Ten years on: Remembering Jarman Kano Adamu Dankabo

A day earlier on April 3rd, the late Jarman Kano, a perfect blend of tradition and modernity had rolled out the drums thanking his creator for witnessing a milestone. As a devout Muslim, he had known from childhood that to live beyond that over ripe age of 60 to 70 was a bonus. So he had lived life to the fullest. He lived each day as if it was his last.

Were he alive today, Dankabo would have been 70, the proverbial three scores and ten. He witnessed the three scores alright but he never got to witness the ten. A sage once said it is not the years spent that count but the quality of the years spent. To say that the Jarma’s 60 years of earthly sojourn was qualitative is to state the obvious. Touching lives and changing the fortunes of whole communities defined his life.

His philanthropy is legendary. His generosity was boundless. These virtues also defined his business philosophy. To late Dankabo, wealth was meant to serve mankind and not mankind serving wealth. That explains, in part, his fabled generosity.

To attempt to capture the essential Jarman Kano in a short tribute like this is to attempt the impossible. He was a polyglot with a multiple of skills and qualities. At one end, he was a  trail blazing entrepreneur who pioneered the capital intensive airline business. At another, he was a resourceful traditional title holder and ruler willing to sacrifice his immense wealth for the good of his subject. Yet at another end he was a disarmingly humble philanthropist prepared to share his last penny with the need.

It was therefore, not surprising that the late business mogul earned several chieftaincy titles from across the vast expense of the nation in recognition of his selflessness and service to mankind. Besides being the Jarman Kano and Hakim in Kabo, he was also the Oruwase of Urhobo land, Adah Idah-ke Eburutu of Calabar, the Sardaunan Kagoro.

His pioneering exploit in the aviation industry at a point made world history .His seven Boeing 747 jets at  a time  made him the sole-owner of the world’s largest fleet of long range private jet liners. From two leased aircrafts at its inception, Kabo Air had, at its peak period of operations 24 fully owned aircrafts of varying sizes to consolidate its position as No1 in Africa.

Indeed with continued dwindling fortunes of Nigerians well into the 1990’s the pragmatic and visionary owner of Kabo Air, late Jarman Kano, and Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Dankabo swiftly ventured into the more viable international operations especially Umrah and Hajj operations. His successes in the aviation industry are indeed remarkable. The airline was established in February 1980 by the late Jarma and started operations in April 1981. It is wholly owned by Kabo Holdings. From a humble beginning, Kabo Air steadily grew to overwhelmingly dominate the skies of Nigeria in the field of air operations.

For over a decade Kabo Air operated about 20 domestic flights daily linking Nigerians from both sides of Rivers Niger and Benue especially businessmen and women from Kano through which business transaction flourished, catapulting Kano people to new level in modern business.

The company stopped operating domestic services in 2001, but recently said that new services are on the table. For now, it focuses solely on Hajj flights and international charters. Traffic rights were given to Kabo Air for operating scheduled services to Rome, Nairobi and N’Djamena. For some time there were flights to Cairo.

As the pioneer of the private airline industry in the country, his business astuteness saw his company Kabo Holdings Limited, operators of Kabo Air, stay afloat with its peers falling by the wayside. In the risk-laden and uncertain business terrain in Nigeria, Kabo Air has metamorphosed into an enduring institution exploding, in a profound manner, the myth that airlines business in Africa hardly thrive after the demise of its originator.

Great leaders create leaders not followers, so goes a common saying. Late Dankabo clearly fall into the category of great leaders because he was able to create leaders that have taken the business he originated to new high. Last year, the management of Kabo Air led by the Managing Director Captain Saidu Muhammad acquired a Boeing 747 -300 to boost the fleet to a total of four Boeing 747s.

A well trained pilot with years of flying experience, apt Saidu Muhammad has diligently piloted the affairs of Kabo Air in the last decade expanding its operational scope to the West African Sub-region with offices in Sierra Leone, Benin Repblic, Cameroun and Ghana.

Headquartered in Kano, Kabo Air originally operated special charter services for corporate bodies, executives and government officials.  During his life time, Dankabo being a key and visible player in the aviation industry ensured that his airline offered the lowest fare. There were instances passengers on domestic route were routinely flown to their destinations free especially if he happened to have been aboard.

Thanks to his fabled generosity. Umrah and Hajj passengers used to rush Kabo Air on account of its low fare and lenient haulage of pilgrim luggage. During his life time he anonymously executed   philanthropy which was only discovered after his passage.

Yesterday marked ten years of the death of this illustrious business man and traditional ruler. To mark this milestone, his family visited hospitals, orphanages and homes of the less privilege and donated handsomely in the tradition of their late patriarch. Indeed the death of Dankabo has left a big vacuum difficult to fill years after he departed this world.

Muhammad is a student of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.