Had he been alive today, Sarki Umaru would have celebrated his 78th birthday last week as he was born on March 26, 1934 which was equivalent to 10 Dhul Hajj 1352 AH. More than anything else, his death brought home more vividly the wise saying that death is a debt that all mortal beings owe. Sooner or later, it must be repaid.
Sarkin Lere Umaru Muhammad will not fit into one written piece. His life was an epic journey, from his childhood days in Lere to his rolling years in Barewa College; from his roller-coaster times in the Civil Service to the tranquil period of retirement; from his initiation into the art of kingship to the final days of a long and eventful reign.
He had been through so much. Sarki Umaru had been an extremely generous, firm and courageous ruler. He’s an epitome of royalty and embodiment of traditional institution. His reign had brought peace and prosperity in his domain. It was a remarkable thirty-one years on the throne, thirty-one all-too-brief years which had flown like an ibis in the twilight.
Day of his burial, on Wednesday, January 26, the ancient town of Lere was in deep mourning. It was no ordinary gathering. So many different types of men gathered together to pay their last respect and pray for the repose of his soul. He was buried in his palace in accordance to Islamic injunctions. His grave was adjacent to his younger brother, Alhaji Dabo Mohammed Lere, former Kaduna State governor; and neighbouring his father’s Sarkin Lere Alhaji Muhammadu Sani; his uncle’s Sarkin Lere Muhammadu Mijinyawa; and his great grandfather, the revered Sarkin Lere Muhammadu Dankaka.
Family members, his subjects, his friends, his colleagues, men of authority knew it was the cruellest of losses. He was a very special person and his good qualities are endless. Sad it is to lose him now as he gave us all so much.
Indeed, Sarki Umaru will never be far from our minds. He was a lesson in dignity and nobility. He embodied so many things, the least were a father, a guardian, a companion, a helper, a consensus builder, a trouble-shooter, a peace-maker and a monarch.
For every story that I could tell today about him, his close associates and relatives could tell fifty more. But I strongly believe that everyone who knew him savour the mile they walked with him. Each of us has special incidents we want to recount.
Sarki Umaru had granted me, and I believe several other people as well, unique privilege of long conversations, in the course of which he did all he could to pass on to us a thorough grounding in wisdom and knowledge. Those golden hours, those blessed moments had now vanished into the silence of death. His words had poured like a blessed elixir into my heart, where they are stored as precious treasure.
One of last moments I had with him was at the residence in Kaduna last October where he spent about two hours recounting some of his fondest memories. Sitting on a light green couch in his parlour, he narrated some part of his life story which included his childhood days, his dreams, his aspirations, his life as a student in Zaria, Ibadan and in the United States. He told me along with his police orderly, Corporal Yunusa, stories about the intrigues that pervaded the Civil Service in the 60s and 70s and lots more.
Sarki Umaru attended attended Elementary School, Lere from 1943 to 1949 and was one of the best students in his class that included retired Khadi Atiku Yusuf Lere (OON), Alhaji Zubairu Dansaude, Sarkin Yakin Lere and late Yakubu Namaresu. He enrolled into the Zaria Middle School (now Alhudahuda College) in 1949 and moved to Barewa College, Zaria in 1950 where he met former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, late Chief Sunday Awoniyi, late Alhaji Yahaya Maigari, late Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, late Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Umaru Sanda Ndayako, late Emir of Muri, Alhaji Umaru Abba Tukur among others. He was one of the leading science students among his contemporaries and was a student/ tutor in his favourite subject – Mathematics.
“But, whenever we have difficulties in mathematics we refer to our seniors. It was either Umaru Dikko or Sen. Ahmadu Alli,” he once told me. Still at Barewa College, Sarki Umaru was an ace hockey player. He enjoyed playing hockey for the school team along with Brigadier Abba Kyari, Alhaji Kaloma Ali, late Alhaji Abidina Coomassie and host of others. In fact, there was a time when Kaloma Ali, mistakenly, stroked him with a hockey stick which left deep cut on his shin. As a student in Barewa, he was a benign character and a buffer, defending the weak from the bullies. All his school-mates, both seniors and juniors recognised his leadership qualities.
Sarki Umaru also attended the Institute of Administration, Zaria (now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) from 1958 to 1959 where he obtained his Diploma in Native Authority Treasury and followed it up with a Professional Diploma in Accounting from Nigerian College of Science and Technology, Ibadan in 1962. He also obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Indutrial Development from the Arthur D. Little Institute of Management, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America in 1969.
He worked for different organisations before joining the Civil Service in 1962 which included the Bisichi Tin Co., Ltd in Jos from 1956 to 1957 as an Assistant Chemist. He joined He joined John Holt Nig. Ltd as Accounts Clerk in 1957 and left them a year later for Nigeria Tobacco Company Ltd as Chief Clerk (Sales Dept). He joined the Northern Nigerian Government as an Accountant in the Ministry of Trade and Industries in 1962. With the creation of 12 new states in 1967, he worked in various capacities with North Central State government (later Kaduna State) as Accountant (1968), Commercial Officer (1968 to 1975), Chief Commercial Officer (1975 to 1976). He was seconded to the Northern Nigeria Marketing Board as Commercial Controller between 1971 and 1974 and voluntarily retired from the service in 1976. After his retirement from the Civil Service, Sarki Umaru started his private business in Kaduna as an Industrial Consultant and established a construction firm known as Willetono Nigeria Ltd. He was also involved in public service in 1979 when he served as chair the Steering Committees in preparation for the elections in some local government areas in the state. It was at the heap of these activities that his late father, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani, the eleventh Sarkin Lere on February 9, 1980, passed away. It was then the collective view of Lere town elders and some statesmen, who insisted that he should abandon his thriving business and return home and take up the throne so that he will restore the lost image and prestige of Lere traditional institution.
Accordingly, he was installed the 12th Sarkin Lere on April 19, 1980 then as a circumscribed status of a village head. Henceforth, his life changed forever. His life would no longer be of his choosing, but a gift and a calling. As Sarki and leader of his community, his only care was for his people’s welfare and the community’s development and prosperity.
He was always determined, sometimes outraged but rarely sad. With determination and courage, he was able to achieve his greatest objective of restoring the status of Lere traditional institution which was diminished by the advent of British colonial rule in Northern Nigeria in 1903. By the special grace of Almighty God, he became the first Lere monarch to have transmuted from the status of village head in 1980 to district head in 1986 to third class chief in 2001 and then second class chief in 2007. At each point, it was a titanic struggle and only he knew the real weight of the trials he had endured. Thus, Sarki Umaru’s legacy for Lere traditional institution is unprecedented as he raised its profile to a level it has not attained in history. Beyond that, his contribution to traditional institution in Nigeria has been enormous as he was a beacon and focal point of reference for the institution that is perpetually seeking for relevance and a commensurate role to play in the socio-polity of modern day Nigeria.
He fought for peace and mutual co-existence among the numerous ethnic communities in his domain. The role he played in obstructing further bloodshed in the Gure/Kahugu crisis in 1984 and another one in Mariri/Gurza in 2006 was exemplary. He placed great value to education, health care and philanthropy. Through his numerous charity works, Sarki Umaru assisted numerous individuals and voluntary organisations in the country. He served two-terms as a member of the Governing Council of University of Ibadan from 1984 to 1992. He also served for 30 years as the National Chairman of Nigeria Aid Group of Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI). He was also the Chairman of Police and Public Relations Committee in Kaduna State between 1984 and 1990.
He was a well-travelled, thorough-bred chartered accountant who had been to several countries during his years in public service. He had travelled to countries like China, Germany, Russia, Turkey, India, Britain, former Yugoslavia, Spain among others to attract businesses and investments into the then North Central State (Kaduna State) in the late 60s and early 70s.
In recognition to his immense contributions to the development of his country and humanity in general, Sarki Umaru collected a Merit Award for Excellence from African Heritage International in 2009 and also received Great Northern Nigerian Achievers Gold Award for Development in May 2010.
It was the late United States Senator Robert Kennedy who once said, “Few will have greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in total of those acts will be written the history of our generation.” Sarki Umaru undoubtedly played his own part. He was indeed model of peace, love and commitment to his chosen cause who will be enormously missed. For those who know him closely, you cannot but attest to the fact that he worked with prodigious energy, intellectual rigour and excitement in his callings and his many activities in the public, private and traditional institutions.
He enjoyed reading and, most importantly, horse riding as he was a very good equestrian. He loves horses and his knowledge of the equine was particularly amazing. He was a member of Northern States Turf Authority and also served for many years as Treasurer for Kaduna Turf Club.
He left behind three wives, sixteen children and twelve grandchildren.
I pray that Almighty Allah grant you, Sarki Umaru, eternal rest and Aljanna Firdausi, Ameen.
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