Right in the heart of Zaria, where centuries of tradition continue to shape modern life, sits His Highness, Mallam Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli CFR, the 19th Emir of Zazzau.
His ascension to the throne in October 2020 marked a significant moment in the history of one of Nigeria’s oldest and most influential emirates. As the first Emir from the Mallawa dynasty to occupy the throne in more than a century, his emergence represented both a return to lineage and the beginning of a new chapter for the Zazzau Emirate.
Born into a distinguished royal family, Mallam Bamalli grew up within the traditional Hausa-Fulani Muslim society of northern Nigeria, where leadership, service, culture and faith formed the foundation of daily life. Yet his journey to the throne was far from conventional.
Before becoming Emir, he built a career that spanned banking, public service and diplomacy. A graduate of Law from Ahmadu Bello University, he later earned an MBA in Marketing and a doctorate in Management. He worked in the banking sector, served as a Permanent Commissioner with the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission and represented Nigeria as Ambassador to Thailand, with concurrent accreditation to Myanmar.
Those experiences have given him a perspective that extends beyond the palace walls. Today, as custodian of a centuries-old institution, His Highness combines the weight of tradition with an understanding of the realities of a rapidly changing world.
As he marks his 60th birthday, we step beyond the ceremonial regalia to meet the man behind the throne — exploring his views on leadership, the future of Zazzau, the responsibilities of royalty in the 21st century and the values that continue to guide his life.
Interview By – Yinka Olatunbosun
Congratulations on your 60th birthday. How would you describe the feeling of witnessing another milestone?
Alhamdulillah (meaning Praise be to God). That’s all I can say. I’m grateful to Almighty Allah for his grace, for sparing my life, and for my good health over the past six decades. It’s truly great to be alive. When I look around, and I see a lot of people – friends and acquaintances- some who have died, I say Alhamdulillah! I am grateful to God for being able to see this day.
How do you balance the weight of the historical duty (of upholding the centuries-old legacy of the Zazzau Emirate) with the present-day demands?
With all sense of humility and responsibility, I have been coping well. It’s a tradition that I am used to. I was born into it. For 19 years, I served in certain strategic positions as the most senior member of the royal family, Magajin Garin Zazzau. For me, it’s a continuation. Previously, I was a passenger, but now I’m in the driver’s seat. I know my vision for the Emirate, and I know what needs to be done to improve the lives of our people. Being in the administration and having worked at the council, I can say I work for the people. But I think we have redefined governance here. I’m following due process in every aspect. Even the conduct
of the people has changed drastically. It’s very different from what it used to be. Every Emir has his own style of leadership. My leadership style is significantly different from that of my predecessor.
As the Emir, you are considered a bridge between the government and the grassroots. What are some of the changes you are consciously making to redefine the role?
I am the bridge between the government and the common man. The common man accepts what we say. We are much closer to them than the political class. We don’t tell them what to accept, but we earn their respect not by force. When we talk to them, they listen. They know that we are not deceiving them in any way.
The Zazzau Emirate’s renowned for unique traditions such as the Durbar. Are there plans to make this, as well as Northern fashion and cuisine, exportable and more appealing to younger people while remaining authentic?
The Zazzau Emirate has been very active when it comes to the Durbar festival. When Queen Elizabeth II came to Nigeria in 1956, she came to the North, and the council of Northern Nigeria was then in Kaduna. There was a Durbar display for her, and all the Emirs in Northern Nigeria
converged on Kaduna to celebrate with the Queen. In 1972, King Haile Selassie also came to Kaduna. I was very young then. But I still remember because it was done at Race Course Square, now called Murtala Square. The place where Galaxy Mall is now used to be our house between 1968 and 1973. We were there when he came, and it was a great event. Durbar was staged. Again in 1977, during the FESTAC, we had another Durbar festival. Kaduna has always been the centre of culture. I know that in places like Kano, whenever they have visitors, they’d stage a Durbar. Durbar is a ceremonial event that has been witnessed by the French Ambassador, the British Deputy High Commissioner, the Dutch Ambassador, and the Italian Ambassador. Considering the fact that we use horses and a lot of people, like the gun men for the gun salute, Durbar is not something that can be exported. But we are documenting them in formats that can be exported, such as films and memorabilia. The Durbar festival is becoming increasingly interesting, and people enjoy it even in the hot sun. And Zaria is peaceful; it is a place where guests are treated with dignity and respect.
Under your watch, what measures are in place to preserve the historic Zaria Architecture?
The architecture of Zaria has been preserved for ages. We have been trying to preserve some of these heritage sites—especially some of the most important gates that we have. I think sometime in 2006, a part of the gates had gone down completely. It was through the gates that Mallam Musa came into Zaria. But it was left unattended, and so one part of the gate was completely down. We sat with the former Emir to see what we could do to restore it. But we couldn’t at that time. I was able to connect with the British High Commissioner when His Majesty King Charles, then Prince Charles, came to Zaria and wanted to do something for us at two locations. They chose the church in Wusasa, and this important gate of Kofar Bai. He gave us about 50 per cent of the money to do the repairs, but I wasn’t around. I left the country at the time. But when I returned to Nigeria, I discovered that they had demolished the entire gate and designed a different gate made of bricks, which was not in line with the agreement made with the British High Commissioner and then the project was abandoned. But we had to do something differently altogether. Coming on board, we have another concept design for the gate through which our ancestors entered during the Jihad. I created four gates to cover the perimeters of the Zazzau palace. I named the gates after all four emirs because this house does not belong to just a ruling house. It belongs to all of us. Zaria Emirates has four ruling dynasties: Mallawa, Barebari, Katsinawa and Sullubawa. The four gates are named after the founders of the four ruling dynasties. We have the Mallam Musa Gate named after Mallam Musa, the 1st Fulani Emir of Zazzau and founder of the Mallawa Dynasty; Mallam Abdukarimu Gate named after Mallam Abdulkarim, the 3rd Fulani Emir and founder of the Katsinawa Dynasty; Mallam Abdusalam Gate named after Mallam Abdulsalam, the founder of the Sullubawa Dynasty; and Mallam Yamusa Gate named after Mallam Yamusa Babarbare, the 2nd Fulani Emir and founder of the Bare-Bari Dynasty.
Within the palace, we have been able to get a five-bed clinic through a corporate social responsibility initiative. We have about 192 families in the palace here. It is one of the largest royal households in the North. We get support from the primary health care centre in Zaria. People are now receiving treatment here. I am passionate about the preservation of our heritage. There is a building here called Takon Giwa. It is the oldest building in the palace. When I came in, I had to change the concept. What used to be the accommodation of the Sultan of Sokoto, I converted it into a gallery. I converted the accommodation of the last three Emirs to be the accommodation of the Sultan of Sokoto whenever he comes to Zaria.
What do you think of the growing insecurity challenge that has made Northern Nigeria a flashpoint?
Insecurity is not only present in the North. Sadly, we have parts of the Southwest that have been affected too, like the one in Oyo state. This is quite unfortunate. I recalled when I spoke with the Emir of Argungu about this some years ago. Then, the deputy speaker of the House of Assembly in Kebbi state was kidnapped and eventually killed. I still saw him a week before it happened. It was a terrible experience that led to his death- something I’ll never forget till the end of my life. He was a very distinguished man, humble and very nice. People in these regions are more vulnerable to these attacks. These people have taken over all that region. We cannot visit family and friends there anymore. It is very unfortunate and really alarming. We hope and pray that Nigeria can take care of this problem so that we can go back to our normal lives.
What is your vision for channelling the energy of Zazzau’s young people into productive, peace-building ventures?
First, it is quality education. Young people should attend tertiary institutions and study courses that equip them with the right skills for jobs, without necessarily waiting for government white-collar jobs. Right now, most of them, when they are out of school and done with their NYSC, have certain places they want to work, like CBN, NNPC, NITT. Whether they have the right qualifications to work in those places or not, they would bring CVs, and I keep telling them that I never took my CV to anyone. I always applied for work. Of course, you may then have someone who can push it for you. But right now, they are so spoilt that their parents will tell you to help them get jobs for their children. Parents should encourage their children to apply for jobs. This application is done online today, unlike when we had to write application letters by hand.
Secondly, before you get any job, you ought to do an aptitude test, and this is not rocket science. Most children in the North have not heard of GMAT. I was in Lagos for 10 years. I worked as a banker. I have seen how people practice past questions and learn to write GMAT. I tell young people to use their fingers rather than rely on government work. I think there should be a change.
In my time, starting off was quite rough. I stayed in a place called Morocco in Yaba. I worked at CMS. I took mass transit. Later, I secured a better-paying job and rented a place on Victoria Island because my salary was enough to afford it. Young people need to learn from our examples by being patient and diligent.
In the face of recent security threats, how can traditional institutions like yours support state security agencies?
We do that every day. We gather intelligence. We share with the authorities. That’s all from our side. That’s part of the work of a traditional ruler. Sometimes, we don’t wait for the weekly report we send; if there’s an urgent situation, we escalate. We send security reports from every district every week. We collaborate with authorities, but it is the enforcement that we don’t have the capacity for. We can only advise.
How do you preach unity and calm during times of heightened regional tension?
Preaching of unity should start from home. Zaria is the most complicated Emirate in Northern Nigeria. When I was enthroned in 2020, I didn’t think it was right to dismiss everyone from the palace. But when you become an Emir, you’d flush out everyone from the palace. Every Emir comes with their own people as staff. But I allowed some of the former Emir’s staff to stay. More than 95 percent of the people I met here are still in the palace. That’s what it means to have an inclusive administration. Even with the distribution of titles, I believe that all the ruling houses have benefited. Again, I have tried to see that every activity involves everybody. All I am after is competence.
Capacity building is also very important. When I came on board, I started to turn the administration around. Every officer had to be computer-literate. For the past three years, all our books have been checked and balanced. On the second of January every year, all the books in the Emirates are checked by the auditors and are ready for inspection at any time. We prioritise accountability in the Emirates- now that we do our things electronically.
When there are heightened regional tensions, we hold meetings with religious leaders. They would pass the message to people at their various places of worship and try to contain any tension. Usually, people run to the palace when there is tension. We calm them down.
On the strength of your experience as Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Thailand, how do you see Nigeria’s current international relations systems in the era of tighter visa restrictions?
The visa restrictions depend on a lot of things. Some people think that being a former ambassador, I would have power to do many things which is not the case. The visa section is different from the administration. There are so many departments in the embassy that have their own function. We have the consular section, we have the finance, and there is a finance attaché who doesn’t have anything to do with visa issuance. Even if the Ambassador wants to help someone get a visa, he has to follow due process. He has to beg for the case to be looked into. The visa officers report to the Home Office. Ambassadors don’t give visas, and they don’t influence visa issuance indiscriminately. They have to be sure that the person has something good to do in the country of destination. Even when I was serving as an ambassador, my wife and I had diplomatic passports, but our children didn’t have one. Every 90 days, we had to go to the immigration officer to have their visas renewed. But in some other countries, the children of ambassadors can automatically obtain a visa that lasts for up to three or four years. That’s the practice. Every country has its own way of doing things. In Thailand where I served, the visa restriction was high due to the influx of people that were bringing drugs into their country.
How is the the Zazzau Emirate leveraging modern-day technology to document its unique culture?
That is ongoing. We have not gone very far with it due to the level of literacy, but we have now established a library at the museum, where books and ebooks are available. Very soon, we will make it accessible to everyone worldwide. We have some support for the ebooks from the University here, and we intend to build on it. When I came in, I realised that some records had been damaged. What I am doing is retrieving them and creating an electronic archive to keep some of these. We have been able to do that. We still have all the correspondence with the Sultan of Sokoto from the time of the Jihad, and they would be preserved electronically.
On a personal note, how do you unwind to take off the pressure of monarchical duties?
Every morning, I do exercise. Even this morning, I walked around the palace. I have a trainer that comes and works for an hour. I have been struggling now because of advancing age. I am also changing my diet so that I maintain a healthy weight. On Sundays, my friends from Kaduna come around. I don’t work or entertain visitors at night. That is family time.
What is the single most important achievement that the people of Zazzau will associate with your name?
This is a difficult question for me to answer. I believe the question should be redirected to the people. I don’t think it is my place to answer it.
