“I have no shelter
over my head, my children hardly eat and they are not even in school like their
peers,” the 48-year-old woman lamented. Sullen and distraught, and her voice
trembling, Hauwa Momoh, despite her affiliation with two royal families,
appears to be experiencing hell. She believes the suffering had now intensified
to a level she can no longer bear. Besides being the daughter of a former
senior traditional ruler in Edo State, the Otaru of Auchi, Ms. Momoh was the
mistress of the immediate past Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, for nearly three
decades in a lengthy but secret affair with one of Nigeria’s most influential
traditional rulers. With four wives already – maximum for a Muslim man – Mr.
Bayero also maintained intimate relationship with a number of other women not
married to him, Ms. Momoh said at least 16 of
the women were known, and she was one of the lot. Her affair, lasting 30 years,
yielded two children, and the emir accepted and took care of them until his
death in June, Ms. Momoh said. Now she said she is prepared to end her life and
her children’s after the emir’s family left her and her children homeless, and
shut off all avenues of support she hitherto received for herself and the
children.
Ms. Momoh is seeking help to prevail on Ado Bayero’s family to assist her children. She
described the family as very wealthy and spoke of the late emir as a kind and
pleasant man who provided all she needed and gave her family the best of
treatments while he was alive. She said since the Emir’s death, life has been
hellish for her and her children. She begs to feed herself and children today,
and has no support or shelter. Investigating her
claim, reaching out to late emir’s family, Ms. Momoh said she was
sent N250, 000 from Kano with a request to stay off the media. The money lasted
two days as it could not sustain the lifestyle set for her by the emir while
alive, she said. Ms. Momoh said she was promised another N2 million as settlement,
but she has dismissed that as too meagre, given her current needs, taste and
the family’s wealth. Ms Momoh wouldn’t say why she has never work to earn
money, and why she depended on the late Emir for handouts for three decades.
She also did not say why she did not return to school, after she gave birth to
her daughter. She only said Emir Bayero kept promising to help her set up a
business until he took ill and passed away. Ado Bayero’s family declined to
speak formally on the case, despite repeated requests for
comments and clarifications. University Affair As the Emir of Kano for more
than 50 years, Ado Bayero was only third to the Sultan of Sokoto and the Emir
of Gwandu in prominence in the perking order of northern Nigeria traditional
rulers. He was also one of Nigeria’s most influential personalities. Beyond his
royal and religious influence, Ado Bayero was also an astute businessman with
investments spanning almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy and even
beyond, his associates say. He is believed to have left behind a lot of wealth.
He left behind at least four wives, 60 children and at least 16 concubines, Ms.
Momoh told PREMIUM TIMES. Ms. Momoh’s relationship with Emir Bayero began in
1984. Her father, the late Otaru of Auchi, Ahmed Guruza Momoh, was Mr. Bayero’s
friend, Ms. Momoh said. She said the Kano Emir began to date her when her
father requested the late Emir Bayero to help her secure admission into Bayero
University Kano [BUK], named after the emir himself. “The relationship started
back as 1984 when my father referred me to him, to help me gain admission into
BUK. I have always wanted to study in BUK,” Ms. Momoh told PREMIUM TIMES, her
voice burdened. But instead of an admission into BUK, Ms. Momoh became pregnant
for the Emir in 1986. “I found out I was pregnant in 1986 when I was in London,
and as I got back I told him I was pregnant for him, he then said we will get
married after I put to bed because Islamically it’s wrong to marry someone who
is pregnant, ” she narrated. Ms. Momoh travelled back to Auchi to break the
news to her father. The shocked chief sent her back to the emir, and vowed she
would not be allowed to have her baby in his house without marriage. Fifteen
years later, a second child, a boy, arrived. She did not return to school and
appears never to have been in any gainful employment. Ms. Momoh said at all
times, they were all well taken care of by the late emir. “I stayed in Kano for
32 years, the Emir was very nice to me while he was alive, he took care of me
and our two children, and he gave us money, he was indeed a nice man before he
died,” she said. After the emir took ill, communications slowed between him and
his mistress. Soon, Ms. Momoh’s children became sick and would not respond to
treatment, forcing their mother to relocate to Lagos. “I was not able to see
the Emir for one year as he fell ill, at the same time my children were also
sick so I had to relocate to Lagos for further and better treatment. I and my
children stayed in Lagos in my friends place till my children got better,” she
explained. Two weeks before Mr. Bayero died, Ms. Momoh travelled to see him in
Kano. While there, she said she realized her home in Kano had been vandalized
and all her properties were stolen, leaving the house empty. When she
eventually met the emir, the traditional ruler, she said, promised to take care
of her and children, promised them shelter and directed one of his sons, Nasir,
to ensure that was done. “Nasir knew us very well. In fact, he used to come and
give us money for upkeep when his father was alive,” Ms. Momoh explained. That
warm relationship between her and Nasir broke down after the emir’s death. Now,
Ms. Momoh blames Nasir and another of the late emir’s son, Aminu, for her
troubles, saying they refused to carry out their father’s directive. As her
suffering and that of her children worsened, she said she met Nasir on several
occasions to convey to him how desperate she needed help. The two sons promised
to get back to her, but never did. Ms. Momohs said today her children are no
longer in school, as they roam the country looking for shelter. She is
currently in Abuja squatting with a friend and struggling to survive. “I almost
slept at the central Mosque in Abuja, I have no savings, I have no roof over my
head, my first daughter is due for the university but she is with me, my second
son has been out of school for over a year now. We find it very difficult to
eat. And all this became worse after the Emir died,” She explained. On Friday,
after turning down the N2million she was offered, Ms. Momoh said she and her
children had agreed to commit suicide if no help came by the weekend. “Just in
case we don’t make it to Monday, tell our story,” she urged. (Culled from
PREMIUM TIMES) -
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