Whenever any Nigerian comes into the world of his own, it is usually a world class phenomenon. This assertion may be viewed from the deeds, character and degree of good relationship such a fellow has had with people from far and near.
In life, one thing is certain. Once God has destined something about an individual or an event, it will come to pass. For the words of God won’t go unfulfilled. Even if some people are averse to the selection of such an individual as suitable but destined by God, it will become history. Such is the case of the newly appointed Danmasani of the ancient city of Ilorin, Engineer Suleiman Ayinde Yahaya Alapansanpa (FNSE).
The announcement of his appointment by Miamartaba, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari CFR, came to many and even the chieftaincy title holder himself as a surprise. The position of Danmasani of Ilorin had been vacant since the death of the former occupier of that exalted position, Alhaji Hassan Abdulkadir.
With his nomination to fill the vacuum, Engr Alapansanpa, automatically becomes the second Danmasani of Ilorin Emirate. An adage says that he that the cap fits, should be allowed to wear it.
Little wonder that the Emir of Ilorin received encomium and loud applause with his decision to nominate and appoint the new Danmasani of Ilorin Emirate.
A peep into the enviable title of Danmasani particularly in Northern Nigeria, the name of Alhaji Maitama Sule readily comes to mind.
He was an eloquent orator, a diplomat who commanded respect anytime, any day.
Even when he suffered health challenges, Maitama Sule, the Danmasani Kano, still spoke eloquently and dressed fabulously .
The late Danmasani Kano was highly respected amongst his kingsmen, his contemporaries, other Nigerians and even foreigners, who neither shared the same faith with him or came from the same region with him.
Maitama Sule was a delight of everyone whenever he spoke at events during his lifetime, most times extemporaneously; the gathering remained silent and at the end of his speech, he was always given an endless applause as well as a standing ovation.
Below is one of the immortal speeches of the Late Danmasani Kano.
“Today, we are no longer what we were; what is happening today is not in our character. The norms and values left by Sardauna and our founding fathers are no longer with us, they are not with us.
Today, as I have often described the situation, the institution of family has broken down, respect for elders and constituted authority, which used to be our cardinal principle in our society, is now at its lowest ebb.
Honesty, where it does not pay, has become meaningless; symptoms of revolt loom large in the horizon. In short, there is meaninglessness in philosophy, insecurity in polity, chaos in politics, immorality in society, corruption in economy, frustration in art and lack of creativity in literature.
This is not what North used to be or Nigeria as a whole; ours was a decent country whose leaders respected one another in spite of their political differences; ours was a society that was morally sound, it was a society in which all of us were our brother’s keepers; it is not the same today.
Perhaps, some people say we have been brain-washed by our erstwhile colonial masters; it is true to a certain extent, but we are to a very large extent to blame, because we are masters of our faith; we should be captains of our souls.
Today, as I have said, we are no longer ourselves, our cultural values have been thrown overboard. If a people lose their culture –culture is the identity of the people, people often mistake culture as mere dancing and singing, it is much more than that.
Culture is the customs and costumes, the characters and characteristics, the manners and mannerism, the philosophy and ideology of a people, culture is the totality of a people’s experience, culture is the way of life of the people.
In those days, we adhere to the culture of the people, we had an identity, we had respect for one another, our society was morally sound, there was little corruption and so on and so forth.
However, in spite of the ugly picture I have painted, I believe we can still get out of the wood. I am not a pessimist, I am an optimist, I believe that if we can revive the glory of the past, by reminding us of the good achievements – the success Sardauna and his likes, of our founding fathers, if we recall what Sardauna did and emulate his example, we can certainly revive the glory of the past.
Sardauna was a great man. He was born great; he had greatness thrust upon him and he achieved greatness. Sardauna was a leader in the true sense of the word. All his life, he was devoted to the service of his fellow man. He lived for the people and died for the people. A great leader, who led his people with the philosophy of the herdsman.
The philosophy of the herdsman, you may have observed and may have seen, is that the Fulani herdsman is always in front of his cows, leading them. He is not behind them driving them from behind. He is in front leading his cattle.The Fulani herdsman hangs a stick over his shoulders.That stick is not for beating them. It is for guarding his cattle.
That Fulani herdsman can make his cattle do everything he wants them to do. While he is leading them in front, if he stops anywhere, they all would stop. If he should jump into the water, they all would jump into the water. If he starts running, all of them would run after him. He names all of his cattle.
In those days, people of Northern Nigeria did not identify themselves by their tribes or religions, they were all “yan Arewa”. Sardauna’s physician was a Christian, Dr. Ishaya Audu. His personal doctor was a Christian. His right hand man, and indeed his next door neighbour, Michael Audu Buba, the Minister of Trade, was a Christian from Plateau.
There was a time Sarduana went to the Kingsway Store in Kaduna to do some shopping. And he met some students going round in the shop doing some window shopping. And he asked them what they were doing and they said that they were going round, looking at things. And he said alright, let each one of you go round and pick one item, I will pay. He asked his servant to go and settle the bills.
His servant did but unfortunately asked one of the boys,’ what tribe are you?’ What religion are you following? Unfortunately for that servant, the Sardauna overheard him. And he turned round furiously “Why should you ask him his tribe and religion? What has that got to do with that? He is my son. Don’t you ever do that to me again? , If you do it again I’ll dismiss you “…. That was Sarduana!
His Chief of Staff, Sunday Awoniyi, was a Christian, a Yoruba man. So, you could not fault Sarduana as a religious leader.
I am beginning to see a light at the end of tunnel… and I DO HOPE THE STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE”.
May his soul rest in peace.
How I wished Alhaji Maitama Sule is alive today to witness the turbanning ceremony of Engineer Yahaya Alapansanpa in the ancient city of Ilorin and further put him (Alapansanpa) through on how he succeeded in running that exalted office of Danmasanin Kano.
To the new title holder, Engr Yahaya Alapansanpa, an administrator per excellent. No doubt, the title has again added to many of his caps besides his position as the Royal Chairman of the Ilorin Emirate Durbar Committee, which unknowingly but positively exposed his managerial skills to the entire world and to the admiration of the Emir of Ilorin, who has that singular honour and decision to name, appoint and install personalities with such titles in the Emirate.
The first ever elaborate durbar event that took place of recent in the emirate, which attracted the who is who and what could be described as the largest turn out of gathering of people without any negative incidence was under his supervision with the support his able lieutenants.
The second durbar programme also took place under his chairmanship and still unprecedented success was recorded, though not without some challenges, which he used his managerial skills to overcome.
During a thank you and appreciation visit to the Emir of Ilorin in his Palace by friends, families and well wishers of the new Danmasani, the Emir disclosed that Engineer Alapasanpa deserved the appointment considering his track records. Alhaji Sulu-Gambari added that such honour done on him would further spur him to do more good things to his community, the nation at large and to humanity.
Born into the family of Yahaya Ayinde of Ilorin on 2nd October, 1955, Engineer Yahaya Alapansanpa, attended Ansarul Islam Primary School, and proceeded to the prestigious Government Secondary School, Ilorin for his post primary education and thereafter proceeded to the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to study Electrical Engineering, and in 2002, he added another feather to his cap with an MBA ( Master of Business Administration) from Lagos State University.
A seasoned manager of men and materials, the new Danmasani is no doubt a great asset to the people of Ilorin Emirate as he has touched the lives of many without bias. He is versatile in power engineering, sales and marketing and highly experienced in power engineering, project planning, construction, maintenance and management.
Some of the Islamic titles and awards Engineer Alapansanpa has bagged include that of Jamat Nasir Islam by Emir of Zauzau, Alhaji Dr Sheu Idris (CFR), Islamic award by Council of Muslim Organizations of Kwara State by Maimartaba, Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari (CFR), Turaki Adinni of Ikole Ekiti Ansarul-Deen Society, Ikole Ekiti, Ondo State and Zainu-Deen Taju-L-Adaby Central Mosque among others.
It is our hope that the coming on board of Engineer Suleiman Ayinde Yahaya Alapansanpa as the new Danmasani of Ilorin would entrench and consolidate sense of unity, love and economic development among us in the Ilorin Emirate, Kwara State and the nation at large. Amin.
Akanbi, a seasoned journalist, writes via [email protected]
