Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The current rowdy face -off between the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi has long been foretold by those who could read the currents.
In the past few years, their relationship has been anything but endearing. Their physical chemistry never matched, their spirits never agreed, yet for a long time, they endured the rigor of putting up a smiling face and hiding their differences from the pubic glare.
To a great extent, they were about succeeding with this magic mask, until the infamous outing in Kaduna State, about a year ago, where Sanusi tore to pieces the multi-billion naira light rail project, which would commit the state government to huge sum of debt in favour of the Chinese.
That raw unguarded outburst, considered as an act of aggression by the governors’ men, was too hard a punch to go unreplied. It was soon after that the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission a commission that is not exactly independent, extended an invitation to the staff of the Emirate Council regarding the management of the funds of the emirate. The same probe, which was indeed a precedent in the recent times, was also flagged off by the members of the Kano State House of Assembly against the monarch.
The architectural design for the fall of the emir was perfected at this time, but the plot could not succeed given the intervention of some prominent Nigerians.
Notable among them were Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbanjo, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sadiq Abubakar III, Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and the his uncle, Alhaji Aminu Dantata. They got the emir, a very egoistic personality, to apologise to the governor, a condition that eventually rested the matter.
In the weeks and months after, both men kept to the peace path. They made sure that nothing betrayed them both as men who had just completed a fight. At events, they smiled at each other and the governor saluted the monarch as required by tradition. But in the secrets of their hearts, the grief endured while the hate-lines buried beneath their souls continued to regenerate.
Present time
The present conflict is a rebirth of the previous chapter many believed had been closed. To a great extent, the Emir of Kano has not been happy- so it was said- with his humiliation he endured in the hands of the governor during their last fight.
He waited for a perfect stage, which was offered by the governorship election. It was said that he also felt indebted to to former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who supported him to emerge the Emir of Kano years ago.
Without minding the unpredictable nature of politics, he declared sympathy for the opposition. In the wake of the 2019 polls, there were whispers in many circles, that the emir was “ doing PDP”, which implied that the emir was supporting the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Abbar Yusuf.
A Government House source alleged,“ he directed the district heads to vote for a particular candidate.” Another chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said: “They had him on a video relating with the opposition in Dubai.”
Whatever it was, Sanusi’s sin this time around, emanated from the circumstances of the highly contested, obviously controversial 2019 governorship poll, in which the governor was set against his arch political enemy, Kwankwaso, in a do-or-die contest.
Ganduje’s response
At the end of the poll Ganduje was jolted. He had thought he would walk over his opponent. Nothing like that happened. Rather, he was beaten hands down in the first round, only to breathlessly recover from the loss to emerge the winner at the end of the second poll
A few weeks after poll, he flew out of the country and spent days perfecting his script. Since his return, he has been action packed with the emir being one of the initial areas to strike. A source told Daily Sun that the legal aspect of the plan was handled by the same lawyer who is currently in charge of the governor’s legal team at the tribunal.
The source said: “He instructed that Ibrahim Salisu at about 3.00pm on May 6, 2019, to write the petition to the Kano State House of Assembly. Upon receipt of the petition, the assembly, dominated by legislators from the same party with the governor, acted with dispatch, getting the bill across its first, second and third readings in just 48 hours.
By Wednesday evening, the leadership of the house led by the Speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rirum, presented the bill to the governor, who in turn signed it into law, thereby terminating a heritage of over 800 years. By virtue of the law, Rano, Gaya, Karaye and Bichi all became new emirates.
The governor explained that Kano was too big in size to have a single, centralised emirate council: “The challenges of development are too many, are too weighty to be left in the hands of a highly centralised traditional institution.”
By Friday, however, the Kano High Court, in Ungogo, halted the entire process and adjourned the case to May 15, 2019. Despite the order, government went ahead and appointed the new emirs; Alhaji Tafide Abubakar Ila, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of the Late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, Dr. Alhaji Ibrahim II and Alhaji Abdulkadir Gaya.
The future
One of the possibilities that may succeed the present saga is that Emir Sanusi may resign if pushed beyond his limit. Many people in Kano are already exploring this possibility in their minds.
“A highly principled person, full of his ego, it is doubtful if he could take more than what he has already taken,” said a palace-based journalist. “Besides, he may not easily fit into the new order, in which district heads that were hitherto loyal to him, have all been elevated to be his equal.
«Another likely option is that he may be encouraged to resign by the same forces against him. The Kano State Public Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission has dusted his file and has resumed work on his alleged corruption case,” he stated.
Many residents fear that the anti-graft body may indict him, rightly or wrongly, and then offer him an option to resign.
The Emir of Kano interestingly has not uttered a word since the present crisis broke out. He travelled and he is back. But he has held on to an uncommon silence; very unlike him. This has kept a lot of people guessing about his next line of action.
But on a bigger scale, the consensus is that Kano, once described as ancient city, would never remain the same again. “No matter what happens, Kano would never be same again, at least not in a way it was inherited by this generation,” said Abdullahi Bello, an indigene of Kano city.
Many people who spoke with Daily Sun believed Kano would be the greatest loser, not the dramatic personalities involved in the conflict. They argued that the prestige and respect reserved and accorded to the Kano Emirate Council has already evaporated since the crisis began.
They also opined that it would now be more difficult to arrive at consensus on any subject matter in the state given the kind of divide created by the new emirates.
Bello again: “No matter the anticipated gains of this whole episode, I think that we were better off when we could rally around a position, force the entire North to queue behind us and get Nigerians to accept our stand.”
Ameen Yassar is the Director General, Media and Publicity to the Governor. He spoke with our correspondent:
“I do not see the creation of these new emirates as anything but a brilliant policy initiative. It is one of the most remarkable policies of this administration. Of course, new things are bound to elicit their own concerns and worries, but generally, I am satisfied that Kano has been moved to the next level.
“The first thing is that, like the governor has always remarked, it will bring the traditional institutions closer to their subjects, which means that the people will have prompt solutions to their everyday problems. That to me is a big leap if you consider the size of Kano and the fact that the former centralised emirate system was incapable of sufficiently attending to the people and their needs.
“The second point arising from the first one is that it would also encourage a positive development in these emirates. These emirates would have to develop at their own pace and speed. This would lead to a positive and complimentary competition that would be good for all. The emirs can in fact assist and affect their subjects to improve on ways of life, like farming, security and health. There are a lot of ways by which these changes would improve the lives of the people.
“I believe that we should look at it beyond the immediate personalities. We especially the media people should change the narrative by focusing on the strength of the new order.
“I was at the various emirates where the emirs received their staff of office and you can see the joy and excitement of the people. It was a dream come true for this generation of Kano people and I am deeply excited at what has happened. I also urge all those who have an opposing view to this change to review their positions. It is the best thing that has happened to us all.”
Mohamed Aliyu hails from Hadejia in Jigawa State. He is a driver and has been resident in Kano State for a long time. He spoke in Hausa:
“I believe that it is very good idea. The creation of new emirates in Kano is a wonderful way of democratising the emirate council. It would bring these people closer to the people and open up opportunities both in the traditional way and modern way for many people.
“You should not forget that these emirates are not exactly new. Before our generation, I am talking in the past there had been these emirates. Something happened in the past that made the authorities then to discard them, or to fuse them into a single institution under the Kano Emirate Council.
“So what Ganduje did was to revert to the old emirate system and I think that most of these new emirates already have the structure.”
“However, what I do not like about the new law is this talk about the transfer of emirs. I must say that I heard this as rumor because I have not seen the law. This is strange to our tradition. I have never heard that emirs can be transferred from one place to another. And if you ask me, I think later the government should review that aspect of the law”.
Abdulgafar Oladimeji, associate member, Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, Kano State: “What happened has both historical traditional perspective. Ganduje has not done anything wrong, the legislators have equally not done anything wrong. They all acted within the law no matter what you may say.
“I have heard so many lawyers talk about the lack of public hearing in the whole process of the bill and I think that they got it wrong. The provision of Section 101 of the 1999 Constitution, there is no sub-section of that Section that says the decisions of the legislature must be subjected to a public hearing. It is at their discretion to do so or not do so.
“In everything that happens in life, there is politics. Politics is everywhere. There was politics in the time of Sanusi’s grandfather. Politics played its part in the time of Alhaji Ado Bayero and today we are seeing politics again. The general perception is that Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, was too partisan and Ganduje decided to fight back through partisan politics.
“On a sad note, while I admit that Ganduje has broken no rule in the signing of the new law, let me add that the creation of these emirates would not result or bring about any positive change. Those who are thinking of change or moving to the next level should only but ask about the emirate system in states that have several emirates. Have there changed in any significant way?
“We have seen Jigawa State for instance. What is happening there? There, you have Ringim, Hadejia, Dutse, Kazaure and so on, but the level of poverty in the state is still very high. Illiteracy is so prevalent and diseases are very common there. If these emirates could not help make differences in those states, why do you think they would do in Kano?
“Remember that these emirates have no constitutional power to make laws, they have no constitutional powers. I do not think anything tangible would change in the lives of their subjects as a result of their creation.”
Meanwhile, there are indications that the creation of new emirates would breed grave distrusts and fear of domination among the emirates.
Feelers from the emirates showed that some of the communities merged together have historical differences. It was gathered that some are opposed to their status.
Danbatta for instance has already objected to being placed in Bichi Emirate. A similar cry was heard in Wudil, another metropolitan town, which has since rejected the idea of being placed under Gaya Emirate.
Wudil people appealed to the State House of Assembly and Ganduje to revisit the composition of the new emirates. Alhaji Yawale Muhammad-Idris, their spokesman, held that they would rather have a Wudil Emirate than be bounded under a Gaya Emirate, adding that as an alternative, they should be returned to Kano Emirate Council, where they rightly belonged.