Governor Nasir el-Rufai has commended the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, for his bridge-building efforts in the aftermath of his appointment, saying that unity is the key to progress.
El-Rufai encouraged the new Emir to continue in that effort, ‘’bearing in mind that it is the right of every prince to want to be the emir but God only chooses one out of the many. God has chosen you, through us, the government of Kaduna state, and my appeal is to continue to bring everyone together, everyone close.
“Tap into the years of experience that the council members have accumulated in the administration of Zazzau emirate. Working together will make Zazzau emirate achieve great strides in development, peaceful coexistence and unity. I call on the Emir to be fair and just to everyone: those that supported him and those that did not because the competition is over and the hard work now begins.”
The governor was responding to remarks by Alhaji Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli who led members of the Zazzau Emirate Council on a courtesy visit to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House. Bamalli told el-Rufai that he is reaching out to each and every contender to the throne in order to move the emirate forward.
The Emir said, “Contests like this are common in every society. People will certainly have to vie for the throne whenever it is vacant, provided that they are from the royal family. And the pride of every prince is for one day to become the king. It is not an offence for any interested person to contest for emirship position. But after the contest, we will have to close ranks, come together and serve the people.”
Ambassador Bamalli thanked the governor for appointing him to succeed the late Emir, Alhaji Shehu Idris.
‘’The level of cooperation that I received from the kingmakers, other council members, district heads and the people of Zaria is unprecedented in the last one week.
“We are one family and we have been together for a long time. I don’t have any reason whatsoever, to alienate or sideline any of the ruling dynasties. My maternal grandparents come from the Bare-bari dynasty and the Katsinawa dynasty are my in-laws. So, I don’t have any reason whatsoever, to give priority or superiority to my own ruling house,’’ he added.
According to the Emir, ‘’I have served as Magajin Gari for 19 years and I think it is adequate enough to have some experience, to tag along with everybody. We have already discussed on the way forward, which Insha Allahu , in the next couple of days, we will be back to the state government to present our position, so that we can move forward. ‘’
The Emir praised his predecessor, Alhaji Shehu Idris, as having done a lot for the peace and progress of Zazzau emirate for 45 years.
‘’My desire is to build on the foundation laid by my forebears, including him. So that we can have a sustainable and good system of administration . The emphasis here is to redefine governance, introduce best practices without interfering with our heritage,’’ he promised.
The Royal Father assured the governor of his support and that of members of the council and other title holders and royal family members, adding that they ‘’ are ready to cooperate with the government and support the policies of this administration.’’
The Emir also thanked the government for the developmental projects taking place all over the state, especially in Zaria.
