When Will Nigerian Legislators Work For Their People?

 By Tonnie Iredia

The decision of the Kano state government to reinstate Emir Sanusi II some four years after he was dethroned has expectedly elicited diverse reactions from many Nigerians. While some looked at the subject from the cultural point of view and argued that it is in order to restore the traditional institution in its unadulterated form, others are unhappy that politicians have turned the royal throne into a chess game. So, the blame game is on.

Some say it is the result of an unending political rift between two former Kano governors, Musa Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Ganduje. There is a third group that loathes the involvement of the Judiciary which engaged in an offshore interference in the controversy. It is however simplistic to make conclusions about the return of Emir Sanusi II without reference to why and how he was deposed in 2020. The deposition of the Emir 4 years ago was heavily criticised by many political analysts who were convinced that the Emir did no wrong.

Amala And The Coronavirus Patient: Matters Arising

By Reuben Abati

Of all the updates that have been given so far by the Lagos State authorities on the government’s efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, and ensure proper care for the reported index case, and other possible cases (there is a second case now), the most intriguing update for me is the disclosure that the Italian index case who has since been quarantined at the bio-security facility in Lagos, is recovering – indeed so well that he now eats a local delicacy, called “Amala”. This disclosure was attributed to the Manager of the Bio-security Centre in Lagos, Dr. Bankole Akinwale. Let no one be under any mistaken impression that the doctor was trying to suggest that the eating of amala, is any form of cure for corona virus; he being a Yoruba had to find the most graphic way to convey the patient’s health status as at the time he made that disclosure six days ago.

Amala is a special delicacy that is very popular among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. It is in two forms, white and dark brown colours: the former is made from cassava, and is far more popular among the Egba people of Ogun State. They call it Lafun. The latter which is the standard paste is made from yam. Both are best consumed with a variety of soups particularly okro, ewedu, ogbono, or well-made egusi soup or vegetables.

Ganduje, Sanusi And Other Monarchs

By Paul Onomuakpokpo

With a hasty dismissal of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as victims of self-induced embroilment in a power tussle, we are denied vital lessons for national development. Again, there is the cynicism that Ganduje who is allegedly steeped in corruption, fecklessness and vendetta lacks the altruism that should underpin his dismantling of the Sanusi monarchy. But until Sanusi secures judicial validation, his royal influence remains vitiated as his centuries-old Kano emirate is split into five. 

*Gov Ganduje and Emir Sanusi

We must appropriate the development in Kano State as an opportunity to assess once again the relevance of the traditional institution to contemporary existence. In Nigeria, like some other parts of the world, communities at inchoate stages of development where they lacked defined institutions for cohesion might have had a need for traditional rulers. But with the development of great institutions for self-regulation, Nigeria does not need the traditional institution.

President Buhari’s Queer Blandishment Of A Kleptocrat

By Ochereome Nnanna

 President Muhammadu Buhari gave hints of how his supporters will enter the upcoming electioneering fray when he met his Buhari support groups in the Presidential Villa on Tuesday last week: it’s going to be a gale of lies all the way. I am not referring to his allegation of $16 dollars spent on power projects “without power”. Figures that have been bandied down the years – from $3billion to $6 billion to $10 billion to $16 billion.

*President Buhari 

This reminds us of how former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor (now the Emir of Kano) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had in February 2014 bandied figures as the amount “diverted” by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, instead of being remitted to the Federation Account. He started with $20 billion, brought it down to $10 billion and readjusted it to $12 billion. That is Nigeria for you. Others use figures to inform and educate. We use ours to confuse and promote falsehood. 

The Emir And The Child Bride

By Paul Onomuakpokpo  

Just when the outrage at the scandalous abduction of 14-year old Ese Oruru by a lecher from Kano who forced her into marriage is about quitting smouldering, there is now another paedophilic case to stoke the fury over the development. The replication of this scandal is in consonance with the tragic character of a nation that is impervious to the lessons of history. This is why the nation is bogged down by repeated blunders that have consigned it to the fringes of the league of its developed counterparts.

*President Muhammadu Buhari and the  Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumini Kabiru Usman

We failed to learn any lessons from the Oruru saga. There were no dire consequences for the so-called emir, other religious leaders and state actors who watched while the ordeal of Oruru lasted. This is why another case of abduction and forced conversion and marriage has now invaded the public consciousness.

Secure in the knowledge of a state that is incapable of inflicting well-deserved sanctions on its citizens who violate its authority, the Emir of Katsina , Alhaji AbdulMumin Kabiru Usman, has allegedly abducted and married 14-year-old Habiba Isiyaku. Continuing in his impunity, the emir allegedly assaulted Mr. Isiyaku Tanko when he went to the palace to take away his daughter.

What clearly confronts us with the reality of the failure of the Nigerian state in this smutty saga is that the police are complicit. They are aware of this condemnable abduction. Yet, they could not effectively intervene. Worse still, the police allowed the emir to bungle what appeared to be their intervention. While the parties involved in the case were meeting in the office of the state police commissioner (PC), a security detail walked in and declared that the emir asked that the girl should be brought to his palace and that her parents should come and take her there. Before the PC, the girl was taken to the palace from the chief security officer.

When the father got to the palace, he was humiliated and made to sit on the floor while the emir did not even bother to appear and address him. He only sent his aide to tell Isiyaku that since his daughter had converted to Islam she could not be released to him. Thus over two months now, the teenager has been in this captivity.