Two nights after the demise of the beloved Late Emir of Zazzau Alhaji Shehu Idris a touching incident occurred that sent a whole neighborhood weeping.
Late into the night a group of neighborhood watchmen intercepted trucks loaded high.
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On enquiry they discovered the goods being ferried by the trucks belonged to the family of the late Emir.
They were vacating the palace without waiting for official notice.
This humility is a typical trait of Shehu Idris and his family.
However, the noise attracted the people of the neighborhood who came out of their houses to ascertain what was amiss in their normally quiet area.
The spectacle of Shehu Idris’s household packing out of the palace pulled the heartstrings of the people.
There was weeping and sad lamentations.
Late Shehu Idris was the longest ruling Emir of the Fulani dynasty with 45 years on the throne.
People within and beyond his kingdom loved and respected him not so much for his longetivity bearing the staff of traditional authority than for his excellent qualities of leadership that already manifested in some of his children, whom most Zagezagi expected to carry on into the future.
While this packing business was going under the cover of the night, the air of expectations for a new Emir has filled the days of the entire people of Zazzau.
People are hoping for replacement closely embodying the leadership qualities of the Late Emir.
Late Shehu Idris is known for his love and commitment to peace, for his welcoming and accommodating nature, for his progressive and modernizing approach to issues and his deep respect for constituted authority.
His loyalty to the people and the country is beyond question.
People know and appreciate how Shehu Idris cooperated with the government in lauching Zazzau into the modern era.
They all feel and wish for this peaceful progress to continue.
Late Shehu Idris had paid his dues to the people and the mother land. It is up to those saddled with the responsibility in the emergence of new Emir to fill the vacuum with a man who could illicit the love of the people, move the society forward and maintained the tolerant atmosphere of Zazzau as in the days of Late Shehu Idris.
Be that as it may, the love for the father has rubbed off on his sons.
The people of Zazzau earnestly await the decision of his Excellency the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai.Happily, Mal Nasiru El-Rufai is a progressive minded person who is swayed more by public good and merit than by some heresy and desires of vested interest.
Ahmed Abubakar writes from Abuja
