Save us from this hell, Zainab Ado Bayero’s mother begs Tinubu, Shettima

Ever since Kano State governor, AbbaKabir Yusuf reached out to Zainab Jummai Ado Bayero, who is one of the daughters of the late Emir of Kano, following her soliciting for help publicly, things have not been the same for her family.

The whole issue went viral when Zainab reached the public to seek financial support to save her family from being evicted from a Lagos apartment. When she disclosed publicly that her mother, brother and herself, had been passing through difficulties since the demise of their father, that got the attention of governor Yusuf who reached out to them to settle their accommodation challenges etc.

Surprising to those criticising Zainab, she was out in the public again few months later to solicit for more help, pleading that they needed more money to be able to settle their bills and take her brother back to school.

This elicited reactions with many accusing her of squandering the money the governor sent to her and the family.

In response, Zainab issued a statement, putting the record straight.

Part of her statement reads; “I can’t be in this situation with no home, my brother not in school and we’ll be going out from place to place. I decided to plead with him (the governor) again. I did interviews, and in those interviews, I thanked him. I’m not blackmailing him but said we need more help to get my brother back to school, to get a home, anything he wants to help us with. I was trying to reach out to him that instead of rent, maybe if he could buy us a home. I was pleading, seeking his assistance. That was why I went back to the media but he felt he has given us enough, he could have just made that clear but not making it seem like I’m greedy or I’m trying to blackmail him. I’m not greedy. I’m not trying to extort the governor if that’s what they’re trying to put out there. That’s not the case.

“I’m all over the social media being seen as someone who is greedy. It is easy to judge what you don’t know. My story goes a long way. This is not something that started two months ago. It has been going on for 10 years. I keep saying that it’s like people don’t understand what’s going on. Ever since my Dad died 10 years ago, his family denied us any part of his inheritance and that is why this journey has been going on this way, where we have been trying to survive.”

Zainab Ado Bayero’s mother tells her story

Watching her daughter being bullied on social media and called all sorts of names, is perhaps the hardest thing Zainab’s mother could bear. She decided to tell her story from the beginning to save her precious child.
“My name is Princess Hauwa Momoh. I’m the daughter of the late Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Guruza Momoh. I’ve been very sad and heartbroken for the past few days due to the social media attacks targeted at my daughter. It’s a mother’s worst pain to watch your child suffer. She has been harassed on social media, and she never wanted all this.
Zainab is a very shy girl, she has always been sensitive and calm. As a little girl, she would hide behind me.
“My story started when at 18, I wanted to study journalism at Bayero University in kano. My father was very protective of my life. I lived at home shielded, and I never dated, and my mom felt Kano was too far. But I was insistent so, my father decided I needed a protector. So, he wrote a letter to fellow monarch, a custodian – Ado Bayero, whom he had encountered over the years and had immense respect for. He felt he would be the right person to protect me, so I set off on my journey. I had no idea how that meeting would change my life.”
Princess Momoh shares how she was rejected from the beginning because she is not a Northerner. “The late Emir, after several interactions, made it clear he was in love with me. Like I said, I was young and naive, but I believed it was destiny. From the beginning, I was never accepted because I wasn’t from the north. Even after having two kids, my being royal and a Muslim, it didn’t matter. I was an outsider. Zainab experienced all this in school -the bullying. I even had to stay in school with her every day for five years when she was in primary school in Kano.
“After their dad died like Zainab said previously, everything changed. We were denied he’s estate. It was bound to happen because they only tolerated us because the man was alive. So when he died their true colours were revealed.”
“My daughter isn’t lazy; she’s a strong, decent and intelligent young woman. Her documentary was written directed by her under the most difficult circumstances. She had no help or funding from the government or anyone but did everything with our savings. She worked so hard to tell her father’s story but no one has supported her rather, the North is judging her on how she dresses because she’s modern and she’s been herself. Is it a crime to be western?
I’m a Muslim and in my state, Muslims can cover or choose to be modern. We are liberal in Auchi; we don’t judge non Muslims or hate different ideologies. I raised her to be a Liberal Muslim,” she explained.

Reasons Zainab went public
According to her, Zainab went public with their situation because it had gone on for long. “The reason Zainab spoke is because our situation has been going on for so long. We couldn’t take it anymore. She was reluctant at first but I told her to seek the current Emir Sanusi and her state governor’s assistance as citizen of Kano.
“The Governor reached out but the situation wasn’t resolved that’s why she decided to ask for his assistance again. She wasn’t insulting him or being negative. He’s spokesman Sanusi Beture, texted her asking why she didn’t say he sent a certain amount to us, she didn’t respond. The next day the attacks began on social media calling my daughter names, saying she squandered money. We were in shock. We never imagined the kano government would react to my daughter that way. I thought as a daughter of their state and a daughter of a king, that served them for fifty years, they would care about our situation.
“She thanked him but said the problems were not over; was that a crime? Is that why she’s being bullied on social media? She’s passing through so much emotional stress because of this. If the government wants to attack someone let them attack me not my daughter.
I know they are doing this to her because I’m not from the north; that’s the reason. It’s an excuse to torture her. If they don’t want to help, it’s okay but not attacking her on the internet. It’s dangerous. Cyber bullying can make people kill themselves. They should discourage bulling instead of using it as a tool against a daughter trying to help her brother and mother.”

SOS to eminent Nigerians
“I am asking other well meaning Nigerians who loved and respected their dad to help. People like the President, the Vice president, the senate president, etc, to save us from this hell. We are not baggers but family seeking help as citizens. When Prince Harry and Meghan left the Royal fold, he had nowhere to go. It was a Hollywood celebrity in the person of Tyler Perry who assisted them and gave them what they needed. He wasn’t begging; he was Prince Harry but he needed help. So, I need well meaning Nigerians to help my daughter and my son on this journey. I hope the attacks on her will stop. She did this for me as a loving daughter, putting her pride aside and I love her for it.”