Sokoto Caliphate’s new Mallam Ubandoma Steps Forward

There was a blaze of royal glory at the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto on December 16, 2017 when a respected banker and renown philanthropist, Alhaji Saidu Umar, was conferred with a traditional title of Malam Ubandoma of Sokoto Caliphate. The turbaning ceremony elicited a lot of excitement among the avalanche of friends, well […]

There was a blaze of royal glory at the palace of the Sultan of Sokoto on December 16, 2017 when a respected banker and renown philanthropist, Alhaji Saidu Umar, was conferred with a traditional title of Malam Ubandoma of Sokoto Caliphate.

The turbaning ceremony elicited a lot of excitement among the avalanche of friends, well wishers and admirers who had gathered at the revered palace to share the moment of joy with the recipient and his family.

The title of Malam Ubandoma is a position of responsibility conferred by the Sultan on a chosen person who has shown commitment to the advancement of knowledge, philanthropy, religious ideals and socio-economic advancement of the society.

In Umar, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar zeroed down on a person who has distinguished himself by his commitment to education, believing that it is the catalyst for human capacity development. His social standing within and outside Sokoto was accentuated by a reputation of being a just, fearless and highly principled gentleman.

Among the key duties of anyone holding the title is to serve as adviser to the Sultan on variety of issues, mostly education and Islamic jurisprudence. Of particular importance include issues like how to celebrate eids, sharing of proceeds of Zakkat and other charitable ventures, matters of trade and commerce.

The new Malam Ubandoma, is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also holds an MBA from Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto. He started his working career as a Lecturer at the College of Agriculture, Zuru, Kebbi State and had worked at the Sokoto State Investment Company where he rose to the position of Senior Manager. Having worked in various capacities in the public and private sectors, and especially in various banks in the country, his expertise in financial matters was tapped by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal when he appointed him as Commissioner of Finance in 2015.

His records in handling financial dealings of the Sokoto State Government have drawn praises from far and near. He led efforts to introduce the Treasury Single Accounting (TSA) system and recovered some N1.5 billion left dormant in different bank accounts by previous administrations in the state. Few months ago, he was conferred with the Fellowship of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).

The title of Malam Ubandoma has long and glorious history in Sokoto Caliphate. It was first conferred on Ubandoma Abubakar by Sultan Abdulrahman who ruled from 1891 to 1902. The second Ubandoma, Malam Ahmadu, was appointed in 1938. It is instructive to note that Malam Ahmadu is the grandfather of the present Ubandoma.  The third recipient of the prestigious title, Ubandoma Malam Abdullahi, was appointed in 1951 while the fourth was appointed in 1986. He passed away late last year.

Ubandoma Saidu has distinguished himself by consistently working to better situations and people around him. With this new title, he has added another feather to his nest of long achievements he attained in life. In Sokoto, he is viewed as a person large dose of commitment, financial discipline, prudence, frugality and respect for due process.

Before activities climaxed on the day of the conferment, praise singers, armed with their talking drums, took to the stage, singing praises of both Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad and the financial guru, with references to their philanthropy, lineage and community services that have elevated many poor masses and the downtrodden in the society.

Sultan tasked the new title holder to consider the new title as a catalyst for continued hard work in contributing to the socio-political and economic development of Sokoto State and the nation as a whole.

Many present poured tributes on him in acknowledgement of his assiduous contributions to the financial sector in Nigeria as well as his selfless battle to guarantee fairness, equity and justice for the common man of the society.

The general consensus of opinion among people in Sokoto is that Sultan Sa’ad has made the right call by conferring this title on the recipient. The feeling is the Umar’s hard work, religiousness and generosity are assets which every organization can benefit from. Because he finds it easy to interact with all class of people, he is already a valuable asset to the Sultanate Council and what it represents of leadership, service and commitment to the ideals of moderation, justice and fairness.

Alfulata wrote from Minannata Area, Sokoto