BY SIMON REEF MUSA
During the recently concluded centenary celebration of the Barewa College Zaria that served as a centre of academic excellence for the early Northern elite, the foremost school honoured posthumously the exceptional footprints left behind by former students of the school. The posthumous honour of recognition on some former schoolboys of the college was aimed at highlighting archetypal acts of valor by the former students in inspiring the present generation in pushing forward Nigerians in all areas of human endeavours.
The Barewa College was established as Katsina Training College in 1921 and later changed to its present name in 1939. From the fountain of this school, some members of the early Northern elite got strengthened and stood firm in advancing the course of education for a region working hard to catch up with the South. Owing to the ubiquitous relevance of the school, highly educated students from the North saw the college as the stunning mainspring of scholastic excellence. Many of the college’s former students are now the nub of Nigeria’s political and business world that include former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd), and the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, among hundreds of other citizens that shaped and still shaping the affairs of the Nigerian state.
When the Barewa Old Boys Association (BOBA) recently bestowed a posthumous award on the 10th Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Usman Sarki, it was in cognisance of the late monarch’s vision in nation building soon after independence. Despite challenges associated with this period, Etsu Sarki made astounding contributions to the development of his people by rallying the Bida Emirate to embrace modernity for development purposes.
The man who would become the 10th Etsu Nupe was born to the 8th Etsu Saidu of the Masaba Dynasty in 1920, forty years before political independence. As a son to the 8th Etsu Nupe who reigned from 1926 to 1935, the young prince was born when his father was only five years on the throne.
The young prince was enrolled in the Bida Elementary Primary School where he attended and completed his basic education between 1933 and 1937. After completing his primary education, he proceeded to the Bida Provincial Middle School from 1937 to 1943. At the completion of his studies, he displayed an unrivaled academic brilliance that eventually earned him an admission into the then elitist school called Kaduna College from 1943 to 1944.
At the end of his studies at Kaduna College, the young Usman advanced to the PWD Engineering School from 1944 to 1948 to qualify as an engineer. After his engineering course at the PWD Engineering School, he commenced work at the Bida Native Authority (BNA) where he spearheaded the infrastructural development of the emirate. His work at the BNA as an engineering assistant in 1948 revealed him as a resourceful worker, culminating in his promotion to the position of Supervisor of Works.
His quest for academic advancement refused to go away as he headed to the University College Ibadan where he took an extramural course on Economic Development of Nigeria. At the end of his course in Ibadan, the engineer who had attained the position of a supervisor would later emerge as one of the most qualified administrators in the North, with an unrivalled organizational skills whose competence had become unquestionable.
As the wind and sound of freedom from colonial powers blew across Nigeria, Prince Usman would take advantage of his unequaled proficiency to test his chances in political contest. After consultation, he threw his hat in the ring and won the Federal House of Representative election on the platform of the Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC). As the golden fish with no hiding place, Prince Usman’s hardworking disposition and workaholic nature were glaring. He was quickly appointed the Secretary to the Federal Ministry of Works and Surveys in 1955. Five years later, he got appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs by Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa after Nigeria got political independence. Considering his first-rate performance in previous positions that had turned him into an icon of a sort, the prince from Bida eventually emerged as one the most brilliant members of the Balewa cabinet.
His life took a different plunge when the then 9th Etsu Nupe, Etsu Alhaji Muhammadu Ndayako, popularly known as Etsu Bakudu, died on 29th October, 1962. Prince Sarki’s emergence as the 10th Etsu Nupe was not devoid of the debate over whether qualification or rotation should hold sway among the three royal houses of the Bida Emirate to succeed Etsu Bakudu. This debate was promoted even while he held served as Minister. the argument would assume a raging status after the death of Etsu Ndayako. Considering the fact that the tested technocrat and politician in the person of Prince Usman was the most qualified to ascend the throne, the proponents of merit over rotation finally carried the day as the kingmakers finally nominated Prince Usman as the 10th Etsu Nupe on merit, rather than on the basis of the rotational Etsuship among Bida’s three royal families.
With his appointment as the 10th Etsu Nupe, the prince voluntarily resigned as minister to assume his new role on 3rd March, 1963. Bringing his dazzling brilliance and commitment in enthroning revolutionary reforms through discipline and due process to improve the administrative capacity of the Bida Emirate, the new monarch was committed to a new dawn from an administrative, and political mind. His determination to introduce reforms and rebrand the emirate would, no doubt, attract opponents to return to the trenches.
Some of the highpoints of his achievement as the 10th Etsu Nupe included rebranding Bida Emirate as one of the most admired emirates in the North that was made possible by his extensive experience as a consummate technocrat and politician of repute. Throughout the entire Northern Nigeria, his unrivalled academic profile made him a leader on public policies and how best to run the traditional institution.
The emergence of the 10th Etsu Nupe was not without some forms of disagreements as clashes took place on the streets of Bida over his choice. While Etsu Sarki continued to be undaunted by scheming of opponents to pull the carpet off his feet, some power brokers resorted to writing frivolous petitions. Acting on these unsubstantiated accusations, the monarch was dethroned in 1969 and exiled to Bakura, then in old Sokoto State, but now in Zamfara.
A committee set up by the Federal Government would later exculpate Etsu Sarki of all the accusations. Former President Shehu Shagari in 1980 upheld his innocence and recognised his status as a phenomenal monarch by bestowing on him a national award of the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
Like all great leaders who saw the future, Etsu Sarki deployed academic brilliance, political dexterity and administrative skills to not only reform the Bida Emirate; but also transformed the traditional institution to serve the people. The posthumous award bestowed on him by BOBA is in cognisance of Etsu Sarki’s timeless relevance and recognition for his committed service to the northern traditional institution and the country.
The life and times of the 10th Etsu Nupe, no doubt, provides an opportunity for writing a book to understand the undercurrents behind the epoch that defined the transformation of the Bida Emirate. A well-researched material could throw light on the indelible footprints of a monarch whose reign impacted positively on his subjects who still admire his visionary leadership that saw the present in the past.
Mash Allah praise give to Almighty…
Big thanks to forefront and co