Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III (1938 – 2015)
The death on October 30, 2015 of the Emir of Borgu in Niger State, Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III, was a great loss not only to the people of Borgu Emirate and Niger State but to all lovers of peace and prosperity in Nigeria. He died at a German hospital at the age of 77 […]
The death on October 30, 2015 of the Emir of Borgu in Niger State, Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III, was a great loss not only to the people of Borgu Emirate and Niger State but to all lovers of peace and prosperity in Nigeria. He died at a German hospital at the age of 77 after a brief illness.
Born in 1938, the late Emir was the 3rd and last child of his parents. He attended Elementary School old Bussa in 1945 – 1949; Pakata Elementary School, Ilorin in 1950 and Baboko Senior Primary School Ilorin, 1950-1953. As a primary school kid in Ilorin, Dantoro walked 9 miles to and from school everyday for four years, a precursor to a life of dedication to education and service to community. He was at the Ilorin Middle School in 1953-1955, after which Dantoro completed his secondary education and then studied three different programs at the Nigeria College of Arts and Science and its successor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1957-1958, 1959-1961 and 1969-1970. Later in his life he also attended many professional and policy related courses within and outside the country.
Alhaji Haliru Dantoro was a noble man, an astute administrator, a deft politician and an exemplary statesman who had a rewarding career in the public service and in politics. He was a commissioner in the old Kwara State in the 1970s and he served briefly as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under President Shehu Shagari in 1983. His tenure was cut short by the December 1983 coup which toppled the Second Republic.
Dantoro was elected as a senator of the Federal Republic in 1992 representing Niger State’s Zone C, i.e. Borgu and Kontagora emirates, under the platform of the National Republican Convention (NRC). It was during the short-lived Third Republic that Alhaji Haliru Dantoro met with and became a close friend of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu who was a senator on the platform of a rival political party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Their close friendship up until Dantoro’s death was an exemplary case of bridge building efforts in Nigeria. The late emir also served as deputy national chairman of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) in the 1990s and he was chairman of the board of the Kwara State-owned Nigerian Herald at the time it was one of the most popular newspapers in the country.
Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, Kitoro III ascended to throne as the fourth Emir of Borgu on November 26, 2005 after a long legal battle that dragged up to the Supreme Court. After the death on February 3, 2000 of the Emir of Borgu Alhaji Musa Mohammed Kigera III, Borgu emirate’s kingmakers chose Dantoro as his successor but then Governor of Niger state Engineer Abdulkadir Kure rejected the choice. The state government instead appointed Isiaku Musa Jikantoro as Emir of Borgu.
As a man who believed in pursuing his cause through peaceful and lawful means, Alhaji Haliru discouraged his mass of supporters from taking to the streets while the dispute lasted. Instead, he went to court to challenge his rejection. After three years of legal tussle, a panel of five justices of the Supreme Court sat over the case and on May 5, 2003 they struck out government’s application with cost against it, bringing Dantoro’s travails to a peaceful and worthy end.
The late emir was a passionate peace lover, bridge builder and detribalized leader. Besides honouring Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu with the traditional title of the Jagaba of Borgu, the late emir was known to have reconciled active politicians among his former associates each time they had differences. He was indeed a man of character and progressive political orientation once described as a pan-Nigerian.
Alhaji Haliru would be greatly missed for his uprightness, honesty and steadfastness. He would be remembered as a person who strongly believed in fighting for his cause through lawful and peaceful means. He would be missed more by his immediate community where his contributions include the development of an annual Borgu International Durbar Festival in celebration of the old kingdom’s history and glory in to a famous tourist attraction in the country. May Allah grant him eternal rest in Aljannat and may He comfort his family for this irreparable loss.