The Appointment of Sarkin Bwari In FCT

Following the death of the Sarkin Bwari, His Royal Highness Alhaji Muhammad Musa Ijakoro, on August 29, 2017, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello exercised his constitutional authority by appointing the son of the late Sarkin, Alhaji Awwal Musa Ijakoro as the new Sarkin Bwari in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

But due the monarchical structure of the traditional institution in Bwari Area Council which has what could be described as two kings existing side by side – the Sarkin Bwari and the Etsu Bwari - there have been some agitations over the propriety or otherwise of this appointment.

Those against the appointment of Alhaji Awwal Musa Ijakoro as the Sarkin Bwari, which mainly are those sympathetic to the Etsu Bwari, are saying it is a subjugation of the people, as, according to them, the new Sarkin is a Koro and a settler and not a Gbagyi and therefore cannot be king over the Gbagyis.

But a peep into history shows that this allegation is misleading because, to begin with, the palace of late Sarkin Bwari had been in existence some 40 years ago, even before the office of the Etsu Bwari came into existence. The late chief has been there for over 40 years. He did his 40 years anniversary last year because he was appointed in 1976 as the district head of Bwari. In fact, he appointed all the village heads at that time and they are called Mai Angwa. His territory reaches up to Maitama Dutse and Kubwa.

Again, the late Sarkin was the first chief to be turbaned in FCT, in July 1997. Mamman Nasiru was the Chairman of the Committee on FCT at the time and he recommended 19 chiefs for FCT. He also recommended Ija Koro to be given first class but eventually he was given second class. He was the first chief to be turbaned on July 23 by Lt. General Jeremiah Useni in 1997. In fact, he was turbaned before the Ona of Abaji, Alhaji Adamu Yunusa was turbaned. The palace of Etsu Bwari came later on but it was not gazetted. But these earlier appointments were gazetted. There are 14 gazetted chiefs in FCT.

Furthermore, the claim also that the FCT Minister, Malam Bello did not follow due process in appointing the Sarkin Bwari is not true because the minister acted in accordance with the law and the appointment was done pursuant to the powers conferred on him under the relevant sections of the FCT Chiefs (Appointment & Deposition) Act, 1997 and in accordance with established customs and traditions of the Bwari chiefdom. The nomination of Alhaji Awwal Musa Ijakoro was also accordingly endorsed by the Bwari kingmakers.

Understandably, the relationship between the two chiefs is a bit frosty. There is this internal rivalry about who controls which areas, but that is normal. For example, in Ijakoro’s days when he was alone, he controlled Kubwa. But when the late Etsu of Bwari came, he tried to control Kubwa and some other areas.

I think the agitation over this appointment is normal because when the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi Lamido was turbaned, he stayed in government house for one week before coming to the palace. So, I think it’s a tradition that when you turban a chief, definitely, there are some people who will feel aggrieved. But after a while, everything will die down.

What is important however is that the new Sarkin Bwari is from the royal family and he was duly endorsed by the Bwari Council kingmakers. He was evaluated based on his quality and capacity and these were the deciding factors in chosing him to become a leader. The government has found Alhaji Awwal Musa Ijakoro worthy of being elevated to the status of Sarkin Bwari and if there is any disagreement over this, it should be about his leadership style, not on the basis of tribe or ethnicity.

Abuja is Nigeria’s centre of unity where every citizen has a right to live according to his religious belief, tradition and ethnic background.