From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The unending turns of Kano Emirate crisis.
The death of Sarkin Ado Bayero, the influential Emir oaf Kano, some 15 years ago, undoubtedly marked the end of an era in the ancient city of Kano.
Since then, the palace and its beloved stool have been beset with crises, climaxing in the present hydra-headed misadventure, which has left the throne in the web of intrigues, diminished fame and uncertain future.
Background to the crisis
The background to the present crisis evidently began upon the death of Sarkin Bayero. Even before his death, there had been grey areas between himself and the then state governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
It was an unfrequented path for the governor and the Sarkin to differ. Even where there were these differences, it was not conducted in the public glare. But Kwankwaso, like Rimi before him, dared the odds and differed with the exiting Emir on a number of issues. Upon the death of the monarch on June 6, 2014, their differences grew only wider.
It was common knowledge that Sarkin Bayero had wished that one of his own should succeed him. But that was never to be. Kwankwaso, a high-ranking member of the opposition alongside some of colleagues in the opposition party had a different agenda.
Both for political gains and long time friendship, they had chartered a new course and offered the throne to the suspended Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido. How?
When the kingmakers submitted a list of three without the name of Sanusi, they were asked to repeat the process. That was how Sanusi’s name found its way into the list and thereafter, Sanusi was picked as the Emir of Kano.
But Sanusi was soon to fall out of favour with the Ganduje’s administration that succeeded Kwankwaso. In his public comments, Sanusi was critical of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, which was idolized by the Ganduje administration for its own survival. Sanusi was also critical of the Ganduje style of governance. The last straw of the Sanusi’s fall was his direct role in politics despite the fact that traditional rulers are supposed to be neutral or to pretend to be neutral.
He was accused of supporting Kwankwaso and Abba Kabiru Yusuf against the re-election of Ganduje as the governor of the state in the 2019 general elections.
After the election and Ganduje was declared the winner, his fall was, therefore, predictable. He was eventually dethroned and exiled to Nasarawa State, where he stayed for a few days, before his rights to movement and liberty were restored by the court. By that time a grave of damage had been done to the influence of the palace. The rest they say is history.
The present conflict
Any observer of the city of Kano will attest that all is not well. The walls of the palace as they sang in lullaby have fallen down. Never in its recent past has there been this sort of pale gloom, not even in the days, when former Governor Abubakar Rimi attempted to create his own emirates or when Sir Alhamdu Bello, head of the then Regional Government, deposed Mohammadu Sani 1, the grand-father of the present protagonist.
Today in the city, while the main palace situated at Kofar-Gudu is occupied by reinstated Emir Sanusi with far fewer security and until lately, guarded by local hunters, the Nasarawa mini-palace occupied by Aminu Ado Bayero is guarded by a host of federal security personnel and accorded the status of the Emir
But what Sanusi lacked in terms of federal security guards, he has in abundance in the form of the backing of the state government. The state government, which reinstated him, has made no pretence about their resolve to defend his reinstatement.
On the night he was returned to the palace amidst tight security, Governor Yusuf, his deputy, Aminu Abdulsalam and a host of party members abandoned their abodes to give him cover in the palace. And despite the court orders barring Sanusi from functioning in the capacity as an Emir, backed by the government, he has gone about his businesses of traditional leadership with little or no care.
Appointment of second class emirs
In the face of the contending atmosphere, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf a few days ago, signed another bill, the Kano State Emirate Council Establishment Bill 2024 into law.
The law re-established three of the previously dissolved emirates of Rano, Gaya and Karaye while excluding Bichi Emirate.
According to the new law, Kano Emirate Council will be chaired by a first-class Emir with the three second-class Emirs of the Emirate Councils of Rano, Gaya, and Karaye as members.
Days after, the governor also announced a surprised reappointment of the deposed Emir of Gaya, Aliyu Abdulkadir Gaya back to the throne, which sources said was because he never opposed the governor’s decision to sack them and was friendly to the governor during the 2023 political campaign.
Observers believe that all of these actions were smart political moves by the NNPP government in the state to douse the tension and disapproval of the people of the affected emirates to the dissolution of their emirates.
Litigations
Expectedly, there have been several litigations in the various courts arising from the Kano Emirate dispute. While some of these litigations challenged the action of the governor and the state House of Assembly, seeking to void the reinstatement of Sanusi, others sought to evict Aminu Bayero from the state.
Two major judgments arising from this background included that of the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Mohammed Liman that voided the reinstatement of Sanusi as the Emir of Kano and that of Justice Aminu Aliyu that equally ordered Aminu Ado Bayero and others to desist from parading themselves as Emirs.
Justice Abdullahi Mohammed Liman while nullifying the reinstatement had stated: “I hereby order that every step taken by the government is hereby nullified and becomes null and invalid and that this does not affect the validity of the repealed Emirates Law, but actions taken by the governor, which includes the assenting to the Law and the reappointment (of Sanusi).”
On the other hand, Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the Kano High Court also ordered Bayero and the four other dethroned Emirs of Gaya, Bichi, Karaye and Rano Emirates to stop parading themselves as Emirs and upheld the reliefs sought by the applicants in their originating summon.
She affirmed that the Kano State Governor has the power to assent to a bill made by the Kano State House of Assembly while the State House of Assembly has the power to amend or make a law by virtue of Section 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She also ordered Bayero and the rest of the monarchs to surrender all the movable and immovable property belonging to their Emirate Councils in their possession, including their emirates symbols of authority, to the Kano State Government.
Reactions in the face of the storm
Right from the start, the majority of the people of Kano State were detached from the ill-wind conflict, perhaps for the reason that the dispute and the ideology are driven by the self-serving interests of the political class and not in the best interest of the ordinary people. Despite this, many informed minds are worried over the disruptive intrusion of politics into the affairs of traditional institution in the state.
A former Head of Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, Prof Kamilu Fegge, regretted the role the political class, especially the governors, past and present, have been playing for the unstable situation in the emirate.
His words: “The Emirate system has a very long history. It is highly revered, people see the emir or the emirate system as not just the custodian of the history, the beliefs and the values of the people, but the people see the traditional rulers as religious leaders.
“So, this is one of the reasons they are held in high esteem. And the way our politicians are messing up the emirate system in Kano is not good and is dangerous for the peace and security of the state.”
He argued that the only way out of the present emirate logjam is for the parties to obey the courts, “Since the issue is before a court, the state government and the Kano emirate contestants should desist from taking any further steps in this regard.
“They should await the final decision of the court and whoever is not satisfied with the decision of the court, can appeal up to the Supreme Court.
“I think that for the state government to go ahead a few days ago and come up with a new law establishing new emirates, at this time, at this very material time, I think it is very wrong. It is a wrong thing to have done.
“The executive and the legislature should be seen to be the first set of individuals and institutions to abide by the law of the land. For whatever reason, one should not take the laws into one’s hands as they have done.
“The courts are the final arbitrator and we should give them that respect and wait until they finally rule on who is the real Emir of Kano,” he stated.
He also said that the current happenings underscored the need for traditional rulers in Nigeria to be assigned with constitutional responsibilities, without politicizing them.
“I think the way things are happening in the emirate system in Kano indicates that it is high time the traditional system was accorded certain responsibilities by the law of the land.
“By this, I am not saying that they should be involved in politics. Rather, I am of the view that they should be established in such a way that their own expertise, their own respect and their legitimacy are recognised and are, therefore, given some responsibilities.
“My reason is that if you look at the level of acceptance and the nearness between the then traditional rulers and the people, they are very close to the people and they are respected by the people and can be used to support the government policies and programs.
“We have to modify our system of government to include what the people respect, what the people value and that will help in promoting peace and stability in the land,” he said.
Also, Sule Ibrahim, a retired civil servant and farmer in Jaba residential area in Ungogo Local Government Area of the state told Sunday Sun that the current crisis is a bad omen.
He wondered if the next generation would ever grow up to the grace, glamour and guidance of the palace in the way it used to be.
“Whether we like it or not, the present crisis is a turning point for the Emirate system in the state. When this case reaches the Supreme Court and the court decides, there are chances that the situation will not be the same as it was before the dethronement and reinstatement. It is very painful to we the people of Kano State
“I am also worried about the future of the traditional rulership in the state because any government that comes to power outside the current Kwankwaso’s NNPP is likely to revise or dethrone a few Emirs to serve its own purpose. Emirs will now be removed and replaced as if they were appointed Commissioners. That is really sad.
“In the end, the whole Emirate system will be diminished in fame and status and the same goes for the roles they play for the society which is undoubtedly significant for the peace and security of the domain,” he said.
A former Director General, Research and Documentation, Kano State Government, Ado Kurawa, blamed the Federal Government for escalating the emirate crisis in Kano.
While analyzing the dispute in an interview with Sunday Sun, Ado who has done a lot of studies in the area of Kano Emirate Council said: “Emirate issues are chieftaincy affairs. It belongs to the state government. The Federal Government has no right whatsoever to interfere in the affairs of the state.
“The state House of Assembly has enacted a law and it is the responsibility of the governor to sign and implement the law. He had directed the Nigeria Police to implement the law and they refused to comply and up till date, the other party, Aminu Ado Bayero, who is pretending to be the Emir, has their full support.
“As far as I am concerned the only solution is for the Federal Government to hands off from the Kano Emirate dispute. The Federal Government has no business in state affairs. Assuming the Federal Government has complied and followed the due process, we will not have the crisis we have in Kano today.
“There is nothing wrong with the dissolution of the previous emirates created by Ganduje. It passed through the process established by the law. If their establishment was positive, it would have lasted. But it was not.
“Some people are just being sentimental about this. If another governor comes and decides to do otherwise that is it. That is the law.”
He insisted that governors and legislators should endeavour not to legislate customs and tradition.
“Customs and traditions are source of law, but you should not use positive law and legislate on this issue or you will have problems in your hands in no time,” he warned.
He also highlighted that the dissolved emirates of Rano and the three other emirates were not part of the historical emirates as many had misinformed the public purely to win sympathy.
“Emirates in history began from 1804 after the successful Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio. None of these emirates created by Ganduje ever received the flag or pledged allegiance to Danfodio.
“They were chiefdoms and have been under Kano ever since 1804 when the first Emir of Kano, Suleiman, was appointed by Danfodio.
“You cannot say that you are going back to original emirate structure. You are only going back to what Ganduje created and today that has been dissolved,” he said.