A little over ten years ago, I was a guest of the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Alhaji Ado Bayero (CFR) at the historic Emir’s Palace in Kano City. Actually, I accompanied an associate whose father was a close friend of the Emir. I recall that visit with delight for two reasons. One, it was my first opportunity of coming up close to the inscrutable persona of the Kano monarch. Second, it was at the palace that I met the Emir’s younger brother, Engr. Dalhatu Bayero then Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) who, unfortunately, passed passed away late last month.

We had left the domestic wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos that Monday afternoon with all it’s hustle and bustle and arrived Aminu Kano International airport in Kano about an hour and half later. In contrast to Lagos, the Kano airport was sparse and serene. Once out of the arrival lounge, we searched for the man who was supposed to be our guide and who was directed to meet us at the airport. Soon enough we found him but he spoilt our day: he said we should not have come to see the emir during the sallah because the emir does not receive non - Moslem visitors on such occassions. We tried to explain that we had an appointment in writing but he maintained his opinion. Undaunted, we asked him to take us to the palace so that, at least, we could satisfy ourselves that we kept our appointment.

We rode into the city taking in the scoured scenes, the leisurely pace of residents, ubiquitous aliens, the flat roof patterns of the houses, and other chacteristics that give Kano it’s uniqueness. When we arrived at the gates of the palace we did not need anyone to tell us that a celebration was in progress: hordes of men in flowing gowns, men on horses, trumpeters, big men in turbans accompanied by followers and tall guards in green or blue and red outfits complete with their own turbans. It was such a busy and picturesque sight that we immediately began to see some sense in the fears earlier raised by our guide.

Determined to try out our luck anyway, we asked him to enquire the way to the office of the Palace Secretary who signed our letter of appointment. We were promptly directed to the office where we found the kindly looking old man and introduced ourselves. He nodded knowingly and took us through a maze of rooms and passages to what seemed like a waiting lounge. As we waited, I noted the ornately decorated walls and imagined the wealth of visible and invisible historical data and artefacts that must be contained within the walls of the massive palace. I also thought of how expensive it must be to maintain such an expansive palace.

Soon the palace secretary returned with another man and motioned to us to follow them. We went through another maze of rooms and passages that made me loose my bearing. Passing through what seemed like an inner chamber, we were ushered into a large regal sitting room and, alas, sitting at the far end in majestic splendour was the emir who is as recognisable as any familiar beacon in the Nigerian landscape. Not expecting to be thrust into his presence so suddenly, we were taken by surprise. We recovered quickly and followed the example of the man who came with the palace secretary to pay obeisance to the great man. He shook our hands, called my friend by his vernacular name and waved us to seats. As I gingerly made for one of the few available seats, I noticed that most of the men dressed in expensive flowing gowns were sitting on the richly carpeted floor of the sitting room. Among them, I could recognise some important public figures of the day. By the emir’s feet on either side some men sat in uniform outfits.

As the emir discussed with my friend, enquiring after his family, I rehashed what I had learnt in undergraduate history class about northern Nigerian history and about the man before whom we sat. Born on June 15, 1930, Ado Bayero whose father Abdullahi served as Emir before him was installed as the 13^th Emir of Kano at 33 on October 15, 1963. Before his ascention to the throne, the emir had acquired invaluable experience in the civil service. By his charismatic and friendly disposition, he had made Kano a home like no other for people from various ethnic groups, various countries and various persuations.

Before we bowed out of the Emir’s presence, he invited us to come back the next day before our departure. Thereafter, he handed us over to his pleasant son, Sanusi, who went by the title Sarkin Dawakin Tsakagida. The prince took us to his own house in the heart of the old city and treated us to northern delicatessen.

The next day, a chauffer from the palace picked us from our hotel and took us to the palace where we were introduced by the emir to Engineer Dalhatu Bayero and his Polish wife. He was simply dressed, soft spoken and invited us to his office in Lagos.

Soon after we returned to Lagos, we visited Dalhatu in his office at the NNPC headquarters in Victoria Island. We arrived early. Later, the man arrived. As the GMD, we expected him to arrive in the manner of a whirlwind like most men in such positions. But we were pleasantly surprised when he arrived clutching his own bag, taking the elevator with everyone else, and passing quietly without airs. There were no intimidating army of protocol officers, security details, mobile police guards, no siren, no nothing. It was unbelievable. Without much delay, we were ushered into his office. At the end of the visit, he invited us to visit him at home in his house.

One day, we decided to visit Dalhatu in his house. A big surprise awaited us. His “house” turned out to be a small apartment in one of the towers in

in Victoria Island. A three-bedroom flat without a boys’-quarters? Our curiousity got the better of us. We asked him if this was a rest house or guest house of some sort. I can never forget what he said. He said he had lived in that flat for many years before his appointment as GMD. With an understanding smile on his face, he told us that his children were all grown up, that he lived alone with his wife and that they had no need to move from that flat because it was just sufficient for their needs. He explained that a bigger house would be difficult for him to maintain. I learnt that when the NNPC headquarters was moved to Abuja, he was compelled to move into a massive opulent house built by Julius Berger in Asokoro. Evidently, this was a matter of protocol: the house served as the official residence of the GMD of NNPC in Abuja.

Many years later, Bayero’s successor as GMD, Gaius-Obaseki, became entangled in a controversy over a N500m hotel bill which he allegedly incurred at Abuja Hilton. In asserting how prudent he had been to incur such a “low bill”, Obaseki reportedly claimed to be the cheapest GMD NNPC ever had! I laughed.

For a man born into the royal family in Kano Emirate, who held certificates in chemical and petroleum engineering, who rose with vast experience in the upstream and downstream sectors to the apex of the oil and gas industry, Dalhatu lived an amazingly frugal and simple life worthy of emulation. I will never forget what I learnt from Dalhatu Bayero.

uchebush@yahoo.com; 0805 1090 050

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 05.07.2008 11:47

emj  Villager

# 2 Hmmm....You can only sleep in one room at a time, and on one bed at a time, like one of my friends will say...it's only a mad/crazy like dat person that will because he wants everyone to know how opulent he is wear Suit on top of Babanriga......hmm.....Dalhatu Bayero was different, he wasn't one of those chop clean mouth or one to mouth off like Obaseki...i remember when he made dat statement that he was one of the cheapest NNPC GMD...one would think/thunk with all the supposed intelligence/exposure that he will be different, but iro nla....he was one of dem dem(not DEM):p Anywaz, Uchebushman....nice goings......the thought to yab u small crossed my mind...but will reserve it for another time.:eek: May the soul of Dalhatu Bayero rest in peace,al-Jannatul Firdausi. Amen... he sure was a good man. Posted by emj| 05.07.2008 19:02

depirate  Villager

# 3 Sad to hear that Mr. Bayero is dead, my family and his were quite close as my father worked with him in the late 80s and early 90s, my warmest and heartfelt sympathies go out to his family. Mr. Bayero was indeed of a special breed and not only lived at Eko court for eons, few people realise that this prince of the Kano Emirate was actually married to an "oyibo" who was his only wife and had just 3 children Rest in peace Posted by depirate| 06.07.2008 17:37

AISAGBON OMOGIADE  Villager

# 4 I would like to commend you for your well articulated write-up.However,Dalhatu Bayero did not counter the statement made by Obaseki before his death. Obaseki if you dont know, is from a noble family in Benin City.He is well read and was efficient in his duties as NNPC's GMD.He is not only humble but a known selfless philanthropist.It was rumoured in Benin City that his official driver lived in a bigger personal house than his.I took pains to verify this after I saw the material donation Obaseki made to St.Augustine's Catholic Church, Ukhegie, Benin City. The scandalous manner OBJ relieved Obaseki of his post is what is prompting this acidic comparism.Nigerians are now aware of those who converted State's funds to personal use. Posted by AISAGBON OMOGIADE| 07.07.2008 18:39

docokwy  Villager

# 5 =AISAGBON OMOGIADE;4295066796>I would like to commend you for your well articulated write-up.However,Dalhatu Bayero did not counter the statement made by Obaseki before his death. Obaseki if you dont know, is from a noble family in Benin City.He is well read and was efficient in his duties as NNPC's GMD.He is not only humble but a known selfless philanthropist.It was rumoured in Benin City that his official driver lived in a bigger personal house than his.I took pains to verify this after I saw the material donation Obaseki made to St.Augustine's Catholic Church, Ukhegie, Benin City. The scandalous manner OBJ relieved Obaseki of his post is what is prompting this acidic comparism.Nigerians are now aware of those who converted State's funds to personal use. Tell that to the marines. Obaseki was a thief, just like the others. Posted by docokwy| 08.07.2008 02:49

AISAGBON OMOGIADE  Villager

# 6 =docokwy;4295066883>Tell that to the marines. Obaseki was a thief, just like the others. My dear, My opinions are usually formed after very careful research. Some news from Nigerian mass media could be very misleading.Try if you can to do your personal research.Cheers Posted by AISAGBON OMOGIADE| 08.07.2008 18:18

Abraxas  Villager

# 7 =AISAGBON OMOGIADE;4295067406>My dear, My opinions are usually formed after very careful research. Some news from Nigerian mass media could be very misleading.Try if you can to do your personal research.Cheers Hi, Aisagbon Omogiade (JJC)! Careful research, indeed. Careful research, my big blokos. For your information, Gauis Obaseki went into, and came out of NNPC impudently playing power politics, complete with airs of baseless arrogance, openly flaunting his capacity to intimidate his peers, and superiors, with a sustained and well-nurtured posture of his having close links with the Oba of Benin, OBJ via Stella Obasanjo, Sultan Abubakar III, IBB, Abdulsalami Abubakar: in short an addict of high-wire intrigue manoeuvres and malignant Machiavellian corporate warfare. Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS(III) Posted by Abraxas| 08.07.2008 20:47

AISAGBON OMOGIADE  Villager

# 8 =Abraxas;4295067448>Hi, Aisagbon Omogiade (JJC)! Careful research, indeed. Careful research, my big blokos. For your information, Gauis Obaseki went into, and came out of NNPC impudently playing power politics, complete with airs of baseless arrogance, openly flaunting his capacity to intimidate his peers, and superiors, with a sustained and well-nurtured posture of his having close links with the Oba of Benin, OBJ via Stella Obasanjo, Sultan Abubakar III, IBB, Abdulsalami Abubakar: in short an addict of high-wire intrigue manoeuvres and malignant Machiavellian corporate warfare. Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS(III) My friend, I dont like using gutter-language.I stand by my previous comments above.If by any means the date of my registration on the NVS determines the subjectivity or objectivity of my comments to articles,that will be a bit disappointing. Posted by AISAGBON OMOGIADE| 09.07.2008 06:05

emj  Villager

# 9 =AISAGBON OMOGIADE;4295067568>My friend, I dont like using gutter-language.I stand by my previous comments above.If by any means the date of my registration on the NVS determines the subjectivity or objectivity of my comments to articles,that will be a bit disappointing. :lol::lol:...Hmmm, eherrrmm...Aisa....hmmm, you still stand by ur previous comments about Obaseki....hmm, do you know that it is those who are so close to some actors that fail to see some actions at play....hmmm..personal research, hmmm...anywaz...hmm Posted by emj| 09.07.2008 07:58

UncleTisha  Villager

# 10 =Abraxas;4295067448>Hi, Aisagbon Omogiade (JJC)! Careful research, indeed. Careful research, my big blokos. For your information, Gauis Obaseki went into, and came out of NNPC impudently playing power politics, complete with airs of baseless arrogance, openly flaunting his capacity to intimidate his peers, and superiors, with a sustained and well-nurtured posture of his having close links with the Oba of Benin, OBJ via Stella Obasanjo, Sultan Abubakar III, IBB, Abdulsalami Abubakar: in short an addict of high-wire intrigue manoeuvres and malignant Machiavellian corporate warfare. Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS(III) The Don! I beg to disagree with your opinion on Gauis Obaseki, particularly the highlighted part. He’s someone I know personally and your stated description is at variance with the man I know. In the 14 years since he first walked into our office, I’ve never seen him as an arrogant man. As a matter of fact, he’s so soft spoken that you can hardly hear him. He came into our office (he was then the MD of Nigeria Gas Company, a subsidiary of NNPC), was impressed with the way I attended to him and he thereafter invited me to do a lot of works for him. I’ve had several opportunities to be around him over the years; he always treated everyone with so much humility, decency and courtesy, from the lowest to the highest. That is why I find your opinion of him shocking, to say the least... Posted by UncleTisha| 10.07.2008 11:29