A royal father, the Lamido holds in high esteem, and maintains the political, religious and ethnic values of his emirate. His sense of liberalism and social equity is highly noted and emulated by his subjects. Mindful of the significant role of traditional rulers in modern Nigeria as the custodians of culture, Lamido Aliyu Musdafa has consistently been non-partisan even in the heat of party politics.
As the longest reigning emir in Nigeria, he has maintained the most cordial relationship with past heads of state and state chief executives. Similarly, the Lamido is highly respected by fellow traditional rulers across the country for his leadership qualities. In 1976, he visited Sokoto where his great great-grand father, Modibbo Adama, had received a flag for Jihad. Equally, the Lamido has played host to three Sultans of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar III, Ibrahim Dasuki and Muhammadu Maccido, in Yola. Apart from visiting other emirates on friendship tours, the Lamido visited the Cameroun Republic in December 1965 together with the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello. He has gone to Saudi Arabia on Hajj thrice, first in the company of the premier in 1966, privately in 1982 and thirdly as Amir ul Hajj, or Leader of Hajj Delegation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1996.
A Day in His Life..…
A normal day in the life of His Royal Highness begins with Subh prayers at sunrise. The Lamido catches up on world events on the radio and follows up with physical exercise until breakfast. After attending to family matters, he goes out to the palace chambers to meet personal staff and early visitors for routine greetings. His councillors, led by the Waziri, come to make courtesy calls.
At 11.00 a.m. the Lamido sets out for any of his farms at Bole, Yola, Mandarare, Ngurore or Girei. For him, this is the rule rather than the exception. Because of his love for farming he is regarded as Sarkin Noman Kasa (Leading Farmer in the Land). For about three hours every day, the Lamido tends his crops which include maize, rice, cotton, guinea-corn, etc. In the dry season, he grows maskuwari, a type of sorghum predominant in the north-eastern part of the country.
Apart from making use of the food he grows for himself, the Lamido gives out a substantial amount to the poor and needy as Zakat, or charity. His generosity extends to the less privileged, the aged and bereaved. A family that lost a bread-winner could enjoy the kind gesture continuously including gifts on Sallah days. |
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The royal father gets back to the palace for the Zuhr prayers at about 2.00 p.m. He then concentrates on personal engagements which extend to the time he offers the Asr prayer at 4.00 p.m. Later, the Lamido holds court at the eastern gate, Kofar Bayi, where he also receives casual visitors and has chats until sunset, when he goes into the palace for the Maghrib prayer.
After Ishai, the final prayer of the day, the Lamido spends the rest of the evening with important guests who come to the palace for consultation or discussion. On lighter duties, he could spend the entire evening hours at the Kofar Bayi with his close family members and subjects.
Every Friday, people from various communities come to pay their respects to the Lamido. The colourful day begins from around 9.30 a.m. First the palace staff and then council members and title-holders greet the Lamido and sit with him in the chambers to receive visitors from far and near. At the end of the two-hour session, the Waziri calls on the Chief Imam for prayers to close the day.
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