A Governor as Bully
Let me make it quite clear that, I do not know the 14th Emir of Kano, HH Mohammed Sanusi II. These days, when one states the truth and it doesn’t go down well with some, the disgruntled elements vilify you and say that the person whom you may seem to be speaking in defence of, must be your friend! For the record, I do not know Governor Ganduje either. I am neutral.
King Jaja of Opobo and Oba Ovonramwen of Benin
I have never really understood why our age long traditions and institutions, are subject to temporary governments, especially in such a servile manner. I would imagine that, in any community, it should be the king makers in conjunction with the wishes of the people, that should have the right to dethrone a monarch, if the need arises. Did this subjugation of our traditions to the State start with the British colonialists, possibly with the dethronement of King Jaja of Opobo about 1887 and his exile to the West Indies, because of his refusal to stop taking taxes from British Traders? Or in 1897/1898, with that of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, Oba of Benin (1888-1897), who was exiled also by the British, to Calabar. His dethronement and journey to exile, was depicted in the film ‘Invasion 1897’. At the end of the movie, as the boat that was conveying Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar started to sail, Oba Ovonramwen said: “Eboh Moore (that is, the British Consul-General, Sir Ralph Denham Moore), you have bitten the bitter bile of fame and power, but remember, none lasts, nor will your life!” Eboh Moore committed suicide in England, five years later (Eboh means fair skinned person in Edo language).
The British were our colonial masters, at the time. Naturally, they saw our traditional institutions as a threat to their domination, and were of course, prepared to rubbish them to maintain their control, if need be. The question is, is it then acceptable that this system of humiliation, dethronement and banishment that the British used to keep our traditional rulers in check, to prevent them from rivalling them in terms of power, survives till 2020, and be adopted by our own local leaders, when Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Britain cannot wake up and dethrone Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II?
Declining Standards?
I am confused, though. Just as many of our political leaders are not fit for purpose and are totally undeserving of the positions which they occupy, many of our traditional king makers are equally as corrupt and are easily bought over with money, especially in cases where the line of succession to the throne is not as clear as for instance, the Binis, where the first son of the Oba succeeds him - no argument, no king making. In not-so-clear circumstances, where there is usually a list of aspirants to the throne, these days, the king makers may simply install those who are able to grease their palms the most, good or bad, qualified or not, or the candidate whom the State Governor wants.
I remember one time many years ago, we travelled to Eastern Nigeria for a wedding. The hotel we stayed in was owned by the king of that town, who was allegedly a ‘419’ king pin. Just imagine, a criminal king! Similarly, recently, some almost nude, indecent photographs of a South West Oba were trending on social media - totally unbecoming of an Oba, and I wondered how anybody would select him to be an Oba - someone who by virtue of being an Oba must be shown the utmost respect, when he himself, has absolutely no respect for himself! Could this be the reason why the State has little or no regard for our traditional rulers, and believes that they have to keep close tabs on them - because of the unsuitability of some of them? Or is it that, like the British, our political leaders also see traditional rulers as a threat? Do our politicians even have the moral standing to judge and dethrone anyone? Was it not Governor Ganduje who was shown in a video which trended sometime ago, shamelessly and excitedly stuffing his pockets with Dollars, like a kid who had been let loose in a candy store?
Governor Ganduje v HH Mohammed Sanusi II
In the case of Governor Ganduje’s purported dethronement of Mohammed Sanusi II, while no one is cursing the Governor to death like Oba Ovonramwen did to Eboh Moore, is this also a case of “Eh Blackie Ganduje, you have bitten the sweet bitter bile of fame (or should we say infamy) and power, but remember, none lasts?” In dethroning and banishing the Emir of Kano, Governor Ganduje and his administration contravened practically every provision contained in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution), from Section 34(1)(a) (right to dignity of a human person) to 35(1) (right to personal liberty), 36(1)(right to fair hearing), 38(1)(right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion), 39(1)(freedom of expression), 40(freedom of association), 41(freedom of movement), and 42(1)(a) (right to freedom from discrimination). See the case of Attorney- General & Commissioner for Justice, Kebbi State v Alhaji Al-Mustapha Jokolo & Ors 2013 LPELR – 22349 (CA).
Even though Section 13 of the Kano State Emirates Law 2019 (KEL) (probably hurriedly promulgated or updated for the sole purpose of dethroning Mohammed Sanusi II), permits the deposition of an Emir in specific circumstances, the law provides that such deposition may be carried out after due ‘inquiry’ and consultation with the State Council of Chiefs, who, even if they were consulted, are probably under the firm control of the Governor, and would do his bidding anyway. It is obvious that, there was no inquiry. An inquiry is an investigation, and if, indeed, a proper investigation was conducted and due process was followed, by virtue of Section 36(1) of the Constitution, Mohammed Sanusi II would have been accorded the opportunity to respond to any allegations levelled against him by the State Government, before the latter moved to the ‘next level’ and unilaterally deposed him. I’m not sure that, this was done.
When it is not that an Emir is a primary school pupil, and the Governor, a Headmaster, nor is the role of an Emir to be at the beck and call of the Governor, how can Section 13(b) of the KEL just casually provide that a ground for deposition of an Emir, whose traditional stool origin dates as far back as the year 999, so historical and entrenched, is “Where the Emir consciously and intentionally fails to attend meetings of the Council for 3 consecutive times without a valid and reasonable excuse”? To say that this is a trivialisation of one of our traditional institutions, by someone who cannot occupy the position of Governor for more than eight years, is an understatement.
Most top government officials do what pleases them, without necessarily taking proper legal advice, or adhering to good advice, if they are given. How, in 2020, would a Governor seek to banish/exile a citizen of Nigeria to a particular area and restrict him/she to the place? It is so embarrassing, that an elected official in such a high position of authority as Governor Ganduje, can proudly display that level of ignorance and arrogance. Is the Governor a court of competent jurisdiction that can sentence someone to a term of imprisonment, upon a criminal conviction? Is the Governor unaware of Section 41 of the Constitution? Thankfully, the authorities eventually did the right thing, by letting Emir Sanusi leave Nasarawa State for Lagos. By virtue of Section 41 of the Constitution, Mohammed Sanusi II as a Nigerian citizen, is entitled to reside wherever he chooses to within Nigeria, even in Kano, for that matter.
P.S.
As for Senator Emagi and his ludicrous ‘Generating Set (Prohibition/Ban) Bill’, I wonder how he came up with such nonsense. Electricity supply is a necessity, not a luxury; we all know that, Nigeria is severely underpowered, and majority of the country is in darkness mostly; yet, he wants generators to be banned because of environmental pollution!
The sad truth is that, generators are an essential alternative, maybe even the principal source of power in Nigeria, yet Senator Emagi in his wisdom, is advocating a 10 year prison sentence for those who sell generators. I don’t know if that prison sentence also extends to those who also make use of generators too, which would be practically the whole of Nigeria. Of course, the National Assembly and the homes of lawmakers will probably be exempt and allowed to use generators, or with their stupendous exorbitant salaries, they can afford to install solar panels in their homes, while majority of Nigerians wallow in darkness, and will not even be able to enjoy even one cool drink a day, seeing as there is usually no electricity.
In a country where the plight of the citizens is not necessarily a priority for Government, are we to believe that a ban on generators will ginger up the Government to improve the electricity supply? I think not. Let’s talk about environmental pollution and generator ban, when there’s adequate power supply for the whole country. It is not appropriate for such a bill to be considered presently, if not, it will further entrench the popular belief amongst the average Nigerian, that Government and elected political office holders are here to serve themselves and interests, and not the people. If that Bill goes past the dustbin where it belongs, it will show that Government is even more insensitive than we previously imagined.
“HOW, IN 2020, WOULD A GOVERNOR SEEK TO BANISH/EXILE A CITIZEN OF NIGERIA TO A PARTICULAR AREA AND RESTRICT HIM/SHE TO THE PLACE? IT IS SO EMBARRASSING, THAT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL IN SUCH A HIGH POSITION OF AUTHORITY AS GOVERNOR GANDUJE, CAN PROUDLY DISPLAY THAT LEVEL OF IGNORANCE AND ARROGANCE”