Tribalisation of Emirship: Story Of Ilorin Princess Turned Kano Queen

By Yushau A. Shuaib

Recently, there were rumours that some individuals and groups had been hired to tarnish the reputation of the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, and his family, especially his wife, Nana Maryam, from Ilorin, Kwara State, who shared his life for 54 years before his demise, as well as their two sons, who were appointed Emirs by the past government. It was, therefore, shocking when Hashim Dungurawa, the Chairman of the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party in Kano State, made a baseless claim that President Bola Tinubu was eager to reinstate a son of the late emir because of Yoruba ethnic connection.

Described as an apostle of the Kwankwasiya movement led by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Dungurawa, said:

“If the president thinks he will use a few of his kinsmen in Kano and the alleged Bayero’s Yoruba lineage to continue to keep the deposed Emir Aminu Ado Bayero in the State, let him wait for 2027, we will show him that those people will not help him.”

As someone born and raised in Kano, I could never have imagined that politics in the state would descend so low as to fabricate falsehoods laced with hate speech against the family of one of the most respected and longest-serving traditional rulers in Nigeria.

Ethnocentric rhetoric and irresponsible statements driven by arrogance, ignorance, intolerance, and fanaticism can incite mob actions and lead to civil unrest. We’ve seen how irresponsible behaviour and poor leadership have contributed to the rise of terrorism and banditry in some Northern states. It is instructive that Kano Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo recently showed maturity by apologising to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, for making a similar unsubstantiated allegation.

Meanwhile, Emir Ado Bayero was a bridge builder and asset in promoting peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding, and conflict resolution during his reign. Not only was Kano receptive to all tribes and cultures, the Emirate was also so accommodating that many top public figures and leaders known as Kano indigenes were actually from other states, like the spirit peace-loving Yoruba people of Lagos who accepted and empowered strangers, especially under Governor Tinubu’s administration.

Kano was not only receptive to all tribes and cultures, but the Emirate was also remarkably accommodating, as evident in the fact that many top public figures and leaders, though known as Kano indigenes, hailed from other states. This spirit of peace and love for strangers was exemplified by the Yoruba people of Lagos, who accepted and empowered others, particularly during Governor Tinubu’s administration.

It would be recalled that a few years after his death and immediately after the dethronement of his successor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, his two sons from Nana Maryam, Aminu and Nasiru, were appointed Emirs of Kano and Bichi by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje. However, the new Kano governor, Abba Yusuf, announced the dethronement of the two emirs and others this year while reinstating Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir.

Though people in Ilorin primarily speak Yoruba, their traditional and religious leadership comprises Fulani, Gambari, Kanuri, Nupe, and other ethnic groups. At the start of the 19th century, Kakanfo Afonja, a Yoruba warlord, fled the Oyo Kingdom and emigrated to Ilorin to avoid a suicidal war with the Alafin (the king) . Around the same time, a Fulani Islamic scholar named Salih Janta, popularly called Shehu Alimi due to his Islamic knowledge, also arrived in Ilorin.

Shehu Alimi and Afonja later allied to repel the punitive forces of Oyo when the Alafin planned to suppress the former’s rebellion and eliminate the latter for converting Yoruba to Islam. With support from Shehu Usman Danfodiyo of Sokoto, Ilorin’s forces launched a preemptive strike by attacking and burning down Oyo-Ile, the capital of the old Oyo Empire.

Meanwhile, after a communal conflict, Afonja was also assassinated. When Shehu Alimi died in 1820, his eldest son, AbdulSalami, whose mother was a Gwandu princess in the present Kebbi, became the emir of Ilorin and pledged allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate around 1829.

Throughout the 19th century, Ilorin was a significant trade hub between the Hausa-Fulani in the North and the Yoruba in the South. It was later incorporated into the Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1900.

Therefore, Nana Maryam belonged to the fifth generation of Ilorin descendants of Shehu Alimi, a pioneer flag bearer of Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio. Her ancestral line is traced to the first son, Emir AbdulSalami.

In a simple illustration, Maryam was the daughter of the eighth Fulani Emir of Ilorin, Shehu AbdulKadir (1919-1959), granddaughter of the seventh Emir, Shehu Shuaib Bawan-Allah who reigned 1915-1919, great-granddaughter of the third Emir, Zubair (reigned c.1860-1868), and a great-great-granddaughter of AbdulSalami, the first Emir of Ilorin (c.1823-c.1836) and first son of Shehu Alimi (c.1740-c.1823).

As the daughter of Emir AbdulKadir, Maryam’s siblings included Mallam Aliyu Baba Agba, the 10th Emir of Ilorin (reigned 1992-1995); Hajia Aishat Bolanta ZulKarnaini Gambari, wife of the 9th Emir (HRH Alhaji Muhammed ZulKarnaini Gambari, who reigned 1959-1992) and mother of the 11th Emir (HRH, Alhaji (Dr.) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, 1995).

Princess Maryam was a young girl when she was sent to a boarding school in Kano and entrusted into the care of Queen Hasiya, the wife of Emir Abdullahi Bayero. Maryam shared the school with the Emir’s daughters, Princesses Rakiya and Hadiza Abdullahi Bayero.

A young Prince, Ado, became interested in Princess Maryam through her relationship with his sisters. He started paying regular visits to the school, and their closeness grew as their meetings became more frequent but restrained.

Surprisingly, the then Emirs of Ilorin and that of Kano did not unite the young lovebirds in marriage. In conformity with the cultural tradition, Maryam and other eligible maidens and princes were married off during a mass wedding the Emir of Ilorin arranged in his palace. She got married to her relation, Malam Muhammad Bello and bore a son, Saad, a year later.

Similarly, Emir Abdullahi Bayero married off Ado, alongside seven other princes, including Aminu Na Dawaki, Dan Iya Ado, Wambai Tijjani, Barde Cigari, Wambai Abubakar, Dan Darman Tijjani, and Da Ummaru Me Zaure Dan Amar. Ado’s first wife was Nana Aishatu, his first cousin and daughter of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Inuwa. Nana Aishatu was the mother of his first son, Lamido Sanusi (not the former CBN Governor), and his first daughter, Fatima (Magajiya).

A few years later, after the collapse of her marriage, while furthering her studies in Kano, Maryam reconnected with Prince Ado Bayero, the Chief Clerk of the Kano Town Council.

Considering their rekindled relationship after the death of their parents, the then-new Emirs of Ilorin and Kano, Zulkarnaini Gambari and Muhammadu Sanusi, endorsed the marriage of Maryam and Ado. Gambari was Maryam’s in-law and first cousin, while Sanusi was Ado’s senior brother. The Nikkah, the Islamic wedding, was held in the Ilorin Palace with a delegation from the Emir of Kano comprising Galadima Hamidu Bayero, Malam Ibrahim Kado, and Malam Buhari Gwadabe, Sarkin Fulanin Ja’idnawa.

In 1961, Maryam gave birth to their son, Aminu, while Ado was serving as a no-nonsense and incorruptible Police Chief of the Kano Native Authority. Ado’s rising profile and reputation led to his appointment as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Senegal in 1962. He took Maryam and their young son Aminu to Dakar, where they settled into a new life.

However, political tensions were brewing in Kano, leading to Ado’s elder brother, Emir Sanusi, dethronement in 1963. In his place, Ado’s uncle, Muhammadu Inuwa, was appointed as the new Emir. Tragically, Emir Inuwa’s reign was short-lived, as he died just six months later due to illness.

Following Emir Inuwa’s passing, the kingmakers and the Northern establishment turned to Ambassador Ado, still serving in Senegal, to succeed his late uncle. Despite his diplomatic posting, he was recalled and was officially coronated by the Governor of Northern Nigeria, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, in February 1964. It was the same month his wife Maryam delivered Prince Nasir.

Throughout her life, Nana Maryam held the esteemed position of a charming princess, a humble daughter of a King. Her royal stature was solidified by becoming a queen, the beloved wife of a king. Additionally, she was a sister to a king, a compassionate sister-in-law to another king, and a caring mother to the two kings and other children, making her a matriarch of unparalleled influence. Ultimately, her remarkable life of humility, kindness, sincerity and enviable legacy culminated in her well-deserved title of Queen Mother, a testament to her extraordinary status and enduring impact on the Emirates of Ilorin and Kano.

In addition to the famous historical accounts of the two Emirates, I am drawn to the following books: Omar Farouk Ibrahim’s “Prince of the Times: Ado Bayero”, Abubakar Sidiq Imam’s “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”, and Hajo Sani’s “Maryam Ado Bayero: A Woman of Royal Virtues”, which offer fresh perspectives on the subject.

For those who lack knowledge of history and cannot trace their heritage but are envious of others’ historical legacies, history books have a name for them.

. Yushau Agaka Shuaib is currently the Custodian of one of the oldest copies of the Quran, which was brought to the Ilorin Emirate by his progenitors from Kanem-Borno and can be reached via www.YAShuaib.com and yashuaib@yashuaib.com.