 1820. By 1822, an Islamic Emirate had been established over Agaie; with Etsu Abdullahi I (died 1857) as the first Etsu Agaie. Like Bida and Ilorin, Agaie traditionally falls under the western bloc of Sokoto Caliphate which from inception was under the administrative authority of the Emir of Gwandu. For most part of the 19th century when Sokoto Caliphate flourished in Northern Nigeria, Agaie was famous with Islamic scholarship; a glorious tradition that is still credited to it today.
The 12th Etsu Agaie, HRH Late Etsu Kudu, died at age of 57 (and not 52 as published in the Daily Trust edition of Monday March 31, 2014). He was born on March 15, 1957. His educational career took him through East Primary School Agaie; Government Secondary School Kontagora where he obtained his WASC in 1976; College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria where he obtained a Diploma in Poultry Production in 1978. He was at the National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Jos, where he had HND in Animal Health and Husbandry in 1982. He did his NYSC in Ondo State (1982/83). Etsu Kudu also had a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration from ABU Zaria. At the time of his appointment on April 30, 2004 as 12th Etsu Agaie, he was Chief Animal Husbandry Technologist in the Niger State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources which he joined in 1976 as a Livestock Assistant. He was conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2012. He is survived by his mother (a cousin to the 9th and 11th Etsu Agaie), four wives, 13 children and many grandchildren.
What people would miss most is Etsu Kudu’s uncommon sense of humility. Except for the constraint of space, there is so much to say about him that distinguishes his humility as a royal father from others. In all my personal visits, Etsu Kudu always sat on the carpeted floor; whether in his living room or in any of the many guest rooms in the palace. Each time I had one-on-one contact with Etsu Kudu, he repeatedly recalled the prayer my late father gave him while he was their Arabic teacher at East Primary School Agaie. He said the prayer helped him much in his educational career especially during examinations.
While serving in the Niger State Committee for the Integration of Qur’anic Schools with Western Education, I was mandated to meet with District and Village Heads from Agaie Emirate as part of a planned sensitization programme. I was to use the General Assembly (called Nko in Nupe), which traditionally is convened by the Etsu on the day following the Eid (Sallah) day. Etsu Kudu had travelled to perform Umrah that year and arrived on the eve of the Nko. I imagined how difficult it would be to have an audience that night with HRH who on arrival needed perhaps to be briefed by everyone who took charge of one thing or the other during his absence including his immediate family, council members, associates, aides, and palace guards. This was in addition to the preparation for the Nko that was scheduled for the next day. In spite of the obvious fatigue in him, HRH gave me audience.
On the day of the Nko, Etsu Kudu gave me time to speak to the audience. At this occasion, I saw strange scenario that sharply contrasted with what is characteristic of the Etsus in Nupeland. It was, I thought, an abuse of Etsu Kudu’s very un-assuming personality. When the chairman of Agaie local government (who is still serving) came in to the hall, he sat on the same cushion chair with HRH even though there were other vacant seats beside Etsu Kudu’s. Even in Hausaland where emirs are not as revered as in Nupeland, the chairman would have been considered supercilious. I drew the attention of two of HRH’s close associates that even if Etsu Kudu did not take offence by that action, they owe him a duty to counsel the chairman to give him due respect.
Etsu Kudu sometimes drove himself in his car around Agaie town. He would stop on the road even while in convoy of his pilot car to greet anybody whom he felt deserved to be respected. His respect for elders, colleagues, friends, family members and others who were as young as his own children, was exceptionally charming. Etsu Kudu was an emir that would honour all invitations to gatherings except circumstances proved extremely difficult for him to do so.
Etsu Kudu’s estimable generousity was singular. Like his father and grandfather who were both emirs, Etsu Kudu was ready to part with all he had for the sake of others. When he became the 12th Etsu Agaie, people queued every morning at his palace in large numbers to collect their three-square meals (in cash or in raw food). He also settled others who complained of their children’s school fees; naming ceremony ram; bride price; etc. Until his death, his palace for a whole week preceding each Sallah festival was the home of help-seekers who came to ask for Sallah cloth; Sallah food, or Sallah ram even though he was by no means the richest man in the community.
May Allah (SWT) grant Etsu Kudu eternal forgiveness and mercy; and give Agaie people the fortitude to overcome the sorrowful pains of his departure, amin.