Restoration of the emirate and emir, By Jibrin Ibrahim

The  Emirate, which predates the Nigerian state, is not a product of statute and cannot therefore be disbanded by statute, as the Ganduje government did. The government can remove Emirs with just cause, as allowed by law, but cannot dissolve the Emirate and recreate new ones. The recognition of the Emirate remains a pivotal social contract of some sort by which the modern Nigerian state has recognised the continuing relevance of the traditional system of authority…

Yesterday, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State announced the appointment of Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II as the new Emir of Kano. He made the announcement after signing the new emirate council law at Government House. Former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had dethroned Sanusi in 2020, following a personal rift. The State House of Assembly had, on the same day, passed a bill for the dissolution of the five emirates, created by the immediate past Ganduje administration, and the removal of all the five emirs. Governor Yusuf signed the law after proposition from the kingmakers of Kano Emirate. Warm congratulations to Muhammad Sanusi II, the 14^th and 16^th Emir of Kano. May God guide him and give him the wisdom to rule with fairness and justice.

The law, titled the Kano State Emirates Council (Amendment No.2) Law, 2024, scrapped the five emirates system and first-class emirs in Gaya, Rano, Karaye and Bichi, and reverted the State to its position as the only one with a single emirate council, apart from Sokoto, which has only the Sultan as the paramount ruler, who is superior to all the emirs in the caliphate. There is excitement and contentment in the state because since 2019, Kano has been destabilised, distressed and shocked, following the orchestrated plot implemented by the erstwhile administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to destroy a millennium of rich Kano tradition, history and legacy. The plot was rolled out and implemented without recourse to the good people of the state.

It was done with no regard to extant laws, Kano’s political heritage and unity and indeed the humanity of its people, who have a history and rich cultural heritage they are proud of and have the right and duty to preserve for generations yet unborn. The clear response of the people of Kano to the threat against the Emirate was the victory of the opposition in the 2019 election, which was stolen in broad daylight by the contrived ‘inconclusive’ electoral outcome, and the subsequent use of thugs and violence to rig the supplementary election. The peace-loving people of Kano State waited patiently for the 2023 election to vote out, once again, the corrupt and anti-people government that Ganduje sought to impose. The new administration of Kano State, right from the beginning, expressed its determination to restore the state’s heritage, culture and unity, that had served the Kanawa so well for centuries, and which were needlessly rendered asunder by the said Ganduje administration.

It’s important to understand the logic of the restoration. It would be recalled that on Monday 6^th May 2019, one faceless individual, Ibrahim Salisu, had submitted a petition to the Kano State House of Assembly seeking the decentralisation of the Kano Emirate. The petitioner demanded the upgrade of the traditional rulers of Karaye, Bichi, Rano, and Gaya to the status of first-class emirs and the creation of additional emirates in Kano. The Assembly, which was in recess, was hurriedly reconvened by the Speaker. It set up a committee to look into the petition and come up with a report. The next day, Tuesday 7^th May, the report was ready, as it simply copied and pasted the prayers of the petitioner in it. The draft Amendment Bill was presented and it received a swift passage at the Assembly, after the third reading and on the same day, the then Governor Ganduje signed the Bill into law. By the end of the week, new Emirs were appointed and issued letters and instruments of authority. This was the cavalier manner in which 1000 years of Kano history  was thrown away by the Ganduje administration. Kano lost its status as one of only two states in Nigeria with one emirate or traditional council.

The law balkanised Kano’s 44 local government, hitherto under the traditional authority of the Kano Emirate, to create the five new emirates – Rano, Gaya, Karaye, Bichi and Kano. These monumental actions were taken without any consultation with stakeholders and the public. The House did not organise any public hearing and even within the Assembly, there was virtually no discussion.

The law balkanised Kano’s 44 local government, hitherto under the traditional authority of the Kano Emirate, to create the five new emirates – Rano, Gaya, Karaye, Bichi and Kano. These monumental actions were taken without any consultation with stakeholders and the public. The House did not organise any public hearing and even within the Assembly, there was virtually no discussion. This action was taken in bad faith and in clear abuse of due process.

Kano had existed as a Kingdom since c. 999 AD under a lineage of Hausa kings (Sarakuna). Following the Jihad of 1804 and the conquest of the Hausa rulers of Kano in 1807, it took its present form with an Emir and kingmakers representing the prominent Fulani clans that led the Jihad in Kano. Each of the clans maintained its seat in Kano City but had territorial control of various districts of the Emirate. Although colonial conquest subordinated the authority of Sarkin Kano and the emirate to the colonial state, the colonialists did not rework the territories, which have remained consolidated since the reign of Sarkin Kano Ibrahim Dabo (1819-1846). The Nigerian state also maintained the recognition of these territorial definition.

The  Emirate, which predates the Nigerian state, is not a product of statute and cannot therefore be disbanded by statute, as the Ganduje government did. The government can remove Emirs with just cause, as allowed by law, but cannot dissolve the Emirate and recreate new ones. The recognition of the Emirate remains a pivotal social contract of some sort by which the modern Nigerian state has recognised the continuing relevance of the traditional system of authority, which has continued to serve as an enduring fulcrum of unity, identity and social cohesion, often mobilised not just for its pomp and pageantry but as a source of peace, order and stability.

It is therefore clear that:

Ganduje’s actions were ill motivated and founded on gross abuse of power;

The said actions were destructive of the cultural, historical and political heritage of Kano;

The actions have seriously eroded the unity of Kano State, reduced the status and influence of traditional institutions, and removed the important voice of such authorities in defending the people. Since the 10^th century, there has always been one Sarkin Kano as the leader of the people;

Kano State Government is experiencing its most indebted history because of the additional burden of costs resulting from the creation of the Emirates, and it has not been able to effectively deliver social services. The balkanisation of Kano was an unmitigated disaster.

The Ganduje law created divisions, acrimony and disharmony across the districts of the Emirate by removing ruling houses from their roots and subordinating them to lesser chiefs. The Emirate had inherited Sarauta titles, which are based on hierarchies established by precedence as approved by Sarkin Musulmi Muhammad Bello (1817-1837) which were upturned overnight.

The Government under Governor Ganduje promised, that, the new Emirates, would bring development to their domains, but it was the opposite that happened. Nigeria is a republic and not a monarchy and emirates are not structures of government. Kano State Government is experiencing its most indebted history because of the additional burden of costs resulting from the creation of the Emirates, and it has not been able to effectively deliver social services. The balkanisation of Kano was an unmitigated disaster.

The restoration was necessary because:

It would once again provide a sense of unity and common identity for the people of Kano, with purposeful leadership that extends to most Hausa people in Nigeria and beyond;

It is cost effective in this era of fiscal difficulties and abolishing the burden of five Emirates created by Kano State Government under Governor Ganduje will release resources for much needed social development;

It is necessary to restore the foundation of the social contract between the state and the people of Kano by respecting their revered system of traditional authority in the interest peace and stability.

A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.