In Ilorin, Durbar isn’t just a festival. It’s a first love letter to horses, written in hoofbeats across the Emir’s Palace forecourt. And for a new generation of royals, that love is starting early.

This Eid-el-Kabir, the palace grounds came alive with colour, drums, and the proud clip-clop of decorated stallions. Among the crowd were three of Ilorin’s youngest royals who are already discovering the magic of the saddle.

The Emir of Ilorin and Chairman Kwara State Traditional Rulers Council, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari CFR, is a sportsman, a super-horse rider and multi-award recipient has been adjudged as of the most prominent traditional rulers in the nation.

In term of career, Sulu-Gambari voluntarily retired as the Presiding Justice of Court of Appeal, Lagos Division in 1995 following the demise of his uncle, to become the 11th Emir of Ilorin, in term of status, the stool of the Emir of Ilorin belongs to the 16 recognised First Traditional Rulers in Northern Nigeria before independence and presently ranking 9th in that category and in term of age, His Royal Highness clocked 86 years-old on 22nd April 2026.

Even at an advanced age, the Emir of Ilorin is fashionable, intellectually sound and always likes to have people around him. His love for his subjects knows-no-bound and he conveniently plays his roles as father to all in the state without any bias.

There is no doubt that Emir Sulu-Gambari is the architect of the Renewed Ilorin Emirate in the areas of modernisation and attraction of numerous developmental opportunities beyond Ilorin Emirate, and spread across Kwara, a viable state in the North-Central part of Nigeria.

He single-handedly revived the Ilorin Emirate Grand Durbar Festival after many years to serve as an avenue of preserving the cultural heritage of the people of the city of Ilorin Emirate, to foster peaceful co-existence, harmonious working relationship as well as projecting and repositioning the city to the world.

However, horses are parts of the phenomena that always feature during the annual Durbar festival. The Emir is also known for his extreme love of horse riding since his tender age as a Prince, later as the Ciroma of Ilorin and now as the 11th Emir of Ilorin. This genetic trait has become hereditary as virtually all the Emir’s grandchildren now ride on horseback without any support.

Prince Aliyu Sulu-Gambari 

Status: Emir’s Last Born

Age: 7

Hobby: Drawing

Passion: Horse-Riding

Ambition: Architectural Engineer

Favourite Colour: Blue

Quotes: 

“I like drawing horses. One day I will be an Architectural Engineer and I will design big stables for them.” 

 “When I grow older, I will ride in front like my brothers.”

 Princess Aisha Sulu-Gambari

Status: Emir’s grand-daughter

Age:  6

Hobby: Reading

Passion: Horse Riding

Ambition: Pilot

Favourite Colour: Yellow

Quotes: 

“I love horses because they are strong and beautiful” 

“I want to be a pilot. Then I can fly in the sky and also ride my horse on the ground.”

Laufe Hudayfah

Status: Emir’s Grandson

Age: 4

Hobby: Playing games

Passion: Horse Riding

Ambition: Undecided

Favourite Colour: N/A

These are just a few out of the wonders that princes and princesses of the Ilorin Emirate are displaying as their contributions to the preservation of cultural heritage of the ancient city and not in any way affecting their excellent academic performances and quranic education.

We implore you to watch out for the display of the horse-riding skills on our social media.