On this day, two years ago, Ambassador Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli was appointed as the 19th Emir of Zazzau by Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
Bamalli’s emergence as the number one monarch in the highly revered Zazzau emirate – the first from Mallawa ruling clan in 100 years – followed the death of Dr Shehu Idris, who reigned for 45 years (February 8, 1975 – September 20, 2020). Interestingly, Emir Bamalli is married to one of the daughters of his predecessor.
Since his ascension to the Zazzau throne, Amb Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, who earlier held the title of Magajin Gari, has been working to reposition the emirate in a manner that it will continue to serve the people in the best way possible. The emir, in a well-thought out move, built a modern clinic at the palace for the people to access healthcare services.
To make life better for the palace guards and other workers, the emir reviewed their salary upward, allowing them to have more to take care of their immediate and family needs.
Another masterstroke by the emir is the erection of symbolic gates in the palace and naming each after the emirs from each of the ruling houses. This, no doubt, will give the people a sense of belonging, irrespective of the ruling house they come from. This has further strengthened the bond of unity among the ruling houses.
In addition to this is his open-door policy which makes him easily accessible to the people of the emirate. He is always willing to listen to their yearnings and aspirations so as to find a solution to them.
Just like the palace, the city of Zaria, which is the headquarters of the Zazzau emirate, is witnessing huge transformation, especially in the area of infrastructure. New roads, bridges are coming up, just like markets and schools are being modernised.
Adalin Sarki (a just emir) as he is fondly called, Emir Bamalli has been helping his people to secure job openings and training for entrepreneurship skills. He does not condone zaman kashe wando (idleness), which only leads to disastrous consequences.
As a trained lawyer, banker and diplomat, who last assignment was being the Nigerian Ambassador to Thailand with concurrent accreditation to Myanmar, Bamalli has brought his vast experience to bear in the discharge of his royal duties.
The emir was born on June 8, 1966 to the family of Malam Nuhu Bamalli, a former Nigerian foreign minister. He obtained his first degree in law from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Kaduna State in 1989 and a Masters degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from the same institution in 2002. Bamalli obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) in 1998, and also a fellowship on conflict resolution at the University of York, United Kingdom in 2009.
An alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where he was trained in general management programme in 2011, the Zazzau emir obtained another diploma in organisational leadership from Oxford University, United Kingdom in 2015. He is also a Senior Chevening Fellow.
Despite studying law, he started his working career as a banker where he was in 1992 appointed Assistant Manager KMC Nigeria Limited/First Security Discount House (FSDH), a post he held for six years.
He joined FSB International Bank Plc in 1998 as deputy manager, rising through the system to the senior manager grade and later regional manager, public sector in 2006. The lawyer served for one year as Assistant Director, Abuja Metropolitan Management Authority in 2006, leaving the position in 2007.
Bamalli also worked as the General Manager, Human Resources Management, Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL) the mobile arm of the defunct Nigeria Telecommunications between 2007 and 2009. He left Mtel to join Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSPMP) as executive director in charge of corporate services in 2011. He acted as the acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
He later took up an appointment in Kaduna State in 2015 as a commissioner in the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) in charge of finance. He was later deployed to serve as commissioner in charge of four electoral zones in the state. He was KADSIECOM commissioner until his ambassadorial appointment in 2017.
Allah ja da ran sarki.
- Danlami wrote in from Tudun Wada, Zaria, Kaduna State.
