By Basheer Luqman Olarewaju
Behold, the first Sarauniyah of Ilorin Emirate, Hajiya Muinat Bola Shagaya is a special breed and a queen personified — very likeable, has good energy and exudes charisma, appears to be genuinely happy which makes others want to be around her. No one likes the human grouch. She builds her eminence around people with her philanthropy. Always willing to push the boundaries and raise the bar.
When Hajiya Bola Shagaya walks in the room, you cannot help but notice her. She exudes confidence. She walks with her head held high and shoulders back. How do we write about her without hailing her generosity and genuine involvement in charities? No way!
She is very well spoken. She annunciates with sincere tone to gain more credibility. As a queen by nature, she is ambitious with a drive to win which positions her to remain a lifetime mentor for teeming young girls in Ilorin, Nigeria and African nations. She wears the regalia of positive attitude, being proactive, being a problem solver and seeking opportunities to stretch that ultimately guarantee her success.
If ever there be a life truly blessed, it is surely that of “Queen” Muinat Bola Shagaya. What more could anyone ask for?
If at all a perfect life is possible, the historical first Sarauniyah of Ilorin surely lives it, wouldn’t you agree? If you were to pray for the best in life, what would you ask? A long and healthy life. A family that respects and loves you. Power. Authority. Wealth. No untoward grief or scandals that you wouldn’t be able to handle.
Well, the best giver, Almighty Allah has endowed her all that and more!
To remain a quintessential leader of multibillion dollars companies for decades having owned first business in 1983 at age 24 —Bolmus Group International is today a Nigerian conglomerate with holdings in a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, real estate, finance, and communications ! To be loved and respected and looked upon by millions! To wear the best of clothes and jewelry to your heart’s content! To live with a beloved husband as many years as humanly possible. To be surrounded by your successful children, grandchildren. To travel the world and be introduced to varied life and cultures… And above all, to be so loved and respected all around the world that you are seemingly above all blame or criticism!
And to top that, Queen Bola Shagaya is also blessed with the one quality that lifts life a notch above the rest — a sense of humour.
Indeed, Hajiya Muinat Bola Shagaya is blessed with life that anyone could possibly hope for. As such, it is not so much her chieftaincy title and Royalty, as it does the appreciation of the continued humanitarianism and sense of comfort that her unchanging presence inspired.
On the 26th December, 2022, as announced by His Royal Highness, Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, Hajiya Muinat Bola Shagaya has become Ilorin’s most endearing symbol of womanhood and mother of Emirate, a traditional title that is admired by even her staunchest critics.
Like Lord Altrincham (John Grigg who was famously punched in the face for criticizing the Queen in 1957) later called Queen Elizabeth II “authentically an absolutely decent person”, Bola Shagaya is Royalty personified and in many ways beyond criticism. By her sheer number of years and the mystique and splendour that surrounded her, the Queen of women of Ilorin Emirate is almost beyond human.
The mystique, the magic, the esoteric and morally exemplar qualities that Queen Bola Shagaya exemplifies despite her surprising connect and communication with ordinary people, is a thing of the appreciation now – bears forever with her. In an era of indecency, waywardness, violence against women and girl child, disbelief, fake news, mistrust and cancel culture, this is perhaps what is to be celebrated– the beginning of neoclassical era of strong faith, of belief in and care for women and an individual who symbolizes it.
Truly, the first Sarauniyah of Ilorin Emirate is an incomparable beacon of duty, faith, steadfastness, humility, humanity, and Emirate values.
