‘It was an honour to dig late Ado Bayero’s grave’

Ado Bayero died on June 6 at the age of 83, after spending 51 years on the throne.“It is both an honour and a privilege to be the person who spearheaded the digging of the grave of the late Ado Bayero, an honour I will forever cherish,” Malam Habibu Mohammed Haris said proudly.The 67-year-old Haris […]

Ado Bayero died on June 6 at the age of 83, after spending 51 years on the throne.
“It is both an honour and a privilege to be the person who spearheaded the digging of the grave of the late Ado Bayero, an honour I will forever cherish,” Malam Habibu Mohammed Haris said proudly.
The 67-year-old Haris led a team of 12 men to dig the grave of the late monarch at Gidan Nasarawa, the Kano Emirate royal grave yard, where the remains of Ado Bayero’s four predecessors are interred.
At the Gidan Nasarawa royal grave yard, Haris said digging the grave of the late emir was the most outstanding moment of his life, adding that history will record him as the man who did it.
He started by outlining his duty as Sarkin Gida of the Nasarawa House, popularly called Gidan Matan Fada, located along State Road in Nasarawa GRA.
 “As Sarkin Gida, that is the custodian of the house, my job is to ensure the upkeep and maintenance of this house always and especially when the emir is visiting or has a guest who is staying in the house,” Haris said.
The grave digger, who said he inherited the job after the demise of his  father 40 years ago, added that he acts more as a steward to the late emir whenever he visited the house, which he used to do from time to time to pray for the souls of his great-grandfathers, who are also buried in the house.
“There are four emirs who were buried here; Ado Bayero is the fifth Kano emir to be interred here. So, whenever he visited. I served as his steward throughout his stay,” the now famous grave digger said.
“Being someone who is close to the emir whenever he visits the house, the responsibility of digging his grave fell on my shoulders the moment his death was announced. As such, I mobilised about 11 men who helped me to dig the grave at the yard inside the place where his grandfathers were buried,” he added with enthusiasm.
 “In the past, there was a person who was specifically employed to be  digging the graves, but since his death there is nobody appointed for that purpose, as such when he died, in my capacity as Sarkin Gida, I was asked to go ahead and dig the grave,” he explained.
Haris, who has two wives and 24 children, is a staff on the payroll of the Kano State Emirate Council, from where he pays his children’s school fees and other needs.
“As it is with most of the traditional title holders, I inherited this work from my father about 40 years ago, who also did same from his father. I have been doing this work since when Commissioner of Police Audu Bako was the governor of the state”.
“I have two wives and 24 children, who by the grace of God, I’m able to shoulder their responsibilities and I sponsor their education with the salary I receive at the end of the month from the Emirate Council,” he said.
 Gidan Nasarawa was built during the reign of Emir Abbas, followed by Abdullahi Bayero, Muhammadu Inuwa, and Muhammad Sanusi, grandfather of the new Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
On his future now that the emir has died, Haris said: “I will continue to act in that capacity as the Sarkin Gida because the position is hereditary and it requires trust. So hopefully, I will continue to serve in that capacity unless I decide to quit, but as far as the tradition is concerned, I will continue to serve in that capacity.”