Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III: Twenty years of a reign shaped by destiny — by Samuel Aruwan

When Sa’ad, the prince who would later become Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, was born on Friday, 24 August 1956, to Sultan Siddiq Abubakar III and Hajiya Fadimatu Binta Abubakar, no one could have imagined the path his life would take. His father was 53 at the time, but neither he nor the young prince’s mother or anyone in the Sultanate could have known that Sa’ad would become a military officer, serve in different parts of Nigeria and abroad, and eventually return to Sokoto as its twentieth Sultan. As he marks 20 years on the throne, the events that shaped his journey have taken on a deeper meaning. Only Allah knew then what lay ahead.

Among Sultan Abubakar III’s sons, it was his much older brother, Sultan Muhammadu Maccido, who appeared more likely to succeed their father. Maccido was already 30 when Sa’ad was born. He became a trusted aide to their father and was among the leading contenders following Sultan Abubakar III’s death in 1988. But the throne first went to Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki. Eight years later, Maccido became Sultan and reigned for a decade before dying alongside his son, Senator Badamasi Maccido, and grandson in the ADC Airlines Flight 53 crash on 29 October 2006.

Sa’ad’s mother lived long enough to witness her son’s emergence as Sultan, a privilege that neither his father nor his elder brother enjoyed. His paternal grandmother, Hadijatu Kubbura, died months before Sultan Abubakar III ascended the throne in 1938, while Maccido’s mother, Hauwa, also died before her son became Sultan in 1996. Sultan Abubakar III was 35 when his paternal uncle and guardian, Sultan Hassan Dan Mu’azu, died on 31 May 1938. Still mourning the loss of his mother and the uncle who had raised him and prayed for his emergence as Sultan, he was appointed the seventeenth Sultan on 17 June 1938.

Unlike many who rose through the traditional hierarchy of palace and district titles, Sa’ad did not follow that route. Yet he was familiar with the workings of the Sultanate. He grew up watching his father manage its affairs and often accompanied him on visits to Maiduguri, Kaduna and other places. Those journeys gave him an opportunity to observe how his father related with government officials, traditional rulers, religious leaders and people from different backgrounds. In many ways, his early education in leadership began at his father’s side and continued through his years of national service.

His decision to join the Army was not part of his original plans. Having performed well in his West African School Certificate examination, he appeared set for further academic pursuits. He had neither expressed an ambition to become a soldier nor joined the Student Cadet Force at Barewa College.

That changed after General T. Y. Danjuma visited Sokoto and urged Sultan Abubakar III to encourage educated young Northerners to enlist in the Army following the Civil War. The Sultan decided that the response should begin within his own household and encouraged seven eligible young men to apply to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). All seven sat the entrance examination. Three made it to the interview stage, but Sa’ad was the only one who secured admission.

He joined the NDA on 30 June 1975 as a member of the 18th Regular Combatant Course and was commissioned a second lieutenant on 17 December 1977. Posted to the Armoured Corps, he went on to hold command, operational, staff and diplomatic positions, including assignments in Chad and Sierra Leone. He eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general and served as Nigeria’s Defence Adviser to Pakistan. The young prince who left Sokoto had become a military commander, peacekeeper and diplomat.

Following Sultan Maccido’s death, Sa’ad travelled hurriedly from Jos to Sokoto to join the royal family in receiving condolences. At the time, there was little public indication that he might emerge as the next Sultan. Other contenders included senior traditional titleholders and public servants from prominent branches of the ruling family. His military career had kept him outside the traditional hierarchy, making his eventual selection a surprise to many. But on Thursday, 2 November 2006, the younger brother who had returned home to mourn was announced as Sultan.

He was formally installed and presented with the staff of office on Saturday, 3 March 2007, at a ceremony attended by President Olusegun Obasanjo and traditional rulers from across the country. In accepting the responsibility, Sultan Sa’ad pledged to uphold equity, fairness and justice. His transition from military command to traditional leadership required a different approach, one built on credibility, restraint, consultation and persuasion.

When he ascended the throne, several respected traditional rulers who had known and interacted with his father were still alive and reigning. They included Emir Ado Bayero of Kano, Emir Shehu Idris of Zazzau, Shehu Mustapha Umar El Kanemi of Borno, Lamido Aliyu Mustapha of Adamawa, Oegwam Oegworok Gwamna Awan, Attah Aliyu Obaje of Igala and Aku Uka Shekarau Angyu Masa Ibi Kuvyon II of Wukari. Sultan Sa’ad established relationships with them in his own right, while their memories of his father provided a link between the two reigns. Emir Ado Bayero and Shehu Mustapha were among those who attended his installation in 2007.

Twenty years later, Sultan Sa’ad has become one of the most senior traditional rulers in the country. Several monarchs who ascended their thrones after him now look to him as a source of experience and counsel. They include Emir Umar Faruq Umar of Daura, Emir Abdulmumini Kabir Usman of Katsina, Oegwam Oegworok Ufuwai Bonet, Shehu Abubakar Garbai El Kanemi of Borno, Lamido Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha of Adamawa, Emir Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu of Bauchi, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II of Kano, Emir Abubakar Shehu Abubakar III of Gombe, Emir Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli of Zazzau, Attah Matthew Alaji Opaluwa of Igala and Aku Uka Manu Ishaku Ada Ali of Wukari. The prince who once sat among monarchs who had known his father now provides guidance to a younger generation of traditional rulers.

Although his emergence as Sultan appeared unexpected, his upbringing had prepared him for the responsibilities of leadership. Much of that preparation came from the values his father upheld throughout his reign.

During the political upheavals of 1966, Sultan Abubakar III travelled between Kaduna and Lagos, consulting leaders and working to calm tensions across the country while mourning the death of his kinsman and counsellor, Sir Ahmadu Bello. He condemned violence, discouraged reprisals and warned against taking the law into one’s hands. In a broadcast on 17 June 1966, he sought to reassure frightened communities, urged people from other provinces not to leave the North and appealed to those who had fled to return. He used the influence of his office to promote peace and national unity at a difficult time.

His commitment to religious tolerance was also reflected in his dealings with Christian missions. In his book, “Sir Siddiq Abubakar III, 17th Sultan of Sokoto,” Alhaji Shehu Malami devoted a section to the Sultan’s relationship with Christian communities. A 2018 study by Mukhtar Umar Bunza and Jamilu Shehu, titled “Sudan Interior Mission: An Evangelical Operation for a Unique Task in Northern Nigeria to 1960,” offers another example. Citing a colonial record preserved at the National Archives in Kaduna, the researchers reported that Sultan Abubakar III paid for Bibles when Christian boys began attending the Sokoto Native Authority School. The gesture did not diminish his Islamic convictions. Rather, it reflected his willingness to respect the religious needs of Christians living under his authority.

His openness also extended beyond religion to people of different ethnic backgrounds. In “Indigeneity, Ethnicity and Federalism,” published in the book “Transition Without End,” Daniel C. Bach recounts the story of Alhaji Mamman Dike, popularly known as Deke, an Igbo man born in Asaba. Other accounts identify him as Dike Okwuosa.

Deke reportedly brought the first motorcar to the Native Authority workshop during the reign of Sultan Muhammadu Maiturare, who ruled from 1915 to 1924. He later joined the palace service and worked under successive Sultans. Sultan Abubakar III valued him for his discretion, saying “he could keep secrets”. He eventually became the Sultan’s most trusted servant and was entrusted with the keys to his private apartments. Deke married two Hausa women, had 11 children, remained in Sokoto throughout the Civil War and died there on 22 May 1990. His story remains an example of how trust, loyalty and a sense of belonging can overcome ethnic differences.

The tradition of building relationships across ethnic and religious lines continued under Sultan Muhammadu Maccido, who maintained a close friendship with Chief Joe Ifedobi, the Okosisi of Akpo. Published accounts say Ifedobi drove Maccido to the airport shortly before his appointment as Sultan was announced in 1996. Their friendship continued until Maccido’s death in 2006.

Sultan Sa’ad has carried this legacy into a very different period in Nigeria’s history. His father believed that faith, education, productive work, justice, security and social welfare were interconnected. He also maintained that material progress meant little without discipline, tolerance and humility. Sultan Sa’ad has sought to uphold these principles in a democratic setting, engaging Muslim and Christian leaders, government officials, security agencies and communities across ethnic and regional divides, despite having no executive authority.

His 20 years on the throne have coincided with the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Ahmed Tinubu. While Sultan Abubakar III guided the Sultanate through colonial rule, independence, military coups and eight federal administrations, his son has had to contend with terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder violence, communal clashes and deep political divisions. Like his father in the 1960s, Sultan Sa’ad has remained involved in some of the country’s most difficult national conversations.

He has consistently condemned Boko Haram, banditry and violence carried out in the name of religion. Following the killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto in May 2022, the Sultanate Council described the act as unjustifiable and called for those responsible to face justice. The message was clear: no allegation or grievance gives a mob the right to act as accuser, judge and executioner. Every case must be handled according to the law, regardless of the religion of the victim or the accused.

My encounters with Sultan Sa’ad date back nearly two decades. I began covering him as a journalist in 2007 at meetings of the Northern Governors’ Forum, the Northern Traditional Rulers Council and Jama’atu Nasril Islam. I also recorded and reported his interviews with the BBC and VOA Hausa, particularly on security matters. Our paths crossed again in 2015 and remained connected throughout my decade of service in different capacities in the Kaduna State Government. Those encounters gave me a closer understanding of his consistent commitment to peace, security, religious harmony and national unity.

His advocacy for peace has also taken him beyond Nigeria. I accompanied Sultan Sa’ad to the 2022 International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief in London, where he joined religious leaders, rights advocates and government representatives in promoting religious tolerance. As President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and joint chairman of the Nigeria Inter Religious Council, he has also worked with successive leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria. The former armoured officer now exercises influence through dialogue, consultation and persuasion.

His twentieth anniversary on the throne carries particular historical significance. Sultan Abubakar III, whose reign lasted more than 50 years, remains the longest-reigning Sultan in Sokoto’s history. Sultan Muhammadu Bello ruled for approximately 20 and a half years in the nineteenth century. Today, 2 November 2026, Sultan Sa’ad marks exactly 20 years on the throne. He is the longest-reigning Sultan of this century and, based on commonly accepted reign dates, ranks third in the history of the Sultanate. During 2027, he is expected to surpass Sultan Muhammadu Bello and become the second-longest-reigning Sultan, behind only his father.

After two decades on the throne, Sultan Sa’ad has come to represent a meeting point between the palace and the barracks, the mosque and the interfaith table, inherited authority and democratic citizenship. His life has been shaped by events he did not plan. His father’s response to General Danjuma’s appeal took him into the Army. His military career prepared him for responsibilities he could not have anticipated. And the death of his elder brother brought him home to mourn, only for the kingmakers to entrust him with the Sultanate.

The young prince whose future was known only to Allah served his country at home and abroad before returning to continue his father’s legacy in a democratic era. What appeared to be an unexpected turn of events was, perhaps, destiny unfolding in its appointed time.

Allah Ya ja zamanin Amirul Muminin!

Aruwan is a postgraduate student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.