It is with gratitude to Almighty Allah Who gives and takes that the Board of Trustees of League of Kano Veteran Journalists, mourns the death of the Emir of Gumel in Jigawa State, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad Sani II, CON.
The revered Emir died on Thursday 3rd September, 2026, in Cairo, Egypt, where he was receiving medical care and was buried in Gumel town the following day Friday 4th September, 2026. He was 83 years, eight months old.
One of Northern Nigeria’s longest-serving traditional rulers, he ascended the throne on December 16, 1980, following the death of his father, and received his staff of office in May 1981.
The late Emir received his primary education at Gumel Primary School from 1948 to 1953. He then attended Hadejia Middle School from 1953 to 1956. For his secondary education, he went to Kano High School (now Rumfa College, Kano) and passed out in 1961.
He studied at the Institute of Administration Kongo in Zaria (now part of Ahmadu Bello University) where he earned a diploma in Public Administration in 1963 and returned for a Higher Diploma in the same field in 1970. In 1972, he studied Political Science (undergraduate) and International Relations (postgraduate) at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, United States, completing his studies in 1978.
Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad Sani II worked with the Gumel Native Authority from 1961 to 1963. In 1964, he joined the immigration department and was stationed in Ngambori Ngala, Borno State. His career progressed further in 1972, when he was appointed a senior government official at the Kazaure Divisional office.
With the return of Political activities in 1978, he joined the Great Nigerian Peoples Party, GNPP, served as its Administrative Secretary in Kano State, and contested a Senatorial seat under the party during the 1979 general elections but was unsuccessful. However, a subsequent coalition between the GNPP and the party that won the Governatorial and majority of the State and National Assembly seats in the old Kano State (now Jigawa and Kano States) the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) led to his appointment as Commissioner for Information, Internal Affairs, and Culture by the then elected PRP Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi.
The League of Kano Veteran Journalists recalls that during his tenure as the Commissioner from October 1979 to December 1980, he played a key role in the process for the establishment of the Kano State owned two media institutions, the Triumph Publishing Company (Publishers of the Triumph Newspapers) and Kano State Television Corporation, CTV-67 (now known as ARTV). He also initiated an expansion policy of the State Government owned Radio Station, Radio Kano (the 3rd oldest Radio Station in the country) that was established in 1944.
Three months after assumption of Office as the Commissioner of Information, in January 1980 late Ahmed Muhammad Sani II, facilitated the support and assistance of Kano State Government to the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, in organising a Veteran Journalists Honors Award Ceremony held at the Auditorium of College of Advanced Studies, CAS, Kano.
The then State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, attended the event and was honored (being a former Information Officer and Cultural Attache at the Nigerian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt) together with other Veteran Journalists like Malam Magaji Dambatta, Malam Tanko Yakasai, Benjie Metteden, Sabo Bakinzuwo, Mansur Kankarofi, Mustapha Dambatta, Sabo Sarki Mohammed and others.
It is also on record that during the over 45 year-reign of the late Emir of Gumel, Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad Sani II, CON., Gumel Emirate witnessed glaring significant socio-economic development.
Media reports said he worked and balanced modern operational standards with the preservation of esteemed traditions. “His open-door policy marked a significant departure from the past, inviting subjects to engage directly with their leader. This was to foster an intimate bond between the monarchy and its citizens.”
On behalf of the Board Co-Chaired by Nasir Balarabe Zahradeen and Muhammad Sani Zorro, the Interim Management Committee and the entire members of the League, we wish to commiserate with the Royal Family of Gumel Kingdom, the Jigawa State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Governments and People of Jigawa and Kano States over the great loss. May his soul rest in peace.
SIGNED:
*Abdulkadir Ahmed Ibrahim, FNGE.* *(Kwakwatawa)*
Secretary and Member of
Board of Trustees of League of
Kano Veteran Journalists.
5th September, 2026.
