By Abubakar Imam
The desire to publish a book on prominent indigenes and notable residents of the frontier emirate,which is titled “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”, was a project I conceived way back in 1994 when I was an undergraduate at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. It was for a number of reasons. All the reasons are,to me, “for the love of our people”.
The chief of the reasons was, however, in reaction to the unpalatable experience of an outstanding jurist of Ilorin Emirate origin who,four decades ago, rose to become a Justice of the highest court in the land. The jurist was, shortly after retirement from service, literally roasted by the South-West (Lagos-Ibadan) Press simply because information on his education and career was not readily available.
This phenomenal jurist, who was later conferred with an honourary traditional title by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji(Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari,CFR, before his glorious death on December 25, 2013, was given an assignment by the administration of General Sani Abacha. He not only accepted the task but also expressed his willingness to succeed at it. Members of the opposition group, who were mostly from the southwestern part of the country, were convinced that if the jurist and his Commission succeeded it would be a trouble for their patron and leader who was the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election. Those who were positioned to benefit from the anticipated validation of the election that was annulled by the regime of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, more than a year earlier, also held the same view about the assignment given to our senior compatriot and his team and they evidently urged the critical press “to carry go” in their objectionable malign of the gentleman.
And so, as soon as he started his work, the unassuming jurist became a subject of harassment in the popular press with the aim of either ensuring his removal, forcing him to resign or dissuading him from carrying out the responsibilities as expected. So many unprintable allegations were levelled against him. He was seriously ridiculed, unjustly intimidated and thoroughly persecuted in the media just to ensure that he was comprehensively discredited in the court of public opinion.
The most annoying aspect of the unfortunate scenario was that the jurist was accused of not possessing the basic qualification of a degree in law! Late Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi,who later became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, led the perilous offensive. Influential weekly magazines such as “The Tell” and “The News” as well as several dailies of the time were falling over one another as platforms of executing the pernicious propaganda against our man. The fiery Lawyer, Gani Fawenhimi, explained that he had gone through all relevant records and he could not find the name of our man in any of them. He added that he checked “Who is Who in Nigeria”,” Who is Who in Africa” and “Who is Who on the Bench and in the Bar”, among other relevant and similar publications but could not find the name of the jurist. He forcefully concluded by challenging anyone to bring out any book or work that published the educational records of the man. No one, to the best of my knowledge, responded with such a material.
I was reliably informed that one of the editors of these critical magazines was very close to the family of the jurist. The editor, as a secondary school boy in GSS Ilorin, was a very known and familiar face in the man’s house and if he actually needed any information about the jurist he would have got it without any stress but their hatchman job would not have been done. What an irony of life!
The man at the centre of the story was said to have been approached by the press for his own side. He refused interviews. He was quoted to have insisted that those who appointed him knew who he was. And so, he needed no “whitewashing”. Was it because he was shy? Was it because he believed that “the little said by someone about himself was too much”? Whatever his perception, or conviction was,it caused some of us who were very active from a distance some discomforts.
As young and unnoticeable as I was then and thinking that I could do something about it, I took up the challenge. I consulted all relevant materials with a view to getting desired information. The well equipped Kashim Ibrahim Library of ABU, Zaria, was combed by yours sincerely for several days to no avail. I was even given the unusual privilege of accessing the “Africana” segment of the well stocked library, which was exclusively reserved for only postgraduate students, just to satisfy my curiosity. At the end of my search and excursion, I could not find the name of our man as previously submitted by Gani Fawehinmi. Apart from that of the renowned jurist, names of other outstanding Ilorin indigenes, who by then had attained national prominence were also conspicuously missing in all the relevant books I consulted while names and careers of less accomplished men and women from other parts of Kwara State and Nigeria were flamboyantly celebrated.
As a patriot, I found myself in a dilemma. I was not happy with the treatment meted out to our man but could not help in spite of the convincing information provided me by my late dad and teacher, Mallam Jimoh Imam Pakata, some years earlier that the jurist-in-question was his teacher and that he knew when he left for further studies abroad and came back with a degree in law.
I must confess that I was not intellectually equipped enough, then, to face the media in order to straighten the record. The situation was even more depressing as there was virtually no literature to make convincing reference.
I was, however, more depressed by the development as some of our colleagues from other parts of the State (Igbomina and Offa,to be specific) were mocking those of us who are indigenes of Ilorin Emirate at ABU , Zaria, then, that our father was a “fake” in spite of his numerous accomplishments. This book,therefore, provides the true and incontrovertible information on late Honourable Justice Saidu Kawu who was the man at the centre of the unwarranted attack simply for serving his fatherland and contributing to nation building as it does about 301 others. Justice Saidu Kawu ,indeed, studied law in the United Kingdom.
It was there and then that I decided that I would, Insha Allah, commit myself to bringing out facts about Ilorin Emirate and its people when the time was ripe and I am academically and professionally equipped to do so. Alhamudulilahi for the journey so far.
To quicken the mission, a few years later, a friend from a neighbouring community alleged, to my consternation, that only male indigenes of Ilorin Emirate married to non indigenes became outstanding in life, adding that Ilorin women were often found of “ruining” their male compatriots. He cited several names of prominent and accomplished Ilorin men who married from other towns. I countered him with names of several others who married from within and were not only in the league of the first eleven of the “State of Harmony” but could also not be pushed aside even at national and international levels. He responded by apologising and keeping quiet thereafter.
Subsequent developments and experiences of our people in the hands of the media and uninformed commentators further encouraged me. I also remember all the bunkum written and said about the first University Vice Chancellor produced by Ilorin Emirate by his traducers. He and members of his ancestral community were dismissed as ignoramuses and charlatans throughout the turbulent period of his tenure at the University of Ilorin. His tenure at the institution eventually laid the foundation of what the University became as not just “Better by far” but also “the nation’s most sought after”. One other critic, Kunle Fagbemi, who was writing for the defunct Newage newspaper once wrote that since the establishment of Ilorin Emirate only two indigenes of the community were really great. He mentioned a retired General and a venerable Islamic scholar as the two. I was enraged by the high level of ignorance and arrogance displayed by the virulent critic and several other commentators because they had no access to information that could have helped to moderate their stereotypical attitudes towards Ilorin and her people.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari,CFR,at a time, also suffered similar treatments in the Nigerian press because of the effective diplomatic roles he played for Nigeria during his days as the country’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations and in the defence of the decisions of the administration of General Sani Abacha. He was particularly harassed for standing on the side of the Nigerian government during the Ogoni crisis in the Niger Delta. The “militant media” waited for the time he was nominated by the administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to chair a Committee that would address the agitation on resource control before being maligned for serving Nigeria as a diplomat during one of its most turbulent periods.
Not quite long ago, a two terms former Honourable Commissioner in Kwara State, who hailed from Edu Local Government Area of the State, ignorantly asserted that Ilorin was in darkness as far as western education was concerned when it was made the capital of the State. He asserted further that Ilorin Emirate did not have more than six (6) graduates by that date, adding that most of our people in the services of the State Government when the State was newly created were mere drivers. The assertion was wrong and totally untenable when juxtaposed with historical facts. That was at a time Ilorin Emirate had produced eminent lawyers, prominent journalists including the founding editor of the Kaduna-based “New Nigerian”, distinguished medical doctors, courageous commissioned officers in the Nigerian Army, seasoned graduate teachers in their numbers and eminent pharmacists as well as diplomats including an Agent-General of Northern Nigeria in Great Britain and a Super Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service, among other distinguished professionals. Several indigenes of Ilorin Emirate were equally undergoing different academic programmes in various universities within and outside Nigeria at the creation of Kwara State in 1967.
I must say that the publication of the book, “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”, was inspired by those reasons and the instrumentality offered by the pervasive social media platforms, through which my periodic writings on selected indigenes of Ilorin Emirate celebrating one anniversary or the other and on the transitions of some others as well as unfolding issues of significance to our community are aired. Reactions including several publicised written commendations and admonitions to produce a permanent preservable document of those periodic articles are some catalysts inspiring the forthcoming book. I am optimistic that the book will undoubtedly serve some purposes “for the love of our people”.
Meanwhile, I am not unaware of the fact that a single book cannot capture all the “frontliners” of an expansive community like Ilorin Emirate with our abundance and unlimited personalities of repute who have made their marks in their various fields of endeavour. Nevertheless, some identified personalities whose contributions to the development of our community deserve spacious mention in the book could not return our research materials, which we sent to them. And in order to avoid any controversy or inaccurate information, their names are not featured in this pioneering efforts. For all who responded, I owe you a debt of gratitude. May Allah reward you all most graciously.
Naturally, this book will generate more than a passing interest which may lead to a revised edition or a new book completely to fill in missing gaps. It is my fervent prayer that Allah spares our lives to continue in the service of our community.
May I, therefore, enjoin readers of this piece to kindly honour distinguished heroes of Ilorin Emirate with their presence at the public presentation of the book scheduled for Saturday, 1st July, 2023 (or specifically on the 4th day after Eid Kabir) at the Banquet Hall, Opposite Government House, Ilorin, by 10:00am. Your prayers for the continuous peace and progress of Ilorin Emirate are most sought towards ensuring the success of the event.
Imam. a journalist and National Secretary, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union(IEDPU), is author of the forthcoming “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”
