The dethrone Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, has separately departed for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to attend the burial of the late business mogul and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, who died on Saturday in Dubai at the age of 94.
The late patriarch of the influential Dantata family passed away in Abu Dhabi. His burial will take place in Madina, in accordance with Islamic rites, with dignitaries from across Nigeria in attendance.
Funeral prayer in absentia (Salatul Ga’ib) was held on Saturday in Kano for the late business icon.
The prayer, held at the Umar Bin Khattab Mosque in the Kano metropolis, was led by Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil, Chairman of the Kano State Council of Ulamas.
Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II , reinstated by the current Kano State Government, and Bayero, who was deposed but remains supported by the Federal Government, travelled under separate arrangements.
While Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf led an official state delegation that included Emir Sanusi II and senior government officials from the state and Jigawa, Emir Bayero travelled with an entourage of loyalists, traditional title holders, and palace aides.
Speaking with KUKURUKU on Monday, Abubakar Balarabe Kofar Naisa, spokesperson for the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, confirmed that the Emir and his delegation departed Nigeria on Sunday.
He revealed that the late Dantata had personally requested Emir Bayero to lead his funeral prayer.
Dantata saw His Highness as a son to him because of his deep and respectful relationship with the late Alhaji Ado Bayero.
That’s why he left the message that whenever he passed away, Aminu Ado Bayero should lead his funeral prayer,” Balarabe said.
According to him, the Emir was accompanied by key palace officials, including the Sarkin Dawaki, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan’agundi, and a federal lawmaker representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, among others.
Sources close to both royal camps confirmed that the two emirs would be paying their final respects to the late Dantata, whose legacy spanned commerce, religion, and philanthropy in Northern Nigeria.
An observer, Mustapha Isa Kwaru, has described the joint presence of the two rival emirs at the burial as a symbolic, though awkward, convergence amid the ongoing legal and political tussle over the rightful occupant of the Kano throne.
As of Monday morning, both delegations had arrived in Saudi Arabia, where they are expected to meet with members of the Dantata family and Kano indigenes residing in the kingdom.
Alhaji Aminu Dantata was widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s wealthiest and most respected elder statesmen.
