Our hotel booking will expire today and we have no home to move into’ Late Emir Ado Bayero’s daughter begs for funds to buy house in Lagos

The daughter of the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, Zainab Bayero, has reached out to Governor Abba Yusuf for financial support for her family to survive and own a home in Lagos.

Her father was the longest-serving emir in Kano’s history until his death about a decade ago.

He died at the age of 83 on June 6, 2014, having ruled from 1963.

Zainab is one of his children. She granted Premium Times an interview on Friday, August 23, to shed light on the difficulties her family had been enduring since her father’s passing.

According to her, she,e her mother and brother, had been struggling to make ends meet and are in need of support.

According to her, because the late Emir had many wives and children, her mother and her children were not given anything from the estate of the late monarch.

She said there were a lot of divisions and intrigues in the bigger family, leading them to be alone.

Zainab said, her mother and brother were in a terrible situation for close to 10 years now.

She said they  had been trying to survive and find ways to get back on their feet, have a proper home and means of livelihood, but this has not been possible.

She said they were tired of renting accommodation or moving from hotel to hotel.

‘We would love the governor to help us buy or give us money to get a house here in Lagos. Since our father’s death, we believe it would be better to relocate to Lagos and start a new life for safety and freedom and to live our lives the way we want. However, with the current skyrocketing prices, we’re looking at around N150 million for a house in Lagos,” she said.

The daughter of the late Emir acknowledged that Mr Yusuf assisted them in June but it was insufficient to address their ongoing struggles.

Zainab called on President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and compassionate Nigerians to assist her family.

Zainab said:

“I reached out to the governor in a publication on 23 June when my mother, brother, and I were staying at a hotel in VI. We haven’t had an apartment since last year and were behind on hotel bills. The next day, he sent someone to settle the bills and asked, ‘What do we need?’ We told him we wanted a home, for my brother to return to school, and something to do.

“He (the governor through his representative) gave us some money, but we didn’t meet the governor in person; it was all through an intermediary. We don’t know the governor’s plans, but he mentioned wanting to buy us a house in Kano. I told him, no, we want a house in Lagos. What he gave us wasn’t enough to rent a house for a year. So, we’ve been trying to find a place, but the funds aren’t sufficient. We’re in the same situation again.”

Zainab said their latest hotel booking had expired, and they would have to check out today, Saturday, August 24, with no place to stay.