Chronicles of the Longest-Serving Emir in Kano’s history

 

Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano from 1963 to 2014. He is also the father of Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero. Ado Bayero was born on July 25, 1930 into the royal family of theFulani-Sullubawaclan,which has ruled the Kano Emirate since 1819. His father was Abdullahi Bayero and his mother was Hajiya Hasiya.He was hisfather’s eleventh child and his mother’s second. At the age of seven he was sent to Maikano Zaga. His father ruled for 27 years. Muhammadu Sanusi I,half-brotherof Ado Bayero, ruled after his father from 1953 to 1963. After his dethronement in 1963, Muhammadu Inuwa held the throne for three months.

He began his education in Kano studying Islam and then attended Kano Junior High School (Rumfa College, Kano).He then became Nigeria’s ambassador to Senegal and took French lessons during this time.

Ado Bayero; 13. Fulani, the most prominent traditional leader of Kano Emirate for 51 years. Over the course of his reign, Bayero has developed into an institution whose advice and patronage are handled with the greatest care. It is said that no governor of Kano State can succeed without his support and in what should have been an exception, the state’s first elected governor, Abubakar Rimi, unsuccessfully dragged the Emir into conflict politics. Rimi apologized after her actions sparked backlash.

Beyond the state level, Ado Bayero, a retired diplomat, has been a close ally of all Nigerian heads of state since 1963, when he became emir. His wealth, which extends beyond Nigeria’s borders, has led him to invest in several large companies and engage in large-scale agriculture. Ado Bayero was a former ambassador to Senegal.

On June 6, 2014, after fifty-one years on the throne, Gidan Rumfa, Ado Bayero, dies in his palace.Within the royal family, a heated succession dispute arose between the houses of Bayero and Sanusi over the question of who would succeed him. His eldest son and heir, Sanusi Ado Bayero, was considered the natural successor and was portrayed as emir in initial reports. On June 8, 2014, his nephew Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was crowned Emir of Kano. His son Sanusi Ado decided to leave Kano in protest and was stripped of all his titles in 2015 after he refused to pay homage to Sanusi’s Emir Lamido Sanusi.