THE DECENTRALIZATION OF KANO EMIRATE:

THE DECENTRALIZATION OF KANO EMIRATE:

THE DREAM THAT NEVER WAS

BY

MUDASSIR ALIYU YUNUSA

mudassiray@gmail.com

It appeared to be a shock and incredible to many when the news of creating additional four Emirate councils broke out from Kano Assembly. The bill was initiated by some legal practitioners who demanded the State Assembly to enact a law that will enable the decentralization of Kano Emirate Council. The bill without any hitch has passed all processes and received immediate attention of the Governor who assented to it in less than forty eight hours of its inception. It is believed to be one of the fastest bills to be so initiated, treated and passed into law in the state.

When I got the news, I thought it was just a rumour but the story received high intensity on both social and conventional media. The issue has generated a mix of reactions from within and outside the State. While Some consider it as a mere expression of grievances by the state government over what allegedly happened between the emirate council and the state government( precisely the Emir and the Governor) during 2019 electioneering processes, others saw it as the right decision to carve additional emirate out of the most populous kingdom in west Africa. But to me the issue has defeated my emotions for the fact that I personally put my concern on the creation of State out of Kano just for our people to derive so many advantages and privileges enjoyed by other states that are not as big as one third of Kano in terms of population. But I have never dreamt of dismantling the prestigious emirate north of the Niger. My reason is that in Kano we have witnessed various efforts, movements and agitations  for the creation of state(s) out of Kano, but the idea of decentralization of Kano emirate council into five(5) has never came to my mind. Though a Hausa adage is saying ‘In da ranka ka sha kallo’ meaning  ‘as you live long you will see many surprises'

Historically, Kano emirate has been affected negatively by political winds right from first republic, when the political forces in northern regional government led to the dethronement of one powerful, and famous Emir who accords respects among his contemporaries, and who was also treated with prima even by the colonial masters despite ranking 3rd in the Seat of Caliphate (after Sultan of Sokoto and Emir of Gwandu), that is Emir Muhammadu Sunusi (the first). His dethronement was as a result of some political misunderstanding between him (the Emir of Kano) and the Premier of Northern region Sir Ahmadu Bello in 1963, a scenario that brought chaos and  disorder in Kano.

During second republic, Mallam Aminu Kano, the founder of NEPU SAWABA and PRP was the leader who dominated the political scene in Kano with massive support from talakawa, at that time most of the elected or appointed political office holders are loyal to him mainly from NEPU down to PRP.   In 1981 Mallam Aminu Kano was mainly blamed by many as a person who influenced the creation of more Emirates in Kano by Governor Abubakar Rimi. At that time Auyo, Ringim, Karaye and Gaya emirates were created and their district heads elevated to become emirs and subsequently the 3 months suspension to the Emir of Kano was another confusion created by political forces in the state. Though the action was seen as a mere politics by PRP which was seen as replica of  NEPU SAWABA particularly with the belief of how NEPU has been molested by traditional rulers who supported NPC during first republic. But what happened then was not seen as controversial as the recent decentralization of Kano emirate by the  current administration.

Another misunderstanding that exists between the state government and Kano emirate was the removal of Mallam Nasiru Muhammad Nasir (Chief Imam of Waje) who was turbanned as Wazirin Kano by Late Emir Ado Bayero and his council of chiefs, but immediately disapproved and seceded by Governor Kwankwaso, an action that bring disharmony to the late Emir and the Kano emirate entirely.

The selection of  Emir Muhammadu Sunusi II as the successor of Late Ado Bayero was seen by many people as another political weight that affect Kano emirate, though he ( Emir Sunusi) was among the principal contenders and the Governor has the right to select any person among the names submitted to him by the king makers, but it was believed by many to be subjected by political circumstances happening between The Governor and the Government at the centre. However, the selection of Emir Sunusi has generated various criticisms, strong rejection, riot and violence demonstrated by some people in Kano describing the selection as a deliberate political action by Governor Kwankwaso to infuriate, enrage and defeat the desire of the ruling party who preempted the State Government's formal announcement through sending a congratulation message to one of the contenders.

The recent saga that led to the creation of Four (4) additional Emirates (Rano, Gaya, Karaye and Bichi) by Ganduje administration has generated heats and debates in Kano and other part of the country. Where some are saying the dichotomy is the worst among all political atrocities that happened between Government and the emirate while others has view it as the right decision to bring the people closer to government.

Therefore, with the above historical background on how politics has been affecting Kano royal house, I observed that 3 civilian Governors in Kano; Rimi, Kwankwaso and Ganduje have in one way or the other quarreled with Kano emirate while 3 others Sabo Bakinzuwo, Kabiru Gaya and Ibrahim Shekarau have never had a row with Kano emirate.

Finally, I suggest that political antagonistic and hostilities between the Government and the emirate council should not be condoned by the good people of Kano state,  and a bill of this nature which affects the totality of the population should be subjected to public hearing before implementation not just accomplished within very limited time.  Our politicians should always respect the constituted authority and age long cultural heritage of our society particularly by making some constitutional provision purposely to cater for traditional rulers. On the other hand, all emirate councils should be purely politically neutral and embrace all and sundry irrespective of their social and political differences.