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
But after elections, the agency changes
hands: a traditional ruler must walk on eggshells to avoid being dethroned.
Like the Pope, traditional rulers have “soft” power, but state governors
possess “hard” power. Adolf Hitler famously threatened the Pope. Nigerian state
governors are little Hitlers who exercise crude executive power. The latest
victim of such crudity is the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, who is
replaced by a previous victim, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
