The intriguing coincidence in the heart of Northern Nigeria is a bit worrisome. While the political brouhaha in the Kano Emirate has yet to settle down, the Sokoto Caliphate has joined the fray with events that call for concern.
After the Kano State government launched its full-scale siege on the royalty with the State’s Emirate Law paving the way for the dethronement of five emirs, Sokoto State has started a painful journey of whittling down the Sultanate power.
Both events have stirred tensions in the north and among the Muslim community nationwide. The scare is that the sacredness of the theocratic institutions: Sultanate and Emirate is becoming politicised.
Only on Thursday, the Sokoto State House of Assembly passed the bill that would require the Sultan to obtain government’s approval before appointing kingmakers and district heads. The bill is waiting for the Governor’s assent.
The Sokoto State House of Assembly had advanced the bill as a way to significantly curtail the powers of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, declared the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, a private citizen following recent court rulings. This announcement was made by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sanusi Bature.
According to Bature, the Kano State High Court’s decisions uphold the Kano State Assembly’s move to repeal the 2019 Kano Emirate law, effectively stripping Ado Bayero of his royal title.
“The decision of the Kano State Assembly has been reaffirmed by the court. Ado Bayero is now a normal citizen, and whatever happened is based on the repealed 2024 law, which invalidated the 2019 Emirate laws that divided the Kano Emirate into five,” Bature said.
The statement by the governor is the culmination of a lingering crisis, which started in May, when Ado Bayero was deposed.
Indeed, the passage, on Wednesday, of the ‘anti-sultanate bill’ by the Sokoto State legislators did not only provoke nationwide condemnation, it has also fetched the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, solidarity messages across the country.
And the intervention of the Sokoto State High Court on Thursday restraining Governor Ahmed Aliyu from sacking two of the 15 district heads his government had earlier removed from office is a pointer that the Sokoto Sultanate Council crisis will follow the same pattern as in Kano Emirate brouhaha.
These two raging trends of conflict between political and royal institutions have validated the observation that at no time has the country’s traditional institution been maligned as this. From the North to the South, the east to the west, there is one crisis or the other. Suddenly, Nigeria has become a place where monarchs and governments are competing with one another. This intense competition has resulted in conflict, which may erupt into breakdown of law and order.
According to political commentators, the politicisation of traditional institution has made monarchical stools across the country to be populated by ‘all right, sir’ men.
During the First Republic, traditional rulers had constitutional role, which they performed. But in the Second Republic, they were left out of governance. This has remained so till date.
The contestation for power between politicians and those sitting on traditional stools, however, started during the colonial and post-independence era.
The current imbroglio playing out, especially in Kano State, following the reinstatement of the deposed Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the backlash trailing the development is a testament to this untoward development. It could be recalled that the crisis started in 2014 when the former Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, died and Sanusi Lamido emerged the 14th emir.
It was learnt that before his death, the late Ado Bayero had a protracted rift with the then governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, majorly over the monarch’s decision to appoint Mohammad Nasir Mohammad as the new Wazirin Kano.
However, the crisis leading to Sanusi’s removal started in 2017, when he openly criticised Ganduje’s administration at a forum. As a panelist at an event held in Morocco to speak on behalf of traditional leaders and institutions in Africa, he also spoke against some northern governors.
It was at a period when Ganduje had just signed $1.85b deal with a Chinese firm to build the Kano light rail. After these statements, the open battle began.
“…You have state governors in the North, who have three million, five million children on the street, without school. They go to China and they are looking for money — not to build schools — but to build a light rail. You spend $2b on a light rail, you know how many children that can educate?
At the period, Ganduje had also fallen out with his former boss, Kwankwaso, who was backing the current governor, Abba Yusuf, his son-in-law, to succeed Ganduje in 2019. Sanusi was said to have supported Yusuf, who would later lose the 2019 elections.
In the aftermath of the 2019 elections, the state government facilitated the promulgation of the Kano Emirates Council Law (2019), which paved the way for the split of the emirate into five and the appointment of Aminu Ado Bayero, the second son of the late Ado Bayero as the new emir. Fast forward to 2024, the foundation for the current crisis is the promulgation of the Kano Emirates Council (Repeal) Law, 2024
Many concerned Nigerians, who see the situation as a mockery of the country’s traditional institution, have warned that if the situation is not properly managed, it might set the already volatile state on fire beyond the comprehension of the actors.
Public demonstrations, street protests and other acts capable of thwarting public order have become the order of the day, as opposition parties and their cohorts are allegedly manipulating the situation to disrupt tranquility in the metropolis.
Before now, 1984 to be precise, a similar precedent was set by the then military head of state, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, who slammed a travel ban and a suspension on the late Ooni of Ife, Okunade Sijuwade and the 13th emir of Kano, Ado Bayero.
The two monarchs reportedly travelled to Israel on what was supposed to be a fulfilling friends’ trip. But on their return, they were slammed with the penalty. Another account has it that they were sentenced to a house arrest of six months by the military leadership.
Buhari’s action then was considered an affront and disrespecting to the traditional stools of the Ife Kingdom and the Kano Emirate. At that period, Nigeria, like many African countries, had severed diplomatic relationships with Israel, but because the two monarchs undertook the trip at that period, someone had deceived the military that the duo went to Germany to recruit killers, and took them to Israel to be trained by MOSSAD to wrestle power away from Buhari for Obafemi Awolowo.
It was reported that the military government forcefully took the Ooni’s passports and found no German visa as insinuated and this led to a prolong acrimony between Muhammadu Buhari and Oba Okunade Sijuwade for many years.
Just last September, former President Olusegun Obasanjo reaffirmed the constitutional superiority of politicians when he mandated some traditional rulers to stand up and greet him. In a video clip that went viral, the former president, who spoke in Yoruba, said: “Stand up! Sit down!” ordering the monarchs at the commissioning of projects in Oyo State, adding that, despite the traditional rulers’ status, it is crucial for them to respect elders and those in position of power.
“Firstly, I greet you all monarchs and royal fathers and thank you for coming, but let me make something clear, whenever the governor or the president is present, even the royal father must stand up to honour the president.”
Following his action, the former president came under heavy criticism from what people termed insults and disregards to the traditional institution.
Last year, the Obi Gburugburu of Igboland and the paramount ruler of Ihim Autonomous Community in Isiala Mbano Local Council, Imo State, His Royal Majesty, Eze (Dr.) Oliver Ohanweh, on a radio programme, lamented that the traditional institution is on the brink of destruction by politicians.
He said: “It is the way our people have been taking it that made the traditional institution not to be effective in the Southeast in particular and Nigeria in general. Recall that before the arrival of the colonial masters, traditional institutions were in governance, but today, politicians have ruined the institutions.
“First, because we don’t have a constitutional role as a traditional institution, the politicians tend to do things in whatever way they like and undermine the traditional institution. And you know, every politician and every personality must have come from a traditional enclave or community. Southeast traditional rulers, more so, are also suffering religious problem because; Christianity is an imported religion, an imported sect.
“Before the religion, there was also traditional institution. And even if we want to talk about religion, go to the Bible, we have the Book of Kings, the Book of Wisdom and thereabouts. They are all about the traditional institutions, the kings. In the Southeast region, the people don’t seem to understand the importance of traditional institutions or traditional stature.”
He noted that the proliferation of traditional institutions in the region was orchestrated by the politicians to ruin the institution, stating, “It is a creation of the politicians. Political interference has made it so that there are so many traditional rulers everywhere.”
The monarch of Ayetoro Budo Town, Ado-Odo/Ota Council, Ogun State, Oba Adewunmi Okanlawon Adeniji Odutala, attributed the unpleasant development to the infiltration of politicians into the traditional system.
“Since the period the politicians hijacked the Obaship selection process, the traditional institution has been dragged to the mud. In days past, monarchs were selected through the traditional ways and there were processes for each community. Let’s look at the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I followed the process of installing the son – Charles III, who succeeded her, look at the process, he moved from one place to another, according to their own tradition. Look at their dressings and other things, that’s their culture – these are the people that colonised us.
“The politicians have completely hijacked the traditional system and have removed the involvement of the kingmakers in the selection process. The political influence in the traditional institution is too much. Once a governor comes on board, for the four or eight years he spends on the throne, he will be dictating the tune for the monarchs who’ll be there for life.
“There is no constitutional role for the traditional institution, but if there’s any crisis within a monarch’s domain, it’s the monarch that carries the burden of putting an end to the issue. Is the Oba given any constitutional role? Is he empowered?” he asked.
Oba Odutala lamented that there are instances where monarchs who are not in support of a candidate always face stiff hostility when the candidate eventually emerges as governor. “The monarch will have problem for the period the governor reigns, unless the monarch walks his way into the governor’s heart, that’s when he’ll likely to be a bit relevant. That’s what the monarchs have been reduced to.
“There’s no more fear for the traditional rulers, when the monarchs have also lost dignity themselves – when a jobless person is installed a king, he’ll always be seen in political gatherings, endorsing political office seekers, mainly because of the money. The politicians have actually noticed that majority of the current set of monarchs are paupers, who are jobless. There’s no more proper scrutiny that’ll ensure the right candidate is installed as monarchs.
“For instance, look at the process of selecting the next Alaafin of Oyo, I have been following it, from over 100 candidates that submitted applications, 86 names were presented to the Oyomeesi. From the 86 names, they have been pruned down. It’s the qualified candidates that will go for interview, just to select only one person for the throne.”
For sanity to return to the traditional system, the monarch advised that politicians should reduce their interference from appointing kings. “There’s no dignity for traditional rulers anymore, that’s why they are being kidnapped. There’s no fear for royalty anymore. Those things our forefathers used as power have been lost – religion has stolen them from us, there’s no fear of monarchs anymore. Is it the king that a governor disgraces publicly that’ll command respect before his people? Or a monarch that a governor declines to recognise?
“Those qualities of monarchs that give them the title of royalty have been thrown away. Now, monarchs go to parties, they spray money on dancing floor, they eat publicly. Traditionally, these lessons are thought at the place called seclusion during the days of our forefathers – how a monarch should walk, how and where to speak, how to act, character – these are taught in the seclusion, where the history of his forerunners will be told.
“And if such monarch is upgraded from the post of a Baale, he’s supposed to know what upholds the stool. But today, those who are being installed as monarchs are always brought from nowhere, without having the knowledge of the history of the community where they are ruling.”
But the Oloni of Eti-Oni, Osun State, His Royal Majesty, Oba Dokun Thompson, who noted that the problem is not just about desecration of the traditional processes, said: “So, many things have also been compromised – firstly, the value of the people. When you are talking about value, people feel that value is also up for sale, so when someone comes in with an envelope of something that is supposed to be regarded as cherished or upheld and to be honored, people tend to look the other way because of hunger.”
The monarch said in their own little way, the traditional institution has also stood up to encourage and change the perspective of the people in terms of understanding the mindset that is required to uphold the value of a society.
“Unfortunately, it is not that we have sold our conscience; it is the fact that people are offering money for people’s conscience, so they are two different things. In one way or the other, some people compromise. Even if you have only one person not compromising, it is not enough….
“First of all, people don’t understand what the traditional institution is about. As the world evolves, tradition, culture is supposed to evolve and as it is evolving, it tells the environment that it is still relevant. So, the traditional institution has the duty or a role to play in letting people understand and appreciate the position at upholding the people’s identity because without an identity, you are nobody, which is supposed to be of honour, of greatness, of gratitude and everything we cherish, and of our heritage.
“While upholding that, you have to let the younger generation, the upcoming generation also identifies with you and accepts that identity, when they do, and embrace it, obviously, the desecration stops, because the respect will follow it.”
An Ifa priest based in Arigbajo, Ogun State, Dr. Sefiu Arifayobiega – Arole Faleye III, linked the problem to the non-adherence to the necessary rituals that precede the installation of any monarch. “Everything happening is caused by the failure to perform the necessary rituals before monarchs get to the seclusion.
“During the time of our forefathers, once a monarch dies, the community will announce the family that ought to produce the next monarch. If 15 candidates are presented from the family, they’ll need to consult the Ifa oracle. It is the oracle that’ll lead the process. Seclusion is a powerful place, it is in the seclusion that the would-be monarch will be fortified and given authority of office.
“Do you know that a good number of kings mounting the thrones now only use the holy books. If some of them are asked about some part of the Ifa lineage, can they recite it? In Yoruba land, when a monarch is in trouble, if he takes a handful of sand and makes some incantations from those things he was taught in the seclusion, if his attackers are over 100, they’ll be in trouble.
“But because of religion, coupled with the rumour that their body parts will be shared when they die, the rumour has made them to jettison the tradition. Nobody dismembered their body parts, the fact remains that because monarchs are sacred, the way and manner at which they are buried is shrouded in secrecy.”
However, a sociologist, Dr. Yusuf M. Abdullahi of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State sees the trend from social change point of view.
“Social change has also brought a lot of good things to the system, just like it has done to the larger society. Social change is dynamic, it can be triggered from within a society, and it can as well be triggered by factors external to the society.
“For instance, we are all aware of the tremendous influence of internet on our daily lives. Technological innovations are closing the gap between different societies. So, because of the forces of social changes, the society is also changing and that’s why you’ll see some of these strange things happening to monarchy system.
“There are also positive things. Social change has also brought a lot of good things to the system, just like it has done to the larger society. When I was a child between the age of seven and 14, I started interpreting was what happening in my community.
“The village head then, if he gives an order, nobody dares cross it or flaunt that order, today it is not like that. They don’t command the same power they do 50 years ago and this is because of the social change I am speaking about. There are so many changes that have taken place and some of these changes have eroded their power and status – maybe we can say a substantial part of their powers and statuses have been eroded.”
Dr. Abdullahi said no society has ever remained the same because change is always happening. “We accept change as inevitable. Sociologists define social change as changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. These changes occur over time and often have profound and long-term consequences for society.
“Social institutions encompass every aspect of the society. There’s no element of a society that doesn’t belong to one social institution or the other in such society. A social institution is a group or organisations that have specific roles, norms, and expectations, which functions to meet to social needs of society. The family, government, religion, education, and media are all examples of social institutions.
In a nutshell, one can describe the transformation the traditional institutions are going through, as an example of the impact of changes in other social institutions (the family, schools, media, etc) on the traditional institutions.”
