The Magajin Garin Sokoto and grandson of late Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of defunct Northern Nigeria, Alhaji Hassan Danbaba, is dead, aged 51.
Late Hassan Danbaba, Magajin Garin Sokoto.
A close family source, who confirmed the death, said Danbaba slumped and died Saturday afternoon in his hotel where he had lodged in Kaduna.
Magaji reportedly came to Kaduna on Thursday to condole with a former Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau, on the death of his brother.
“Both Gusau and Magaji had prepared to make a joint return trip from Kaduna to Abuja on Saturday. After having his bath at 11am, he dressed up to go and join Gen. Gusau in his house.
“While about to leave, he slumped. His aides rallied around him and rushed him to a hospital. But on the way, he gave up the ghost,” the source said.
Kaduna Governor Nasir el-Rufai has ordered the evacuation of his remains to the Government House in Kaduna for airlifting to Sokoto for burial.
”The governor was at his best in coordinating the evacuation of Magaji’s corpse to the Government House in Kaduna ahead of transfer to Sokoto,” the source said.
By virtue of his position, there is a reserved cemetery, Hubbaren Shehu, where royal leaders are usually buried in Sokoto and where he will be buried, the source added.
Until his death, he was one of those behind the Rice Revolution of President Muhammadu Buhari being championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He played a key role in the last Rice Pyramid Fair in Abuja by the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN).
Magajin Garin Sokoto was part of the eminent Nigerians, who converged on Lagos last weekend, to find solutions to the challenges confronting the country ahead of the 2023 elections.
A cosmopolitan Nigerian, the late Magajin Garin Sokoto was a Director of ThisDay newspapers and Chairman of Stonehedge Hotel, Kaduna, until his death.
He left behind three wives and six children.
His mother, Aishatu Ahmadu Bello, the second daughter of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, died at the age of 75 in April 2021.
