It seems like only yesterday when Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, CFR, was sworn in as the 13th Etsu Nupe on September 11th, 2003, barely a day shy of his 51st birthday. As a birthday gift of sorts, the then colonel in the country's armoured corps - he was promoted brigadier-general in arrears after becoming emir - couldn't have wished for better.
When his highly experienced and widely respected maternal uncle, Alhaji Umaru Sanda Ndayako, died on September 1, 2003 as the 12th Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya was not initially in serious contention as a possible successor even though it was the turn of Usman Zaki ruling house to which he belonged to produce the next Etsu.
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