His Royal Highness, Shehu Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi is the son of Shehu Umar Ibn Abubakar Garbai of Borno was born on 13th May 1957 and became the paramount ruler of the Borno Emirate Council in 2009 as the 14th Shehu of Borno.
He attended Government College Maiduguri for his secondary education, and in 1975 was admitted to the Staff Training Centre, Potiskum where he obtained the Intermediate Local Government Certificate.
The monarch joined the Borno State Government in 1976. Subsequently, he attended Kaduna Polytechnic (1978–1982) and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1986) where he obtained an Advanced Diploma in Local Government Administration. He became Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Finance (1993), Works and Housing and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (2008).
The then Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff officially appointed him Shehu on 2 March 2009. Two days later, on 4 March 2009, he received the Kanuri investiture (bayatu in Kanuri language).
After his ascension, The Yoruba community pledged to fully support El-Kanemi to ensure the peaceful co-existence of the different ethnic and religious groups in Borno State.
In his first public speech after being appointed, El-Kanemi criticized the government for failing to tackle poverty, while urging the people of Borno to desist from begging as a lifestyle and to seek gainful employment.
