Buba Shafani was turbaned as Sardauna of Michika in Adamawa, recognising his contributions to community development and leadership.
- Buba Shafani turbaned Sardauna of Michika
- Title recognises years of community service
- Ceremony drew leaders across Adamawa State
- Role carries responsibility for kingdom development
The crowd at GSS Michika Playground had not come for the formalities. They had come because they already knew the man being honoured by a name no committee had given him. Long before Friday, April 10, 2026, the people of Michika had been calling Honourable Buba Shafani something simpler and more earned than any traditional title; they called him “The Helper of Michika”.
On Friday, the kingdom made it official. His Royal Majesty Professor Bulus Luka Gadiga, the MbeKa Michika, formally turbaned Honourable Buba Shafani as the Sardauna of Michika Kingdom, conferring on him the title Cama Ra Mweceka in the Michika language, a recognition that drew prominent political and traditional leaders from across Adamawa State and beyond.
A Name Already Given by the People
Before the speeches, before the grand reception that followed the turbaning ceremony, the story of how Buba Shafani came to this moment is worth telling straight.
He is the CEO of Zebra Energy Nigeria Limited and Executive Chairman of Legacy Sugar Company Nigeria Limited, two businesses that together represent a profile of private sector ambition rarely associated with quiet community work. But residents of Michika describe a man whose interventions in education, job creation, peace-building, and community empowerment have accumulated over years with little fanfare and considerable impact. The kind of work that avoids the headlines because it was never designed to.
He also holds the title of Sarkin Bariki of Fufore Emirate, placing Friday’s turbaning within a pattern of traditional recognition that has followed a life of sustained engagement with the communities around him. The Sardauna title, however, carries a particular weight in Michika, a kingdom that was itself only formally created in December 2024 when Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri established seven new chiefdoms and emirates across Adamawa State. Being among the first title holders in a newly instituted kingdom means becoming part of its founding identity.
The tributes came from people who did not read from prepared notes. Honourable Biri Farare, whose remarks drew particular attention, described Shafani as a man seen, called, and turbaned to help uphold traditional institutions in the state. He likened him to “a giant Iroko tree”, the kind of comparison that lands differently in a northern Nigerian context, where the Iroko is not merely a tree but a symbol of permanence, shade, and the kind of presence that outlasts individual seasons.
Farare described Shafani as “someone very notable and useful in the society” and as a close associate of Governor Fintiri who has been instrumental in bringing development to many communities across northern Adamawa State. That reference to the governor was not incidental. Shafani’s network sits at the intersection of politics, business, and community, a position that makes him effective in the particular Nigerian sense of knowing which door to knock on and actually knocking on it.
One message shared at the occasion put the community’s expectation plainly: “Your commitment to service and dedication to the progress of your people have earned you this prestigious title. May this new chapter bring greater honour, wisdom, and prosperity to you, your family, and the entire Michika Kingdom.”
The ceremony was followed by a grand reception hosted by Shafani himself, an event described by those in attendance as warm, well-attended, and reflective of the cross-section of people whose lives the new Sardauna has touched.
What the Title Carries Forward
In Michika, the Sardauna title is not a retirement honour. It is an activation. MbeKa Michika’s charge to the first set of title holders at the earlier institution ceremony was unambiguous on this point; titles are not crowns to wear but duties to carry.
For Buba Shafani, that charge arrives at a moment when Michika Kingdom, still in its early institutional years, is actively building the structures that will define its character for generations. A Sardauna with deep business networks, political access, and a track record of community investment is precisely the kind of title holder the kingdom’s traditional council needs as it finds its footing.
Congratulations continue to pour in for the new Sardauna from across Adamawa State and the wider region. Many who sent messages described the honour as a historic milestone for the kingdom and as a fitting close to a ceremony that, by all accounts, Michika had been building toward since the day it became a chiefdom.
The Iroko tree, as Farare noted, was already there. On Friday, Michika simply gave it a name.
This report was produced by the editorial team at The Gazette News | Independent. Human-Centred. Impactful in line with our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible journalism. Information in this article is based on verified sources available at the time of publication. The Gazette News | Independent. Human-Centred. Impactful may update the story as new facts emerge or additional context becomes available.
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