…Calls for constitution amendment to prevent governors from dethroning traditional rulers
By Lanre Oloyede
Renowned chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Jackson Lekan-Ojo, has warned politicians to desist from interfering with the affairs of the traditional institutions in the country, stressing that such action is capable of eroding the age-long values and heritage of the people which might result in intractable ethno-religious crisis.
The public affairs analyst’s call came on the heel of the ongoing emirship tussle between Emir Ado Bayero and former Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in Kano State.
The tussle is believed to be fueled by two rival political camps belonging to the current governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and immediate past governor Umaru Ganduje.
Chief Lekan-Ojo expressed worry that the highly revered traditional institutions in the Northern region are now deeply infiltrated by politicians and vested interests to the extent that there’s no more respect or honour for the traditional institutions in the North again.
According to him, a situation whereby a traditional ruler can just be dethroned by any governor is unacceptable and uncalled for.
The party chieftain warned that the implication of this ugly development is that it will bastardize the culture and traditional heritage of the northern region, while urging the norther elite to rise up and defend their heritage.
The Good Governance advocate further warned that such strange development where governors can install and remove traditional rulers at their whims and caprices is a time bomb waiting to explode if not quickly detonated by the appropriate authority.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government and the national assembly to quickly intervene in the matter before it escalate into another major crisis like that of the Boko Haram insurgency.
“If you looked back at the case between Emir Sanusi and Ganduje, you would recalled that it was because Sanusi was criticizing the poor education and high figure of out-of -school children in the North that Ganduje felt offended and got him deposed.
“What people don’t understand is that all these developments is gradually building a negative momentum, they are setting a bad precedence which is a time bomb waiting to explode.
“Two wrongs can never make a right. Successive governors should be warned from toeing that path. I think the federal government and the national assembly should intervene.
“Where I come from in the southwest, it is only the kingmakers that can enthrone or dethrone a king, the role of a governor is to handover the staff of office.
“The federal government should intervene quickly because whatever crisis that brew from this development in Kano will definitely have negative effects on the economy.
If it is possible, let the constitution be amended in such a way that the traditional rulers will not be treated as subordinates to the governors.
Speaking on the alleged plot by the Sokoto State government to dethrone the Sultan of Sokoto, the experienced politician noted that the vice president’s statement has validated the rumour that the Sokoto state government is planning to depose the Sultan.
Recall that an Islamic scholar and leader of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, had raised the alarm that there was a plot to dethrone the Sultan when the district heads that were appointed by the Sultan were removed by the governor without consultation with the Sultan.
Chief Lekan-Ojo stated that that action by the governor is an indication of the plot which he described as a direct assault on the traditional institutions in the North.
“It is an insult to the Muslim community all over the world. The sultan of Sokoto is not just a traditional leader but also a religious leader, the supreme head of Muslim community in Nigeria. Such a person should not be treated that way. Whoever is plotting to remove the Sultan of Sokoto is looking for trouble,” the party chieftain stated.
He advised the governor to have a rethink.
“The governor should be warned not to instigate crisis that is capable of engulfing the country. The Muslim community are very sensitive . The President and the APC Should call the governor to order and warn him. We have enough security challenges we are grappling with in this country now, we can not accommodate another crisis,” he argued.
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