Another season of uncertainty for traditionals (II)

Last week, we reviewed the stormy happenings in the palaces of the Emir of Kano and the Sokoto Sultanate. While the Kano crises had been running for a few weeks, with the two emirs holding court in two separate palaces, that of Sokoto was at its embryonic stage with a bill at the House of […]

Last week, we reviewed the stormy happenings in the palaces of the Emir of Kano and the Sokoto Sultanate. While the Kano crises had been running for a few weeks, with the two emirs holding court in two separate palaces, that of Sokoto was at its embryonic stage with a bill at the House of Assembly aimed at curbing the powers of the sultanate to appoint district heads. 

As for the Kano crises, the judiciary adjudicating the matter has kept all in suspense and is yet to decide whether Emir Aminu Bayero retains the throne he was appointed to in March 2020 or Emir Sanusi II is reappointed to the same throne he lost four years ago.

Nonetheless, the two Kano emirs have since retreated into their trenches, signifying that the Gidan Dabo warfare will be a long haul. It is only their foot soldiers that are left busy hurling brickbats at each other, daily, from whatever media platform they find. 

On the other hand, the storm expected to consume the sultanate palace seemed to have simmered to some appreciable low degrees. The earlier hue and cry were about the Sokoto governor’s covert intentions to target the sultan’s throne. This led to a high-level public intervention by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

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For whatever that was worth, it worked wonders as there were denials all around by all involved parties in the Sokoto Government. However, this turned out to be a strategic move by the governor to have his hands on the routine appointments of district heads, an exercise that used to be handled in its entirety by the sultanate.

The governor got his wish as the House of Assembly assented to his requests as per the amendment to the Sokoto State Local Government and Chieftaincy Law 2008. The entire Sokoto saga has, however, left in its wake sour notes here and there. From whatever standpoint, one could see that there is no love lost between the sultanate and the Sokoto government house.

During the same period of the happenings in Kano and Sokoto, Katsina palace was also reported to be facing a similar dilemma with a gubernatorial query indicating some disquieting developments. The Katsina State governor had issued a query to the palace to explain the absence of some district heads during the Sallah celebrations. This was said to be an unprecedented move as it connoted a crack in the relationship between the governor and the palace.

Observers surmise that the new governor, Dikko Umar Radda, must have an axe to grind either with the emir and/or with some of the district heads.

The incident drew plenty of attention and much mileage in the media. Ever since the change of dynasty by the colonial power in 1906, Katsina emirs have always enjoyed warm relationships with successive governments over the years. During the colonial era Katsina Native Authority under the direct supervision of Emirs Muhammadu Dikko and his son and successor, Usman Nagogo, was seen to be picture-perfect and its standard worthy of emulation by other northern native authorities.

Katsina was always the first to be considered for any worthwhile project by the colonial government. The first post-primary school established by the regional government, the Katsina College, was placed there in 1922. This was where the emerging northern leaders, Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Sir Kashim Ibrahim and others were first trained as teachers.

Emir Muhammadu Dikko was the first among the northern emirs to visit Britain in 1921 and meet King George V, the reigning British monarch of the time, at Buckingham Palace. He was also the first to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, sailing from the UK to Saudi Arabia and back. The Katsina royal house has retained this cordial relationship with the powers that be, down the line of successive governments, civilian and military alike. It, therefore came as a surprise, the brewing difficulties now with the state government. Nonetheless, since the query was issued two weeks ago, nothing has been heard, leaving us to speculate that some adroit fence-mending must have taken place.

These conflicts that have manifested in Kano, Sokoto and Katsina immediately into the tenure of new governors are indicative of their recurring nature. Either the new governors are in a haste to take firm control, or the emirs are not dexterous enough to handle the new situations. The same clash had recurred, times and again, since the new democratic dispensations arrived in 1999. Is there a way out, then? It is difficult to say because every situation comes up with its variables.

Suffice it to say that the emirs tend to have elongated and unlimited tenures and overlap governors’ tenures. Despite this advantage, it is the governors who are the overlords. That is what it has been since when our royal fathers were coerced to cede power to the colonialists. The present governors are more or less replacements of the colonial governors. They know their powers and our traditional rulers would have to learn to deal with the situation to keep the dignity of their thrones. A great deal of tact is required.

One final word: I suggest that the royal houses undertake exercises of peer review to learn from the more successful ones that have kept out of trouble in the last many years, such as the ones in Borno, Adamawa and Bauchi.