Muhammad Zulkarnain or simply, Sulu Gambari Aiyalabowo was a descendant of the reputed Fulani Cleric, Abdulkarim Al-salih Ahmad Janta otherwise known as Shehu Alimi in Ilorin.
He was called Alimi due to his vast knowledge of Islam in various fields such as Jurisprudence, Islamic Law, Grammar, Islamic economics, Qur’an and Hadith studies and so on. On his death, Alimi left behind five children, the first two were Abdulsalam and Shitta emerging as successive emirs of Ilorin. Since the death of Emir Shitta, it has become a tradition that the would-be occupants of the Ilorin throne come from both Abdulsalam and Shitta lineages.
Sulu Gambari was born in Ilorin in June 20, 1914. He belonged to the Abdulsalam lineage. His father, Mohammed Laofe was until demise in 1956, the Daudu (District Head) of Lanwa. Sulu Gambari’s mother, Aisha was also of Fulani stock. Her family settled at Agbeyangi at Iponrin District, present day Ilorin East Local Government Area, Kwara State. Emir Shu’aibu Bawa, Sulu’s grandfather reigned between 1915 and 1919.
Sulu attended a Quranic school at Ile-Gbagba within the Palace neighborhood in Ilorin. In 1930, An expatriate colonial master saw him fit to be selected to attend Okesuna Elementary School. He proceeded to the Ilorin Middle School at Alalubosa, an outskirt of the town in 1936. He excellent academic performance distinguished him from among his peers as young and highly promising student.
He started work almost immediately as an Assistant Court Registrar with the Ilorin Native Authority as from 1937. In an effort to improve himself, the young Sulu attended courses in Judiciary at the institute of Administration, Zaria and upon completion, he was made the court Registrar. Between 1937 and 1944, he was the Chief Court Registrar and Inspector of Native Courts, from 1956 to 1959.
In 1959 he became the Emir of Ilorin and was also appointed Regional Minister with Portfolio, defunct Northern Nigeria in 1960
The young Emir was appointed the Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs in 1967.
He was appointed Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure, in1982.
He received the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 1979.
The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, in 1987 conferred him with Honorary Doctor of Laws, (Hon. LL.D).
In 1988, the University of Ilorin, also conferred him with the same Honorary Degree.
He was also a man of letters as despite his court schedule, he wrote a book though unpublished in 1953 on the history of Ilorin.
His son, whom he turbaned the Ciroman Ilorin, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari CFR, later took over the throne as the 11th Emir of Ilorin following the demise of his maternal uncle, Emir Aliyu AbdulKadir in 1995.
Zulkarnain died in a hospital in Germany in 1992 and was succeeded by his cousin (brother to his wife, Aishatu Nma) Abdulkadir Aliyu who was the Daudu (District Head) of Bode Saadu.
