Emir of Kano: A modern traditional ruler
These days there is not too much genuine respect for traditional rulers. What little there is, exists mainly amongst older Nigerians who remember the days when anyone who prefixed his name with Emir, Oba or Eze was a man of integrity and impeccable character. Nowadays this is no longer the case. Instead of behaving honourably, […]
These days there is not too much genuine respect for traditional rulers. What little there is, exists mainly amongst older Nigerians who remember the days when anyone who prefixed his name with Emir, Oba or Eze was a man of integrity and impeccable character. Nowadays this is no longer the case. Instead of behaving honourably, traditional rulers have developed a reputation for involving themselves in scandals of failed contracts, anti-social practices and electoral malpractice. The respect given to the Queen of England is because she behaves impeccably; has a role in the opening parliament; addresses the nation annually and in times of crisis; and acts as an Ambassador Extraordinaire.
Our traditional rulers have no constitutional role to play and are paid for their idleness. They are “entitled” to monies which should have been used to develop their local governments. The lack of unifying impact by traditional rulers is one of the main reasons why the nation is increasingly divided along ethnic and religious lines. Thousands of young Nigerians flock weekly to stadiums to clap hands for Pentecostal Pastors who propagate the idea that Islam is a backward religion. This assertion is nonsensical because it ignores the fact many Muslim countries are holding their own in the modern world proving that Islam is not a religion of underdevelopment. However, the likes of Zamfara State Governor Yari only strengthen this prejudice. His Excellency quite ludicrously said that the deadly meningitis rampaging his State is divine punishment for fornication. He didn’t say how this was revealed to him because Zamfara certainly doesn’t have the highest number of fornicators in the nation. His preposterous statement failed to take into account the fact that Meningitis isn’t a sexually transmitted ailment.
The truth about the matter is that despite being warned of an impending outbreak his government took no steps to prepare. Now he blames God! We are stuck with political leaders who only pretend to be Godly because sycophants always refer to people in high political office as a “Godsend”. Paradoxically despite being ruled by all these “Godsends” we have spectacularly failed to progress as a nation. It’s no secret that many of our political leaders are inept and not well educated. Nigerians have learnt from experience not to expect much from them.
As a result, Afro-beat King Fela’s lament about sorrow, tears and blood is now the order of the day. There is an absence of apparent regret, remorse, or concern from the highest quarters of government who are busy fighting themselves. Their time would be better spent trying to assuage the growing nationwide anger, frustration, divisiveness and resentment over atrocious living conditions and an uncertain future. Something urgent needs to be done and the lack of vision or inspiration from politicians has left a vacuum in leadership.
Old style traditional are saying nothing to address this problem but thankfully a new breed of traditional rulers is emerging as exemplified by the current Emir of Kano. He has taken it upon himself to fight for the progress of his people and suggest solutions to problems. He speaks the truth about the ill-effects of conservative Muslims who are harming Islam rather than helping it. He condemns their refusal to expand their knowledge outside their own religion and failure to realise that knowledge is power. He also correctly concludes that denying the right to pursue scientific and technological knowledge and restricting people to Islamic knowledge is the best means of ensuring that Muslims in Northern Nigeria will be remain economically backward. He is upset at the legion of beggars on the streets and is trying to bridge the gap between the backward North and the Southern parts of the nation.
The Emir believes that conservative Muslims are still stuck in the 13th Century and their claim that children need no other knowledge than Islamic studies flies in the face of reality. All the poverty, under-development and immense suffering in the North are a result of uneducated masses refusing to learn work or a trade. The majority of technicians in Kano are from the South while untrained indigenes beg. How does that make sense? Emir Sanusi asks ironically why conservative Muslims who claim to be against scientific progress enter aeroplanes and fly to perform the Hajj in Mecca rather than using camels to cross the desert! Why do they watch sermons beamed by TV live from Mecca and read the Holy Quaran on their laptops yet profess to abhor modern technology? He correctly points out that there is no harm in copying from the West if it brings succour to the masses of poverty stricken Muslims in Northern Nigeria.
After all Saudi Arabia, the “home” of Islam is known for its highly-rated airline, modern hospitals, indigenous oil industry and space program all of which make it a world leader. In our backward nation, we insist on denying the truth. Unless Northern political leaders like Governor Yari pay attention to modern traditional rulers like Emir Sanusi there will never be a day when anywhere in the North will be like the modern Muslim cities of Kuala Lumpar, Istanbul, Jakarta, Lahore, Greater Cairo, Dacca, Karachi, Dubai, Riyadh or Faisalabad.