Ado Bayero’s 50 years as Emir of Kano
But all this almost never happened. In January this year, the Emir’s motorcade was the target of an attack by gunmen as it made its way to the palace after the he and his entourage attended a graduation ceremony at an Islamic school. He was not hurt but the Emir’s bodyguards, who shielded the monarch’s […]
But all this almost never happened. In January this year, the Emir’s motorcade was the target of an attack by gunmen as it made its way to the palace after the he and his entourage attended a graduation ceremony at an Islamic school. He was not hurt but the Emir’s bodyguards, who shielded the monarch’s car, were killed.
Kano, steeped in history with records of kingship authority since 999AD, was one of the original seven Hausa states and one of the original 14 emirates to which Shehu Usman Dan Fodio had sent flags of authority at the inception of the 19th Century Jihad. For centuries before that, Kano had been one of the main southern termini of the Trans-Saharan Trade; the other being Gao in today’s Mali.
Since his enthronement in 1963 – the year Nigeria became a Republic – Ado Bayero has clocked many milestones as Kano metamorphosed over the years. One of the earliest crises the Emir was to contend with was the country’s first military coup in 1966, when he was barely three years on the throne. On that tragic occasion, the leading lights of the North – the Premier, the Prime Minister, top generals – were killed. It was quite a task to manage the ensuing strife that followed, culminating in the civil war.
Despite the civil war and its aftermath, Kano has witnessed decades of economic boom through agricultural production, principally groundnuts, the pyramids of which came to symbolise and define Kano as an economic powerhouse. By the time Ado Bayero was ten years on the throne in 1973, this economic boom was giving to a bust; the drought that led to the massive Sahel famine which peaked in 1974.
Ado Bayero had his moments of contrition, as he said himself in recent interviews. One such moment was in 1976, when the dynamic Kano-born military officer, Murtala Muhammed, who had become Head of State only six months earlier, was assassinated. It fell on the Emir to lead the funeral. The other moment came in 1998 when another Kano son, Sani Abacha, who became head of state in 1993, also died tragically in office. The Emir again had to lead a head of state’s funeral.
With the advent of democracy in 1979, the Emir became embroiled in a battle of wits with then Governor Muhammad Abubakar Rimi. It was seen as a leftover from the old ‘peasant-aristocrat’ duel of the Aminu Kano-led socialist-inclined Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and, before it, Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU). The Emir was suspended from being Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers for some time. When Rimi died in 2010, it fell on the Emir again to lead the former’s funeral.
In 1984 also, the then military administration of General Muhammadu Buhari had cause to sanction the Emir and his bosom friend, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, because the duo broke protocol by visiting Israel, then a pariah state in Africa, without requisite clearance.
Ado Bayero has however otherwise a relatively peaceful reign in the last half century, and Kano has fared well under his royal watch. Many of those close to the Emir mention his good nature, his kindness and his humanness as reasons for his success at steering the ancient city of Kano and its affiliated institutions so well, so far. He has demonstrated strength of character and spirit to continue to lead for many more years to come.