The Kano Emirate Council has existed for some 207 years and of that number, Ado Bayero has reigned as emir for exactly 49 years. By October 2013, he would be celebrating his golden jubilee on the throne. Not only is he the longest serving emir in Kano's history, no other emir as come close to spending three decades on the throne.
Ado Bayero has witnessed the transformation of Nigeria and Kano from the days of colonial rule to the first attempt at self rule in the 1960s and the long years of military rule and now the challenges of today's democratic dispensation. At 82 however, his age has began to tell on him and more and more, he appears less in public. While his reign could continue for another decade, many believe there will never be an emir like him.
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