Yola — For a great mobiliser, a teacher of ages and custodian of the values of his ancestors, Dr. Lamido Aliyu Mustafa whose death occurred at the age of 88, signifies a rare opportunity offered by nature to serve humanity.

A cynosure of personalities, differently in their oration of tribute to the gem, created an epitaph that the monarch in his years on earth and those on throne, indeed invested it for longer joy and peace of his people.

Born 1922 in the old Yola Province, Dr. Aliyu Mustafa was crowned the 11th Lamido of Adamawa on the 26th of July, 1953, by the British Colonial Government after a trusted leadership as head chief of the police in charge of the province.

His early education of both koranic training and western education allowed him a leeway to communicate with the invading British colonial administration, and was supported to be the first Lamido enthroned by the colonial masters.

The late monarch, according to history of the emirate council, was the first Lamido enthroned to the Stool of his ancestors.

The council said the late Lamido, instead of declaring war against the invading colonial masters, gave his people the same advice, Uchendu offered to his cousin Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's renowned novel, Things Fall Apart: "Do not kill a man who says nothing."

With this, the Fulbes accepted unilaterally the presence of the colonial people in their domain, and gave maximum support to their vision.

What baffled the colonialists, according to the emirate was the ability of late Lamido to handle with calm his people, who replied the colonialists with candour.

This later earned him a prestigious title, Chancellor of the British Empire (CBE) in London.

By 1952, what spiced the late monarch into eminence was solely his call for the expansion of the Native Authority Council to accommodate other tribes other than the Fulani tribe, he belongs to.

This gave other tribes within the emirate a lot of confidence in the emerging leaders.

The leadership of the Native Authority under the Lamido was so fantastic that corrupt officials and district heads were punished.

The district head of Mayo Belwa for instance, was dismissed by Lamido after being found guilty of corruption likewise the head of Mubi who was deposed in Marh 1956.

Upon attainment of self government in March 1959, when the campaign of plebiscite was gearing up, towards separating occupants of boarder of the Cameroon and Nigeria, Lamido embarked on two weeks tour of Mambila District and visited Gembu, Serti and Toungo, where the then Minister of the Northern Cameroon Affairs was in those places to campaign for more numbers for his country. Lamido took zealously the campaign of plebiscite and won for Adamawa state a good number that now constitutes the Sarduana Kingdom.

As a statesman, the late Lamido is fondly remembered by the Ndigbo. When the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1967.

The eyes that witnessed it posited that while the Igbos were hunted, many of them took cover in his palace for three years unhurt. This justifies why some Igbos till date remain his aid in the palace.

Solomon Ebis, a Yola based business icon has attested to this fact.

Also in his bid to keep the diverse and heterogeneous, religious and ethnic communities of Adamawa State together, late Lamido Adamawa is widely cited as the only Northern leader, who accepted the Christians in his chambers to conduct faith based activities without the slightest fear of molestation or confrontation.

The late Lamido, an upright gentle man served his people and the British colonial administration for seven years without problem before the Nigerian Independence in October 1960.

He also had a good cordial relationship with Nigerian political and military leaders both at the state and federal level.

Just to mention a few Nigerian leaders that visited him in his emirate were General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) in Yola twice, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, when he was the military head of state also visited Lamido in 1979 in Yola alongside President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania.

Also, the former civilian president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, was on a presidential visit to him 1980 and in 1983. General Muhammadu Buhari was in Yola in Febuary 1984 and visited the emirate, likewise General Ibrahim Babangida, who visited him twice in 1987 and 1990.

Late Lamido fought decisively for the up grading of 11 second class chiefs within old Gongola and the current Adamawa state to the status of first class chiefs.

They were the Emirs of Mubi, Muri and Wukari now in Taraba State.

Others were Hama Bachamma, Gangwari Ganye, Hama Batta, Amna Shelleng, Kwadi Numguraya and Murum Mbula in Adamawa state. Chief of Mambila, Gashaka, Takum and Donga in Taraba State equally enjoyed this elevation during his leadership.

The late Lamido would be missed by his subjects and the various traditional councils in Adamawa State for many reasons.

He is identified as the sole performer and unifier of all the diverse cultural groups in the state.

The monarch allays religious fears among the groups with encouragement to minority tribes to compete for the highest political and cultural offices in the land since they are also created by God.

This informs why the governorship seat in the state was extented to people of revolved minority tribes in the state.

He warned religious leaders in the state against delivering sermons that will incite trouble in the land, with the warning to arrest and prosecute such people whenever crisis erupted by the manner of their preaching.

Aliyu Mustafa would also be missed for being instrumental to plump jobs available to members of his emirate.

Adamawa State records one of the highest populations of Nigerians in top private and public offices in the country in the past, and the secret behind this, was the unflinching effort of late lamido.

Of course, death of Lamido Adamawa would be regretted as a curator of the hungry.

He keeps one of the biggest farms in Adamawa State, whose products are mainly for the beggars, popularly known as the Almajiris.

He was conferred with different honourary awards across the country by many reputable organisations at home and abroad.

Among these were Doctor of Laws (LLD) Honoris Causa by the University of London and Chancellor of the British Empire (CBE).

The biggest question on the lips of several Nigerians now is who takes after Lamido Adamawa to build on these legacies?