Unite for Nigeria, Buhari Urges Future Leaders

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on emerging leaders in the country to rid the nation of divisiveness and unite the people.

The president, in an address to the Emir of Bichi, Nasiru Ado Bayero, at his inauguration yesterday, read on his behalf by his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said the “prevailing circumstances of the nation impose a demand on leaders to display their qualities and work earnestly for continued peace and unity.”

The president said: “Your turbanning at a providential time like this in the history of our country when the prevailing socioeconomic conditions have created an opportunity for emerging leaders to display their qualities and work earnestly for continued peace and unity.

‘‘Your father, my friend the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, was a symbol of unity, not only within his kingdom but also within Northern Nigeria and the whole country.”

Going down memory lane, President Buhari said when we remember Ado Bayero, we remember unity, we remember simplicity and good leadership, a leader who devoted his life to unify the nation.

“I remember with nostalgia, the passion and commitment he always exhibited in the pursuit of anything he believed in, a distinctive character that almost cost him his life prematurely on January 19, 2013, because of his vociferous stand against the Boko Haram terrorists.”

He expressed optimism that the new Emir would exhibit similar qualities and “even much more, as he has begun to exhibit” within the few months of his reign.

The president, who extended his “deep and wholehearted congratulations,” said he would continue to pray for the success of the Emir and looks forward to his contributions to uplifting the people of his emirate and Nigerians in general.

The leader of the presidential delegation, Professor Gambari, who is a maternal uncle of the Emir, Nasiru Ado Bayero, reaffirmed his loyalty and affinity to the Emir.
Gambari described the recreation of Kano’s additional four emirates by the Abdullahi Umar Ganduje administration as ‘‘wonderful, historic and innovative.”

Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, yesterday presented the staff of office to the Emir of Bichi, Nasiru Ado-Bayero, as the second Emir of Bichi.

Bichi was among the newly created emirates by Ganduje’s administration.
Other newly created emirates were Rano, Gaya, and Karaye, in addition to the existing Kano Emirate Council.
The Emir, had on Friday, given his daughter in marriage to the son of President Buhari, Yusuf.
Speaking after presenting the staff of office to the Emir, Ganduje said the state government appreciated the contributions being rendered by traditional institutions in promoting peace and stability in the state.

Ganduje said the contributions made by traditional institutions, made the administration create the additional emirates, to extend development to grassroots areas.
He urged the Emir and other Emirs in the state, to continue to assist the government in providing security for lives and property.

The governor urged the Emir to remain a father to all his subjects without discrimination.
In his acceptance speech, the new Emir promised to be just and fair to all people in the emirate.
Ado-Bayero urged the people of the emirate to intensify efforts in enrolling their children into the basic education system.

He called on the government and other development partners, to continue to contribute their quota in addressing desertification.
“I am calling on people to plant trees, enroll their children in schools and report suspicious persons to the traditional institutions and relevant security agencies for prompt action,” he said.