Date: 2021-08-03

Following the appointment of Mohammed Kudu Kawu as the 14th Emir of Lafiagi by the Kwara State Government, the new monarch will finally move to the palace in Edu Local Government on Thursday, Daily Trust reliably gathered Thursday.

Palace sources, who confirmed the development, told our reporter that Kawu had been residing in one of the government chalets in Ilorin, the state capital, since his elevation, where he has been receiving visitors.

It was learnt that his stay in Ilorin since then was to allow for the completion of the preparation of the palace.

Kawu's appointment followed the death of the former Emir, Alhaji Sa'adu Kawu Haliru, who died at the Abuja National Hospital earlier this month at the age of 86. He spent 46 years on the throne.

Kawu's announcement ended days of intense lobbying by top indigenes of Lafiagi, including a former Governor, Alhaji Sha'aba Lafiagi.

The Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Architect Aliyu Saifudeen, said Kawu's choice was based on a unanimous decision of the kingmakers on the issue of credibility among others.

The new monarch comes into the scene with a rich banking experience garnered for many years in the northern part of the country.

Born on 28, May 1969 to late Abubakar Kawu, a Lafiagi Prince and Hajia Ramatu Mahmud, the daughter of late Alhaji Mahmud, the Waziri of Agaie, the new monarch spent the greater part of his formative years in Zaria, Kaduna State.

He attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, where he bagged a degree in Business Administration.

The new Emir also attended the renowned Lagos Business School and later obtained an MSc in Islamic Banking and Finance from Bayero University (BUK), Kano.

He started his banking career with Chartered Bank in 1997 and moved to the Kano branch of Ecobank in 2000.

In 2001, he was at Prudent Bank as assistant manager and rose to the post of a manager in 2006 after the bank metamorphosed into Skye Bank.

In Skye Bank, he rose to the position of a regional director and led the bank's business development activities for all of its 48 branches in northern Nigeria.

Kawu moved to Wema Bank in 2017 as a Regional Executive, supervising business development for all branches in the North and Abuja.

He was serving as the deputy general manager of the bank before his appointment as Emir of Lafiagi.