How New Emirates Creation Tears Kano Elders Apart
POLITICS DIGEST – One week after Kano elders under the aegis of Advocates for United Kano have called on Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to repeal the Kano Emirate Law which created four additional Emirates in the State and a rotational chairmanship of Traditional Council, another body, the Integrity Group, has thrown its weight behind the governor’s action, saying it is the best thing to have happened in the state in the recent time.
Former presidential candidate of the defunct Nigeria Republican Council (NRC), Alhaji Bashir Tofa, with 10 others, not only frowned at the creation, but called on the governor to repeal the law creating the new Emirates.
Tofa, in a statement he co-signed with 10 others, said that the creation is an attempt to destroy a 1000-year-old heritage.
The statement reads in part: “The Advocates for United Kano, is a non-partisan group of citizens from all professions and backgrounds, who are law abiding and irrevocably committed to the peace and progress of our dear state.
“Consequently, we hereby express deep concern about the persistence of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the destruction of the Kano Emirate, a product of the efforts of our forefathers, which has survived for centuries championing purposeful administration and scholarship in Kano State and beyond.
“It is without doubt that the Kano Emirate has, for centuries, been a formidable force in shaping the character and economic outlook of the Kano society in particular and Nigeria as a whole. Unfortunately, however, the actions of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje which, to a greater extent, border on personal margins, are unequivocally bent on destroying that legacy.”
The statement further lament what it’s described as the governor’s deliberate attempt to politicize the influencing Emirate in Nigeria, therefore ignoring every effort of well- meaning individuals that have cautioned him.
To this end, the elders cautioned the governor and frowned at the way he is conducting the affairs of the state.
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“We view with great concern the impunity with which the Governor of Kano State has been running the affairs of the state in total disregard of the wishes and aspirations of the people.
“In recognition of the pivotal role of the Kano Emirate in the entrenchment of unity among citizens, its guidance on matters of progress of the state and enhancement of the wellbeing of the people coupled with the dire need to sustain peaceful coexistence among the citizens, we hereby call on the governor to, in the interest of unity, peace and progress of Kano State, immediately cause the repeal of the obnoxious law creating the new Emirates.
“Our resolve in this regard was informed by careful consideration of the fact that the personal ambitions of the governor should not be allowed to jeopardise the overall common good and harmonious relationship existing among the Kano populace,” the statement added.
But the Kano Integrity Forum (KIF), headed by Prof Abdul Salihi, while in support of the creation, said it was long overdue.
Speaking on behalf of the KIF on Thursday, Prof Salihi said the creation of four new Emirate councils in the state would bring about “balanced development” of the state as it would translate to more specialized health institutions, post-secondary institutions and agricultural development services.
Salihu stated that the creation of the new emirates by the Ganduje administration has shown that the governor was fully committed to bringing developments to all parts of the state.
According to him, additional Emirates would encourage reconstruction of the state as shown by the examples of states that had taken similar steps such as Jigawa, Yobe and Oyo.
His words: “The opponents of the creation of the additional emirates councils believe in history, but do not live with history; they are only committed to preserving history, but history can only be preserved to a certain extent.”
The state government while reacting to the recent Kano High Court injunction barring the governor from going ahead with the new Kano Traditional Council insisted that it was propaganda being circulated by the opposition.
The Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who spoke, said it was “the evil machination of those opposed to the creation of the new Emirates who will be disappointed when the court rules on a substantive judgement.”
