CRITICISMS OVER ALLEGED FG’S INTERFERENCE IN KANO EMIRATE CRISIS

CRITICISMS OVER ALLEGED FG INTERFERENCE IN KANO EMIRATE CRISIS

Nigerians at the weekend tackled the Federal Government over its interference in the Kano emir­ship tussle.

They criticised the Federal Government for sending sol­diers, operatives of the Depart­ment of State Services (DSS) and the police to help restore the deposed Aminu Ado Bayero, the 15th emir of Kano, who was de­posed by the state following the abrogation of all offices created in the five Emirates under the repealed principal law, dated 5th December 2019.

Peoplesvoice recalls that Governor Abba Yusuf had, last week, reinstated the former emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th emir of Kano.

In 2020, following the political difference between Sanusi and the former state governor and present National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Con­gress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, the then Kano State House of As­sembly passed a bill to split the Kano Emirate Council, majorly under Sanusi’s control, into five emirates. Afterwards, Sanusi was sacked and replaced by the recent­ly deposed 15th emir, Aminu Ado Bayero.

On Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Kano State House of Assembly dissolved all the five created emir­ate councils in the state – Bichi, Karaye, Gaya, Rano, including Kano, and passed the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024, which replaced the Kano State Emirates Council Law, 2019. This 2024 Bill gave the way to reinstate Sanusi.

Shortly after the reinstate­ment, a Federal High Court in Kano on Thursday issued an ex-parte order preventing Gov­ernor Yusuf from reinstating Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II. The court also halted the imple­mentation of a new law that abol­ished the emirates of Bichi, Gaya, Karaye, Rano and Kano.

This development saw the presence of armed security forces in the state.

Reacting to the emirship tussle in Kano, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Deputy Youth Lead­er, Timothy Osadolor, said that it is not the business of the Federal Government to know who be­comes the emir of Kano.

He said poke-nosing into the development in Kano borders on recklessness and unnecessary power grab and desperation and it’s unwelcome.

The PDP deputy youth lead­er noted that the issue of emir falls into the purview of the state government, adding that there’s separation of power as provided by the constitution.

He said: “Ordinarily, there is separation of powers. Ordinari­ly, the question is clear. There is no ambiguity. The local govern­ment’s laws and ethics are out there. The truth is that it’s only a government that believes in impunity that might want to run roughshod on the constitution, because I don’t see the issue of the emir of Kano to being a big deal.

“The local governments are the ones in charge of traditional rulers in this country. The state governments are the controlling heads of all of the institutions in their various states by law.

“So, the truth is that for the Federal Government to be inter­fering in issues that are not even within its ambit, it is very unbe­coming of the presidency.

“The truth is that it’s only a government that doesn’t believe in the rule of law and separation of powers and delineation of duties that poke-nose into every issue that it hears about.

“The truth is that all of this is for political reasons. The presi­dency is more concerned about regime security rather than state security. If we’re talking about the state security of Nigeria and the entity called Nigeria, I don’t think the presidency should be both­ered to talk about the rule of law and the local government chair­man that the Assembly members of Kano State are doing.”

He further said: “It is because they believe that when their cro­nies and aliens are in strategic lo­cations, that is when their regime will be secure.

“But I want to call on Presi­dent Bola Tinubu that Nigeria has a constitution. And if he truly claims to be the father of democ­racy, like I said in the past, and the father of democracy in Nigeria, let him allow the rule of law to be.

“He should not get himself to fight for that, though because his hand and his legs are already showing all over the Kano issue. He should just withdraw himself back to the Villa and allow the laws and the constitution of the land to play out.

“Controlling the commission­er of police through your IGP, and influencing pronouncements that they are making the whole place tense, is unnecessary and most unwelcome.

“The Kano State Assembly has done the needful. The gover­nor has done the needful. I don’t think the Federal Government has any business in who the face, or the leg, or the shoe, or the babarigan of the emir should look like. It’s none of their busi­ness and it shouldn’t be their business. Poke-nosing into all of this, borders on recklessness and unnecessary power grab and desperation and it’s unwelcome.”

Also reacting, an Abuja based legal practitioner and rights ac­tivist, Maxwell Okpara, said that the installation of Sanusi Lamido as emir was lawful, adding that the others have no right to parade themselves in that line.

Even though the government has the right to provide security to it’s citizens, Okpara said Sanusi was reinstated based on the law made by the Kano State House of Assembly in line with the tra­ditional ruling council of Kano State, which falls under their own jurisdiction to enact laws.

He said: “The Federal Govern­ment has the right to intervene in any matter at all that has to do with security. It is the duty of the security agencies to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order in any part of the country. But the question is was there any break­down of law and order in Kano State? The answer is no”.

He observed that “there was a law made by the Kano State House of Assembly in line with the traditional ruling council of Kano State, which falls under their own jurisdiction to enact laws. They amended the law and reinstated the deposed Sanusi Lamido as the 16th emir. They have repealed and abolished the law that created other emirate councils that the immediate past Kano State House of Assembly enacted. Based on that, the state governor signed the new bill into law as a state law. So, as a result of that law, Emir Sanusi Lamido II was reinstated lawfully. Now, there was a court order restrain­ing Sanusi Lamido from assum­ing the stool as the 16th Emir of Kano.

“Before asking whether or not the court has jurisdiction, the questions now are: Was there a court order? Was the order made before or after the concluded Act? To me, the court order was made after the concluded Act. Even if the order was made before the Act was done, the question is: were the parties served with the court processes? That’s a funda­mental question. If the parties were not served, then the order is not binding on them because as at the time the governor rein­stated Emir Sanusi, the governor, the Attorney General, the emir etc have not been served. Now, an­other question is: was the installa­tion lawful? The answer is yes, the installation of Sanusi Lamido as emir was lawful because the oth­er ruling council stool has been abolished. They don’t have the right to be parading themselves as the ruling class or emir; they don’t have the right.

“As it is, Emir Sanusi Lamido II, is entitled to security, that’s my position and the position of the law.”

Opposition Federal Law­makers Coalition from different political parties under the G-60 enlarged platform that has PDP, LP, NNPP etc has urged the Fed­eral Government to steer clear and allow the reinstated Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to reign peacefully.

The G-60 stressed that the Federal Government should not destabilise the already fragile North-Western state by dabbling in the chieftaincy affairs of the Kano Emirate which is internal and within the purview of the Kano State government’s au­thority.

The G-60 joined by leading opposition lawmakers and voic­es threw their weight behind the Kano State government for the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi whose removal and banishment, according to them, was an attack and desecration of the revered ancient traditional institution.

The lawmakers gave these indications in a statement issued after a closed door meeting by the Central Steering Committee of the Opposition Coalition at­tended by legislators who belong to the larger G-60, comprising the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and Labour Party (LP).

The statement jointly signed by Hon. Obi Aguocha, LP, and Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, PDP reads: “We members of (G-60) Opposition Coalition met, exam­ined and deliberated on the devel­opments in Kano State regarding the reinstatement of Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.“We therefore resolved that the Federal Government should not destabilise Kano State and al­low Emir Sanusi reign peacefully as it will be fanning embers of fire for a the Federal Government to dabble into the chieftaincy affairs of state because it does not fall un­der its constitutional authority.”