Aminu Bayero ended his drama, not planned Sallah Durbar

The cancellation of a parallel Durbar initially planned by the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, during the upcoming Eid-el-Fitr Sallah celebrations in Kano, has been dismissed as a charade.

A researcher and author, Malam Ibrahim Ado Kurawa, told newsmen on Thursday that Bayero couldn’t have staged the Sallah Durbar in the first place, having been dispossessed of the instruments and protocol associated with the traditional heritage.

Kurawa, a renowned Kano emirate historian, said it is practically impossible for the 15th Emir to rewrite over 500 years of Durbar history. He insisted that the earlier announcement of a parallel Durbar was politically motivated to destabilize the relative peace in the state.

Kurawa is the author of the only book on Kano Durbar, whose citation was used by UNESCO to recognize and designate the festival as a world intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Besides, Kurawa added that Aminu Bayero did not have a single key emirate councillor and custodian of the tradition like Shamaki, Dan Rimi, Madakin Shamaki, Madakin Dan Rimi, and Sallama to showcase the colorful tradition. He also noted that the Makaman Kano leads the procession, and none of these principal officers is with Aminu Ado Bayero.

Kurawa added, “Durbar is a ceremony or procession that has been going on for over 500 years. It has its processes and its protocols. You cannot have Durbar if you are not in Gidan Rumfa because Rumfa was the first Sarkin Kano who initiated it, and he designated specific events, specific codes, and specific protocols for each Durbar.

“For example, if you are going for Sallah, you have to come out with white clothes from a particular gate called Fatalwa Gate at the Gidan Rumfa Palace and then proceed to the Eid Ground on foot. After the Eid prayer, you must return through a different route where you will address the people before proceeding back to the palace and entering through another gate.

“Now, if the Emir is going for another ceremony, like visiting his mother, he follows protocols established over 500 years ago. For Hawan Daushe to visit Mai Babban Daki (Emir’s Mother), the procedure was established over 500 years ago. The Emir comes out from Kofar Kwaru and then returns through Kofar Kudu. So, if you are not there, where are you going?”

The researcher further explained that since Aminu Bayero is not operating from Gidan Rumfa, he has already been incapacitated as far as Sallah Durbar is concerned, saying only an Emir residing in the Gidan Rumfa Palace possesses the authority to lead Durbar.

“So, he was only joking because he lacks the authority and the legitimacy. He was only going to bring confusion by his dramatisation. Therefore, he was not cancelling the Durbar but only cancelling his dramatisation. He would have only ridden horses, and that’s all, but it would not have qualified as the Hawan Sarki Durbar that is rooted in culture and tradition.

“He was the one who was breaching the peace in the first place. If he has resolved not to breach the peace anymore, we commend him for that. Aminu Bayero has been doing all that he has done so far because the federal government has been backing him. If the federal government had allowed the state government to discharge its statutory responsibility, things would not have turned out this way,” he noted.

Kurawa reminded that when Governor Ganduje decided to depose Emir Sanusi, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not resist or challenge his removal in court because he believed it was worthless.

He insisted that Aminu Bayero is muzzling all his energies to resist his removal only because of the security cover being extended to him by the federal government.

He finally called on the people to go about their normal lives as the official Durbar takes place, and he advised the state government to reach out to stakeholders and fulfill its duties in maintaining peace and order.