Speech at Emir of Kano’s welcoming ceremony

Your Excellency, Your Excellency the Military Governor of Kano State, Your Highness the His Royal Highness Alhaji Ado BayeroEmir, Emirs and Chiefs, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am most grateful for your kind words. It is a great privilege to be here. I am particularly grateful to His Highness the Emir for doing me the honour of receiving me in his historic and beautiful Palace. [end p1]

In coming to Kano I am following a well-established tradition. Britain's links with your city and state go back far into history when the city of Kano stood at the heart of great empires. In more recent times, in 1956, you welcomed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Several of our Ministers have visited you, Mrs. Lynda Chalker, Minister of State at [end p2] the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was here a year ago. Since then we have held the extremely successful trade promotion event, which took place in Kano last November and was opened by Mr. Kenneth Clarke. That event shows how strong are the commercial ties between Britain and Northern Nigeria. [end p3]

I am glad too that we have been able to give you substantial help recently in quite another field, that of repelling the grasshopper invasion in your State.

It is a very great honour that you have been kind enough to arrange a durbar on the occasion of my visit. The colour and pageantry of these celebrations are famous, and I am most [end p4] grateful for an opportunity to see for myself the living traditions of the proud emirates of Northern Nigeria. Your kindness, like the warmth and hospitality which I have been accorded throughout my brief visit to Nigeria, will long stand in my memory. I am most grateful to Your Highness and to everyone gathered here for this very warm reception.