Ado Bayero

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Ado Bayero
Sarkin Kano
Late Emir of Kano at early age.
Emir of Kano
Reign22 October 1963 – 6 June 2014
Coronation27 February 1964
PredecessorMuhammad Inuwa
SuccessorMuhammadu Sanusi II
Heir presumptiveSanusi Ado Bayero
Born(1930-07-25)25 July 1930
Died6 June 2014(2014-06-06) (aged 83)
Kano, Kano State, Nigeria
Issue
Names
Ado Abdullahi Bayero
DynastyDabo
FatherAbdullahi Bayero
MotherHajiya Hasiyatu (Mai Babban Daki)
ReligionIslam
Nigeria's Ambassador to Senegal
In office
1962 – October 1963
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Preceded bypostion established
Succeeded bySani Kontagora

Ado Bayeropronunciationⓘ CFR, LLD, JP (25 July 1930 – 6 June 2014) was the Emir of Kano from 1963 to 2014.[1]

Early life[edit]

Lineage[edit]

Ado Bayero was born on 25 July 1930 into the royal family of the Fulani Sullubawa clan that has ruled over the Emirate of Kano since 1819. His father was Abdullahi Bayero and his mother was Hajiya Hasiya.[2] He was the eleventh child of his father and the second of his mother. At the age of seven, he was sent to live with Maikano Zagi.[2] His father reigned for 27 years. Muhammadu Sanusi I who was Ado Bayero's half brother ruled after their father from 1953 to 1963. Following his dethronement in 1963, Muhammadu Inuwa ascended the throne for three months.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Bayero started his education in Kano studying Islam, after which he attended Kano Middle School (Rumfa College, Kano). He spent around three years at the Kano School for Arabic Studies but did not complete the course. He then worked as a bank clerk for the Bank of British West Africa until 1949, when he joined the Kano Native Authority. He attended Zaria Clerical College in 1952.[2]

In 1956, he contested and won the regional election in Kano city as a member of the Northern People's Congress (NPC). However, he only spent about a year as a member of the Northern House of Assembly as he was pressured to resign his position, partly due to his 'modern views'.[4]: 233 

Shortly after his resignation, he was appointed chief of the Kano Native Authority Police.[4]: 233  During which he tried to minimize the practice of briefly detaining individuals and political opponents on the orders of powerful individuals in Kano.[2] In late 1962, he was appointed Nigeria's Ambassador to Senegal, a position he held until his appointment as emir.[4]: 233 

Reign[edit]

Accession[edit]

After the death of Emir Muhammadu Inuwa who ruled for three months only, Ado Bayero was crowned the Emir of Kano on October 22, 1963, becoming the 13th Fulani Emir of Kano and the 56th ruler of Kano.[5]

1960s[edit]

Bayero became emir during the first republic, at a time when Nigeria was going through rapid social and political changes and regional, sub-regional and ethnic discord was increasing. In his first few years, two pro-Kano political movements gained support among some Kano elites. The Kano People's Party emerged during the reign of Muhammadu Inuwa and supported the deposed Emir Sanusi, but it soon evaporated. The Kano State Movement emerged towards the end of 1965 and favored more economic autonomy for the province.[6] [further explanation needed]

A portrait of Ado Bayero published in an issue of Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo in October 1956

The death in 1966 of many political agitators from northern Nigeria, and the subsequent establishment of a unitary state, consolidated a united front in the northern region but also resulted in a spate of violence there, including in Kano. Bayero's admirers credit him with bringing calm and stability during this and later crises in Kano.[7]

1970s[edit]

The constitutional powers of the emir were whittled down by the military regimes between 1966 and 1979. The Native Authority Police and Prisons Department was abolished, the emir's judicial council was superseded by another body, and local government reforms in 1968, 1972, and 1976 reduced the powers of the emir.[8]

1980s[edit]

Inside the Emir's reception room

During the second republic, he witnessed hostilities from the People's Redemption Party led government of Abubakar Rimi.[7] Bayero's Palace plays host to official visits by many government personnel and foreigners, but in 1981 Governor Abubakar Rimi restricted traditional homage paid by village heads to Ado Bayero and excised some domains from his emirate.[9]

In 1984, a travel ban was placed on the emir and his friend Okunade Sijuwade.[10] Although the military are sometimes seen as relying on traditional rulers for support, many military regimes in the past reduced the powers of traditional rulers such as Bayero.[11]

Later years[edit]

As emir, he became a patron of Islamic scholarship and embraced Western education as a means to succeed in a modern Nigeria. He was a vocal critic of the terrorist group Boko Haram and strongly opposed their campaign against western education. On 19 January 2013, he survived an assassination attempt blamed on the Islamist group which left two of his sons injured and his driver and bodyguard dead, among others.[12] A prime suspect confessed to have participated in the attack on the Emir's motorcade and so many other co-ordinated attacks in the state which led to the arrest of six others.[13]

Death and succession[edit]

On 6 June 2014, after fifty-one years on the throne, Ado Bayero died in his palace Gidan Rumfa.[1] A bitter succession struggle over who'd succeed him emerged within the royal family between the Bayero and Sanusi houses.[14] His eldest son and heir, Sanusi Ado Bayero was considered the natural successor and initial reports announced him as Emir.[15] On 8 June 2014, his grand nephew Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was crowned Emir of Kano.[16] His son, Sanusi Ado in protest decided to leave Kano and in 2015, he was stripped of all his titles, after refusing to pay allegiance to Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.[17]

Legacy[edit]

Bayero was the longest-serving emir in Kano's history. He was seen as one of Nigeria's most prominent and revered Muslim leaders[18] who was a successful businessman and had worked as a banker, police officer, MP and diplomat. Ado Bayero was the 13th Fulani Emir since the Fulani War of Usman dan Fodio, when the Fulani took over the Hausa city-states. He was one of the strongest and most powerful emirs in the history of the Hausa land. He was renowned for his abundant wealth, maintained by means of stock market investments and large-scale agricultural entrepreneurship both at home and abroad.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Nigeria's second highest Islamic traditional monarch dies". Reuters. June 6, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Ibrahim, Omar Farouk (2001). Prince of times : Ado Bayero and the transformation of emiral authority in Kano. Trenton: Africa World Press. pp. 78–84, 107. ISBN 0-86543-951-6. OCLC 47075233.
  3. ^ "Sarki Muhammadu Inuwa" (PDF). Kano Emirate.
  4. ^ a b c Paden, John N. (1973). Religion and political culture in Kano. Internet Archive. Berkeley, University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-01738-2.
  5. ^ "Shekaru 50 na Sarkin Kano kan gadon mulki | DW | 14.06.2013". DW.COM (in Hausa). Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. ^ Ibrahim 2001, pp. 115–123.
  7. ^ a b "Ado Bayero". Nigerianwiki. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  8. ^ Ibrahim 2001, pp. 166–168.
  9. ^ Times, Premium (May 17, 2019). "Recalling Former Governor Rimi's Attempt To Diminish the Emir of Kano, By Jibrin Ibrahim - Premium Times Opinion". Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Ibrahim 2001, pp. 221–224.
  11. ^ Reed, Cyrus. "THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL RULERS IN ELECTIVE POLITICS IN NIGERIA".
  12. ^ Nigeria: Gunmen Attack Emir of Kano's Convoy - Wound Sons, Kill At Least 3. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  13. ^ "Africa News". News24. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  14. ^ "Succession war: Ex-CBN governor, uncle in tight race for the Emir of Kano". Vanguard News. June 7, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "First Son Of Late Ado Bayero, Ciroman Kano, Emerges New Emir". Nigerian Voice. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "SLS named new emir of Kano". TheCable. June 8, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ "Emir Sanusi sacks Bayero, rival for throne -". The NEWS. October 28, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  18. ^ BBC News - Nigeria's Emir of Kano Ado Bayero buried after palace funeral
  19. ^ "Emirs of Nigeria". ONLINENIGERIA.COM. June 5, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  • BBC, Nigeria: The Rioting in Kano, The British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, July 13, 1981.
  • "Alhaji (dr.) Ado Bayero: 40 Years of Service to Humanity", Daily Trust, October 13, 2003.
  • http://saharareporters.com/news-page/emir-kano-dead
Ado Bayero
Born: 25 July 1930 Died: 6 June 2014
Regnal titles
Preceded by Emir of Kano
1963–2014 		Succeeded by
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