Khalid Imam
‘The royal, praise-singing drums hum
Here comes the grandson of Cigari
Son of Bayero, the Emir of Emirs
A king who enjoys reverence
Among all the lions in our arid regions
And beyond its hydric zones
Ask the deer if a vast forest has any gate?
Unlike the naked corn, the maize is enriched
With many beautiful wrappers
Lafiya, Sakaka Babban Bako,
Lafiya, Sukuku Bakaka
A palm cannot cover the sun…
A repository of the monarchy mounts the throne,
The exalted throne of Kano is yours, Dan Abdu, the lion of Kano
Indeed! Dan Abdu kaiyasarki…’
(Culled from Khalid Imam’sThe Song of San Kano, 2010)
Legendary for his unmatched royalty and rare power; popular for his uncommon simplicity, dignity and true love for all his people; revered by many for his matchless self-decorum, generosity and unique friendship; loved through the flames of times by his teeming, avid fans and loyal subjects, the late Dr. Alhaji Ado Abdullahi Bayero, LLD, JP, who was the 13th Fulani Emir of Kano was but a bridge-builder and a kingwho was exceptionally tolerant and peace loving.
That he enjoyed great respect at home and abroad not only for his long reign but his incomparable royalty, self-esteem, decency and selflessnesswere beyond doubt. For five successful decades, he was the brightest star among all Nigeria’s traditional monarchs,one who was to his foes and friends not only a powerful king, but a royal personage who symbolized peace and unity through his exemplary conducts.
Late Emir Bayero was a true son of Kano whose magnetic bond with his loyal subjects and Kano was inseparable till his last day on earth. This fact was evident considering the sea of mournful crowd that attended his funeral on those sad evening hours of Friday, June 6, 2014.No doubt, it was Emir’s fondest wish to die in Kano— a historic place of his noble birth and a city he adroitly led for five uninterrupted decades— and the mercifulGod has granted him his much-loved desire despite all his numerous medical foreign trips.
What really made the late emir very famous and popular among the good people of Kano was his excellent humility and simplicity.Talking about his humility and simplicity, I still recall how in 2010 I had personallytasted the milk of his humility and scented simplicity, when he graciously hosted me and Ado Ahmed Gidan Dabino, my publisher inside Soron Ingila— an exquisite palace strictly reserved for the Emir’s most eminent dignitaries. As a writer of The Song of San Kano — the first ever panegyric poem written in English, which hagiographies the eminence of the late Ado Bayero and the preeminence of Kano and its traditional institution, His Royal Highness, Dr. Ado Bayero invited me to his palace to personally register his appreciationfor celebrating his person and the institution he held very dear to his heart poetically.
Born as a cub in 1930, the majestic San Kano lived as a lion— a lion feared by the unjust and respected by those who upheld the truth. The late Emir of Kano, Dr. Ado Bayero was known to be a very brave man. And his braveness was put to real taste several times,and gladly in all those trying days he usually came out unharmed and without blemish. And recently, not even the deadly attack at his life by suspected Boko Haram assassins caged him within his palace, as a firm believer in God, he continued with his normal life unperturbed.
Above all his sterling qualities, Ado Bayero was a true flag of Islamic unity as all shades of Muslim groups made his palace their pot of call and home.
As a deeply religious person he was very tolerant to others’ religious views.And for many times, he demonstrated through his actions and speeches that the fear of Allah, the almighty has been and will always be the best of shields from all evils and human machinations.And that firm belief in Allah as sufficient for him, undoubtedly, was the shield that saw him through the forest of what life is!
Again, if one is looking for a leader that always reminds his people that above ever possessor of human power is God, the Most High, that leader was Ado Bayero of blessed memory. Now that the Emir’s Emir is gone, hope the late Ado Bayero is not buried with the sarauta (monarchy) as one of the elderly men at his burial whispered to our ears aloud. Allah yajikan San Kano, Ado! Amin summa amin!
Khalid Imam, is a Kano based poet, teacher and writer of The Song of San Kano
