Without an iota of either doubt or adulation, I am of the firm conviction that His Royal Highesss, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, is a genius. This eminent traditional ruler, who retired as the third most senior Justice of the Court of Appeal three decades ago, has evidently demonstrated ingenuity in several ways before and since his historic enthronement as the head of the nation’s most unique traditional state.

As a student of history and journalism who has devoted enormous time and energy to studying Ilorin Emirate and its people, I had taken my time to explore the careers of most of those the Emir conferred with one traditional title or the other since 1995 when his reign began. My excursion into this aspect of the history of the southernmost Emirate revealed that the Emir has been rightly guided on his choices of his chiefs.

There are two types of traditional titles in Ilorin. There is the hereditary title and there is honourary title. Hereditary titles are only given to members of specific families while honourary titles are those that are there for pick for any member of the community that the Emir found deserving of such an honour.

Examples of the hereditary titles are the Baloguns, the Magajis and Daudus, among others. On the other hand, titles like Waziri, Sardauna, Turaki, Amana Garin, Talba, Makama, Danmasani, Danmadami, Shettima and Madawaki,among others, are honourary as appointment or succession is not based on heredity.

One of the recent and befitting choices the monarch made, which reinforces the above assertion, is that of an Ilorin-based prominent legal practitioner, outstanding community leader and impactful philanthropist, Prof. Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN. The announcement of the conferment of the traditional title of Kuliya of Ilorin on Prof. Ali, which was unveiled last year at a solemn but simple ceremony in his palace, was well-received by all and sundry.

This is because of the conviction of all, particularly stakeholders from within and outside the Ilorin Emirate, that the honouree eminently deserves not only the royal recognition but also the title.

In Ilorin, the title is a creation of the incumbent Emir. No one has been granted the title since the Emirate was established a little over two centuries ago.

And so, the learned silk is undoubtedly the first holder of the title in Ilorin. Just as Alhaji Sulu-Gambari is the first Emir of Ilorin who appointed a Kuliya.

What is the meaning of the title? Kuliya means “the pinnacle of the law” or “the peak of the law”. The title is similar to “Bamofin” (encyclopaedia of law) in Yorubaland.

My further investigations confirmed that the title can be translated to being “the most outstanding scholar and expounder of jurisprudence in a given community”. It refers to an exceptional legal technocrat or the traditional silk.

Kuliya has become one of the several honourary traditional titles that the Emir reserves the right to confer on anyone he is convinced deserves it. Fortunately, no one has come out to fault the appointment of Prof. Ali as the first holder of the prestigious title in the annals of Ilorin.

The title is special. It is not common even among many of the Emirates of Northern Nigeria. This is to say that only very few Emirates have the title in their traditional political or legal lexicons.

The Emirates which have the title include Sokoto, the seat of the caliphate. The holder of the title in Sokoto is one of the closest associates of Prof. Ali. He is the energetic Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is’haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, CON, FNAL.

The prestigious title was conferred on the eminent Emeritus Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin by the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Sa’ad III, CFR,at an event in Ilorin just last year.

Gwandu Emirate, which was founded by Shaykh Abdullahi Fodio, the learned younger brother of the founder of Sokoto Caliphate, Shaykh Usman Danfodiyo, equally parades the title. The immediate past Attorney-General and Honourable Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami, SAN, is the Kuliya of Gwandu. Gwandu, which is in Kebbi State, is the next most important Emirate of the Usman Danfodiyo-inspired caliphate after Sokoto itself.

Another important Emirate of Northern Nigeria, which also parade the title of Kuliya is the historic Zazzau (Zaria) Emirate in Kaduna State. The Kuliya of Zazzau is a retired Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Honourable Justice Ishaq Usman Bello.

Lafia, the Emirate hosting the capital of Nassarawa State in North-Central, Nigeria, also parade the title of Kuliya in its traditional leadership configurations. The Chief Judge of Nassarawa State, Honourable Justice Aisha Bashir Aliyu, is the Kuliyan Lafia.

From the above examples, it is crystal clear that the title, just like the position of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of a country or state, which can only be occupied by a lawyer, the title of Kuliya is also a title reserved for eminent jurists. It is not unlike other titles that are conferred on anyone.

Prof. Ali deserves the title because legal exploration and expounding has been his occupation and major preoccupation in the last 45 years. No one in Nigeria would say he doesn’t know who Prof. Ali is and what he does for a living.

The first Kuliya of Ilorin is known with no other profession but legal practice. He has done this in the courts of law and the courts of public opinion over the years. He has also done so in classrooms and on pages of books as well as on conventional media platforms.

Prof. Ali is also known all over the country and beyond as an Ilorin man. Only very few know that he is not originally from Ilorin but one of those who deliberately decided to make the city their home.

This is because it is in the city that he has been living and practising for more than forty years. The city houses the headquarters of his flourishing legal practice, which is undoubtedly the biggest not only in Ilorin but the entire Kwara State.

He is not just a resident of the Ilorin community he is also one of those who have posted significant contributions to its development using different platforms.

Prof. Ali has contributed greatly to the preservation of the alluring image of Ilorin. His performance within and outside the court has brought great honour to Ilorin.

Prof. Ali has also been a mentor to many indigenes of Ilorin who are lawyers and other professionals. Several of them passed through his tutelage and chambers while quite a number of them often defer to him on professional and social issues.

The first Kuliya of Ilorin is also a major contributor to the regular maintenance of the Ilorin Central Jumaat Mosque. Aside from being a member of its Board of Trustees, Prof. Ali has contributed millions of Naira to the regular maintenance of the edifice.

Prof. Ali has also handled and won cases on issues pertaining to Ilorin. The legal victory he secured for the Ilorin Emirate Council and several members of the community would continue to impact on the history and peaceful coexistence of Ilorin for many years to come.

He has equally built and donated facilities to the University of Ilorin and the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, to mention a few.

This distinguished philanthropist has also contributed to the building of mosques and schools across and beyond Ilorin. He is also a frontliner in the sponsorship of Islamic enlightenment programmes on radio and television stations in Ilorin.

Through his foundation, he has also granted bursary awards to several indigenes of the Ilorin Emirate.

It is indeed doubtful if there is a more philanthropic lawyer who is resident in Ilorin. Prof. Ali is synonymous with giving and giving for the growth of Ilorin and its environs.

In view of the above, Prof. Ali deserves the honour being conferred on him. The honour would definitely spur him to do more for the Ilorin community. It would also encourage others to emulate his patriotism for the Ilorin community to be populated by more of those who would pursue common goals rather than self-interest.

As Kuliya of Ilorin, Prof. Ali has become the official traditional chief legal adviser to the Emir and the Emirate. He is expected to provide legal opinion and support to the Emir.

This responsibility is not new to this remarkable senior lawyer. He has been offering this service to His Royal Highnesss over the years as he has handled many cases for him from the lowest pedestal of the nation’s judiciary to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Having been turbaned as Kuliya of Ilorin, Prof. Ali would need to do more. He would need to give more professional support to the Emir. He is also expected to do every other thing within his province to ensure that the Emirate remains peaceful and prosperous.

Prof. Ali, who hails from Ifetedo in the Ife-North Local Government Area of Osun State, was born into a prominent Muslim family on September 7,1956.

He attended the famous Ibadan Boys High School, Ibadan, from where he bagged his West African School Certificate (WASC) with flying colours. He was, in fact, the Labour Perfect of the school.

In 1978, he was admitted into the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, from where he graduated with a Second Class Upper Division degree in Law in 1982. He subsequently attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos between 1982 and 1983 at the end of which he bagged a Second Class Upper and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar.

He returned to his alma mater for his Master’s degree in Law. He successfully completed the programme and earned the qualification in 1991.

Prof. Ali joined the law firm of Adegboyega Awomolo & Co.,Ilorin, in 1983. He left the firm to establish his own, which he called Yusuf Olaolu Ali & Co., otherwise known as Ghalib Chambers, Ilorin, in June,1994.

He remains the founder and Principal Partner of the law firm,which has branches in Lagos and Abuja. The law firm has handled and won several landmark cases in all the courts of records in Nigeria.

Prof. Ali is easily one of the nation’s most visible and sought-after advocates. He was appointed a Notary Public by the Chief Justice of Nigeria in 1989. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) in 1997.

This senior lawyer, who has taught law at the University of Ilorin,Kwara State University, Malete and was also a Visiting Fellow at the King’s College, University of London, United Kingdom, was recently appointed Professor of Practice by the authorities of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti in recognition of his enormous commitment to the growth of the nation’s jurisprudence. Prof. Ali, who has garnered more than 250 honours and awards from institutions of learning, professional bodies, religious organisations and communities within and outside Nigeria, was the Chairman of the Kwara State Law Reform Committee. He was also the pioneer Chairman, Council of Public Defenders, Kwara State. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin. He holds the same position on the Board of Summit University, Offa. He was the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Osun State University, Osogbo. He equally served as the Chairman of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of States-Owned Universities in Nigeria.

He has also been listed in the American Biographical Institute’s Who is Who, “Who is Who in Nigeria” as well as “Ilorin Emirate’s Frontliners”,among others. He was equally the recipient of the 2018 Peace and Humanitarian Award of California State University, Sacramento,United States of America and Kwara State Accomplished Professional Award at the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the State in 2017.

Last year, Prof. Ali, who holds the national honour of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) conferred on him by the Federal Government of Nigeria, was celebrated as the Most Distinguished Alumnus of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He was the second recipient of the honour instituted by the first generation University for its outstanding products.

Prof. Ali was married to the late Hajiya Faoziyat Lola Ali and they are blessed with successful children who are doing very well in their various careers. He is also, to the glory of Allah, a happy grandfather.

With this title, Prof. Ali ceases to be an “ordinary member” of the Ilorin Emirate community. He now has a secured place in the history of the community as the first holder of a unique title. He is also one of the less than 100 individuals who have been so honoured in the over two centuries of history of the nation’s southernmost Emirate.

I congratulate Prof. Ali and wish him many more years of sound health to enable him serve Allah and humanity more.

*Imam is Chief Scribe, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union.