By Abdulazeez Arowona
On 11 November 1995, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari was turbaned as the 11th Emir of Ilorin, closing a career on the judicial bench and beginning a new chapter in public service.
On Wednesday, 11 November 2026, Ilorin Emirate marks the 31st anniversary of his coronation. For me, the occasion also offers an opportunity to reflect on the monarch I have served as spokesman since 2014.
Before ascending the throne of Sheikh Alimi, His Royal Highness Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, served as Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General in the former Gongola State and later as a judge of the Bauchi State High Court.
He joined the Court of Appeal and rose to become Presiding Justice of its Lagos Division, the position he held before assuming the emirship.
The move from the courtroom to the palace brought a different kind of responsibility. A court can settle a dispute by issuing a judgment. In community life, families and neighbours often have to continue living and working together after a disagreement. Listening to grievances and keeping dialogue open are part of the work of sustaining those relationships.
As his spokesman, I have helped convey the Emir’s messages on occasions ranging from religious festivals and community celebrations to moments of bereavement. A condolence message must speak first to the family in mourning, while a festival message reaches people across the emirate and beyond. Working on those communications has given me a close view of how the palace maintains its relationship with the people it serves.
Sulu-Gambari’s responsibilities extend beyond Ilorin through the Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council, which he chairs. The council brings together monarchs from communities with distinct histories and traditions.
One of the most visible developments of the reign stands near the palace. Cracks and leaks had damaged the Ilorin Central Mosque before the community undertook its renovation and expansion.
Ahead of its reopening in 2012, the Emir called on sons and daughters of Ilorin, at home and abroad, to attend and support its upkeep. The project gave people who had settled elsewhere a practical way to contribute to an institution at the centre of the city’s religious life.
The Emir’s service in higher education has taken him to universities in three regions of Nigeria. He served as Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, before his installation as Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano and Muhammad Kamalud-deen University, Ilorin.
Closer to home, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, marked the Emir’s 30th coronation anniversary by acknowledging his longstanding support for the university and noting the growth of higher education across Kwara during his reign.
There is no doubt that children born in the year Sulu-Gambari was turbaned are now adults. He is the only Emir of Ilorin they have known. For me, the years of his reign are also measured in the occasions on which people turn to the palace to share good news, seek counsel or find comfort in a time of loss.
After more than a decade as his spokesman, it is on those occasions that I have seen most clearly what service on the throne of Ilorin means.
May Almighty Allah continue to strengthen His Royal Highness in good health and meritorious service to humanity.
Dr. Arowona Abdulazeez, CEO of Emirate 98.5 FM, member of International Public Relations Association, IPRA, is the Spokesman to His Royal Highness, The Emir of Ilorin and Chairman Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council.
