By Olu Fasan
There is aparadox in the relationship between politicians and traditional rulers in Nigeria. Before elections, prominent presidential and gubernatorial candidates queue to pay homage to traditional rulers and solicit their blessing.
*Sanusi
Last week, barely one year in office as governor of
Kano State, Abba Yusuf, of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, led by former
Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, dethroned Ado Bayero as the 15th Emir of Kano
and replaced him with Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir. Just over four years ago,
Sanusi was the 14th Emir of Kano. He was enthroned by then Governor Kwankwaso
on June 8, 2014. However, on March 9, 2020, Sanusi was deposed by then Governor
Abdullahi Ganduje, who replaced him with Bayero as the 15th Emir of Kano.
What’s most troubling about this saga is the extreme
politicisation of the ancient Kano emirate. In 2020, when Sanusi was dethroned,
I wrote a piece in this column titled “Sanusi’s dethronement: The will of God
or an act of man” (Vanguard, March 19, 2020). Sanusi took his dethronement with
equanimity and attributed it to the will of God, saying: “The one who gives,
has taken.” But I argued that while God permitted it, being omnipotent,
Sanusi’s dethronement was the machination of man. Put simply, Sanusi was a
beneficiary of politics, then a victim of it. It’s a fascinating story worth
retelling.
In 2014, when the then Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero,
died, Sanusi was not the choice of the kingmakers, according to Tanko Yakassai,
a leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum. Yakassai said that, following the
demise of the emir, “his eldest son was announced as the emir, but it was later
changed.” But why was the kingmakers’ choice changed, and why was Sanusi made
the emir instead? Well, it’s politics, politics, politics!!!
Governor Kwankwaso, who was a
PDP governor, fell out with then President Goodluck Jonathan and decamped to
the then opposition APC. At the same time, Sanusi, then governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, was a thorn in the flesh of Jonathan, whose administration he
accused of corruption. In response, Jonathan suspended Sanusi as CBN governor.
But that made Sanusi APC’s “poster boy” as he gave them ammunitions to fight
Jonathan. Truth is, if Kwankwaso was still in PDP and loyal to Jonathan, Sanusi
would not have been emir. But the timing was auspicious. Being Jonathan’s
enemy, Sanusi became Kwankwaso’s friend, and was rewarded with the throne: his
lifelong dream!
Indeed, Sanusi himself confirmed this narrative in an interview with the Financial Times in 2018. The FT wrote: “Jonathan and the governor of Kano were adversaries. Any enemy of Jonathan’s was a friend of the governor. Sanusi got the nod.” But what politics gave, politics later took away. In 2014, Sanusi was on the winning side with Kwankwaso, who rewarded him with the emirship. But six years later, in 2020, Sanusi was on the losing side with Ganduje, who accused him of “disrespecting the office of the governor” and dethroned him. Now, the table has turned again!
But what future does this
tit-for-tat politics portendfor the stability and sanctity of the Kano emirate,
especially given the deep-seated mutual animus between Kwankwaso and Ganduje? If
APC regains Kano in 2027 and a Ganduje protégé becomes governor, would Sanusi
be dethroned again and replaced with Bayero? As it is, Sanusi is in Kwankwaso’s
camp, while Bayero is in Ganduje’s, and the fate of either is tied to who
governs Kano State. Evidently, Governor Abba Yusuf would not have dethroned
Bayero without the say-so of his godfather and party leader, Kwankwaso. Indeed,
Kwankwaso made it clear as soon as his party won the state that the emirship
issue would be revisited. Governor Yusuf, his protégé, has now kept the
promise: Bayero is gone, Sanusi is back!
Yet, here’s the big picture:
politicisation damages the traditional institutions. But unless the
Constitution recognises traditional rulers and protects them from crude
exercise of executive power, such politicisation is inevitable.Not long ago,
former President Obasanjo scolded some Obas in Oyo State for failing to stand
up to welcome the state governor at a public event. He was criticised in some
quarters. But Obasanjo’s point was that governors were the democratically
elected leaders of their states and, thus, were superior to traditional
rulers.
Indeed, Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a constitutional monarchy; so, elected politicians are in control. However, it’s also worth remembering that when the colonialists came to the territories that they later cobbled together to create Nigeria, they did not meet politicians on the ground; rather, they met traditional rulers. So, democracy notwithstanding, traditional rulers deserve constitutional recognition and protection as the original custodians of the ancient kingdoms that constitute Nigeria. Democracy must sit alongside tradition.
Sadly, however, the traditional
institutions in Nigeria have not always covered themselves in glory. The
rivalry, bitterness, corruption, politicking, intrigues, etc that usually
precede the selections and appointments of traditional rulers are beyond
belief. The only royal throne that is immune from politicisation in Nigeria is
probably the Obaship of Benin. This is because there is no contest for the
throne: the first son of an Oba of Benin succeeds him under a cherished
primogeniture system. But for most of the other traditional rulers, choosing a
successor is a fight to the finish, often involving unroyal, cloak-and-dagger
behaviours.
For instance, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of
Oyo, died in April 2022. Yet, more than two years later, no successor has been
chosen. Why? Governor Seyi Makinde rejected the kingmakers’ choice allegedly
because they were compromised and did not follow due process. Why should such
an ancient traditional stool be so embroiled in a bitter contest and
manipulation as to render it vacant for years?
Yet, until the Constitution recognises the
traditional institutions and until successions to royal thrones are devoid of
bitter rivalry, corruption and politicisation, traditional rulers would be prey
to governors’ crude exercise of executive power as the otherwise revered Emir
of Kano now seems, sadly, to have become!
*Dr. Fasan is a commentator
on public issues
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