Re: Emir of Zazzau’s 42nd anniversary

The Emir of Zazzau, His Royal Highness Alhaji Shehu Idris, is one of the longest reigning monarchs in Nigerian history. The fact remains that during his time, Zaria and Kaduna State witnessed more developments than ever before. I was close to His Highness when he was my director in the UAC when I was a senior company representative and northern area property manager. I was responsible to the Board of Directors, of which His Highness was a member. He was well respected by all his colleagues on the Board. He played a very stabilising role among his colleagues. His Excellency Shone Khan and the late Bassey Ndiokho both relied on him to bring radical directors to order during rowdy board meetings. His influence could be noted against the number of UAC companies in Zaria, notably UAC Farms at Kidandan, UAC Property, Mr Biggs, MDS, AJ Seward, etc.

His Highness voluntarily retired to give the younger ones a chance. This singular act earned a lot of goodwill and respect for the emir. He is well respected in and out of the country. For an emir to request for forgiveness from his people epitomises humility in the highest order.

One thing I will always remember about His Highness is the effort he put to get investment for his people. I escorted a group of American businessmen from the Overseas Investment Cooperation to pay a courtesy call on him. It was under the leadership of Christopher Bellinger. The emir passionately called on them to invest in Zaria. The Americans were highly impressed with the love he had for his people.

I cannot conclude this piece without mentioning his patience and humility. There was a time the students of Bamalli Polytechnic were on strike, the emir addressed them and finally got them to abandon their strike. He saw me on his way to the palace while I was on my way to Sokoto and ordered his convey to stop so I could greet him. When I came out to greet him, he told me what happened and said that patience was needed to deal with people, especially students.

I am of the view that patience is the greatest attribute of His Highness. May Allah give him long life to harness his biggest attribute for the benefit of mankind and his people in particular. Long live His Highness!