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QUOTABLE QUOTE If it were possible to divide the position of emir into six and share them to all the contestants, I would have done that; but it was not possible…As governor I must take a decision; if not things would go bad.
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THURSDAY, june 12, 2014
SPORTS latest
Minister meets NFF over Eagles’ allowance, bonus row By Albert Akota
T
he Minister of Sports Dr. Tammy Danagogo has waded into the brewing crisis between the Super Eagles a nd t h e l e ad e r s h i p o f t h e Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the world football governing body’s $8 million allocation to the federation. The players had protested to the NFF’s president Alhaji Aminu Maigari in the United States (US) demanding their own share of the money and threatened that should the federation refuse to pay them the money they were not going to play in the opening match of the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil. But the NFF claimed that they have only received $1 million from FIFA out of the $8 million with which they have been organising friendlies and pre-world cup preparations. It was also gathered that in addition to the FIFA $1 million, the Federal Government has made available to the NFF N850 million out of the N1.4 billion total budget for the tournament. In a meeting held between Dr. Danagogo and Alhaji Maigari, at the Maksoud Plaza Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil, the minister charged the NNF boss to negotiate with the team to be able to reach an agreement so that the players’ morale would be boosted during the tournament. The minister was of the view that the welfare of the team should be paramount during the tournament adding that “if we do not treat them well and make them happy, they may just go into the tournament and perform badly and ensure that we pack our bags and return. “So they are the reasons why Nigeria is participating in the tournament and we should do everything within our powers to ensure that we do our best for the team”.
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– Kano state governor, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on the choice of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the new Emir of Kano
So Bayero is gone?
S
o Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano is gone? It is incredible. My generation grew up thinking emirs and kings were ‘immortal’. This was especially so with the revered late monarch. He exuded the aura of immortality. He had been emir forever. The idea of Bayero dying was so remote for kids my age as to invite the word ‘impossible’. The emir dying or dead? Inconceivable. Death was for ordinary mortals. And the late king was extra ordinary. It was similarly incredible that he could be assailed by illness of any brand. Our juvenile minds believed that he, indeed, was enduring. He represented to us, impressionable youths, the super human. In our infantile mentality, Bayero was eternal. He was above human foibles and frailties. It was, for instance, unthinkable for the monarch to betray any ‘humanness’ in public. To yawn or to even guffaw before ordinary mortals was a taboo, the late Bayero dutifully violated. In the course of my career as a reporter, I can’t recall a single incidence the emir was overwhelmed by consuming mirth in public. The closest was a charming smirk behind the ‘amawali’ As a kid growing up in the walled city of Kano attending Kwalli Primary School, a walking distance to the palace, we struggled every day to catch a glimpse of his royal majesty. His sartorial elegance was matchless. His presence was such that he dominated the environment. I recall stories fed to us of his grandeur. We were told and we believed that the Magajin Dabo was “invincible”. During festivals especially the two annual Eids, we struggled to have a visual contact. We grew up believing the tale that a visual contact with the
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THURSDAY Column Ali M. Ali
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Late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero emir would wash off our “sins” of the previous year. So like a moth to a naked light, so were we attracted to the departed emir during any of such festivities. Such was the awesome veneration my generation held the emir. His palace protocol was elaborate. But he was a simple man. He might not have betrayed ‘human’ foibles in public but he was humane. As an adult I recall two close encounters with the departed emir. The last was as recently as 2012. On both occasions, Bayero completely disarmed me by his infectious humility. The first was in 1993.
It was the year he celebrated 30 years on the throne. I was head of news desk of the now rested and state run TRIUMPH newspaper. I led a team of reporters from the stable. We sought an interview and we were duly granted. No advanced questions were requested. On the appointed date we turned up on time and the monarch, I must say, a stickler for time, was waiting. Untutored on palace protocol and very heady, I ‘fired’ questions unhesitant, some of which were pointedly unkind. They were deeply personal. I fancied myself as ‘Larry King’ or ‘Stephen
It was similarly incredible that he could be assailed by illness of any brand. Our juvenile minds believed that he, indeed, was enduring. He represented to us, impressionable youths, the super human. In our infantile mentality, Bayero was eternal. He was above human foibles and frailties. It was, for instance, unthinkable for the monarch to betray any ‘humanness’ in public.
Sucker’ of BBC Hard Talk fame. I ignored ‘cold’ stares from my older and more sober colleagues from the vernacular titles at each question I asked. And gracefully and straightforwardly, the late emir answered in his slow majestic tone. ‘Your Highness, you have been on the throne for 30 years, can you tell me what the saddest moment was?’….how many children do you have? What has shocked you the most these past 30 years? Which government do you prefer? Civilian or military? How is your typical day? Etc. And he answered all queries. “We can’t remember a sad day during our reign….all our subjects are our children….we have seen changes these past years especially in the growth of the media… Done and dusted, the emir bid us farewell but not until we all prayed to the Almighty Allah to spare his life to mark his Golden Jubilee twenty years later. And we prayed that we would be alive to conduct what would be the ‘final interview’. Except for me and the photographer that covered that event, my two other colleagues Danjuma Baffa and Umaru Wudil, are late. May Allah rest their souls. Fast forward to 2012. Sometime in November of that year, I was privileged to lead the Management of this newspaper to a courtesy call on the esteemed king. It was part of the programme to open a regional office of this paper in that ancient city. Originally the chair of the Board was billed to lead but the onus fell on me as he was unavailable. This time, my encounter with the late ruler was different. It was not an ‘interrogation’ passing off as interview. It was more like a ‘homeboy done good’ paying homage and seeking royal blessings. He gave both in abundance. I reminded him of our prayer 19 years earlier and that only a few months remained to make history as the longest serving king in the thousand year’s history of the emirate. He listened attentively. He responded through the Wanbai, Abbas Sanusi who assured that our request for an interview when the emir celebrates 50 years was granted. This paper’s 2013 almanac had the emir reading a copy intently. Bayero was a tolerant leader. That bears repeating. He was also progressively modern. That explains in part, the presence, in his court, the colour of rainbow. Under his shade, everybody found a home. He was greatly diplomatic. Adieu Ado Bayero.
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