June 30, (THEWILL) –
- Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III’s Alleged Romance With PDP Draws Government’s Ire
June 30, (THEWILL) – The chieftaincy matter involving the Sokoto State Government, the Sultan and District Heads is still brewing, even though some fence-mending is going on at the background.
On Friday, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Justice, Barrister Nasiru Binji, told 15 embattled Sokoto District Heads that they remain deposed in the eyes of the law.
A day earlier, a High Court sitting in Sokoto had restrained the state government from removing 10 district heads in the state.
The judge, Justice Kabiru Ahmed, gave the order dated 13 June in exparte applications by two district heads for maintenance of the status quo ante bellum.
The injunctive relief was to stay the hands of the Governor of Sokoto State, the Attorney-General of Sokoto State and the Sokoto Sultanate Council, pending the hearing and determination of the motion for interlocutory injunction filed before the same court and scheduled for hearing on July 23, 2024.
The complainants, Buhari Tambuwal, District Head of Tambuwal in Tambuwal LGA and Abubakar Kassim, District Head of Kebbe in Kebbe LGA, sued the Governor Ahmad Aliyu, the Attorney-General of Sokoto State and the Sokoto Sultanate Council, asking the court to restrain the defendants from further actions in connection with all matters dealing with the removal and or dethronement of district heads in Sokoto State.
Unfazed by the ruling, Barrister Nasiru Binji said the court order on the deposed district heads in the state has been vacated. He explained that the district heads stand deposed as the court order ceased to exist seven days after it was granted, citing Order 13 Rule 3(3) of the High Court of Sokoto State Civil Procedure Rules 2015.
“By the operation of Order 13 Rule 3(3) of the High Court of Sokoto State Civil Procedure Rules 2015, the order has abated (vacated) automatically. Because the order was made ex parte,” he said, adding:
“The duration of the order is seven days; the order was given on the 13th of June 2024, therefore it was vacated on the 20th of June.”
THEWILL ckecks show that what is playing out in Sokoto is similar to what is happening in Kano at present. It is all about the politics of 2027. The opposition is being forewarned of dire consequences ahead.
Moving with the government plan, which has attracted widespread criticism because of its perceived intention, the State House of Assembly last Wednesday entertained the second reading on the Emirate Council Amendment Bill, which seeks to strip the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, of certain powers. It requires the Sultan to obtain government approval before appointing kingmakers.One of the strident critics of this perceived move against the Sultan, Professor Ishaq Akintola, Executive Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, who had that Wednesday described the bill as “outrageous, nauseating, and anachronistic, a direct attack on the traditional institution of Sokoto State and an undisguised attempt at weakening his powers and making him less relevant in the scheme of traditional settings,” told THEWILL on Friday, “ We had to cry out because our concern was that the governor wanted to depose the Sultan though we do not know what had transpired between them.”
THE ISSUE AT STAKE
For what may have transpired between them, there is no official revelation, nor has there been a denial of the reason that has been given. Arewa Cultural Heritage Network last Tuesday alleged that the issue is political. Spokesperson for the group, Yunusa Abdullahi, said, “The Sultan of Sokoto, despite his esteemed position, has been found guilty of neglecting his palace duties, showing disloyalty and demonstrating a lack of respect towards the current administration. His evident support for the PDP candidate (Saidu Umar) during the last election despite the electorate’s mandate for Governor Ahmad Aliyu has further strained relations.”
He further explained that the proposed amendment to section 76 of the local government and chieftaincy law is intended to align the legal frameworks with the customary procedures in Sokoto State so that “the authority to appoint district heads, while still involving recommendations from the Sultanate Council, will ultimately lie with the governor, reflecting both traditional and contemporary practices.”
Abdullahi questioned Vice President Kashim Shettima’s call-out charge to the state government to respect the sultanate, faulting the deputy governor’s reference to the “Sultan of Sokoto,” as unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of the state. VP Shettima had faulted the Deputy Governor Idris Gobir for his remark that appeared to undermine the Sultan’s status and influence.
This position tallies somehow with the position of the state government which denied any move to unseat the Sultan and blames MURIC for blowing things out of proportion.
According to Commissioner for Information, Sambo Bello, there is no plan to depose the Sultan. The district heads, he said, were removed for “unbecoming behaviours, such as land racketeering, aiding insecurity as well as insubordination to constituted authority”, while the amendment of the traditional rulers law, is to “align the law with what has been in practice for decades” until 2007, during the administration of former Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, when the law was amended to give sole powers to the Sultan to appoint village heads without recourse to the state government”.
Still, a constitutional lawyer, Barrister Abba Hikima Fagge, thinks that whatever the allegations may be, the Sultan does not deserve the kind of treatment that is going on right now.
“Assuming without conceding the allegations to be true that the Sultan had sided with one candidate during an election, he has the constitutional right to do so.
“The Constitution of Nigeria is clear in Sections 39 and 35, which deal with personal liberty and right to freedom of expression. So, in that respect, the Sultan has the constitutional right, safeguards and freedom like any other Nigerian to support any candidate he so wishes. We are in a constitutional democracy and we should practice it with the right mind set,” he told THEWILL in an interview on Friday.
Explaining further, Fagge, who painted an ideal and legal perspective, said it needs to be restated that the Sultan has powers that extends beyond Sokoto, legally speaking, making it unnecessary to restrain or curtail his influence.
Citing an example with the National Hajj Commission Act enacted by the National Assembly, he maintained that trying to limit the influence of the revered traditional and religious leader in a bid to curtail it would amount to treading on dangerous grounds. In addition, the Sultan is the head of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA.
Defending his earlier, combative stand, Prof Akintola who dug up history to buttress his point that politicians in the exercise of their constitutional powers of appointment and deposition over traditional rulers since the First Republic, can depose kings with different political views, narrated how Chief Obafemi Awolowo as Premier of the Western Region deposed an Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi Adeniran II, for sympathising with rival NCNC, the Military Administrator of Sokoto State, Col Yakubu Muazu deposed Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki in April, 20, 1996, presumably with instructions from Head of State, General Sani Abacha and Anambra Governor Charles Soludo deposed four traditional rulers in one day.
“The problem is with politicians who want to exercise absolute power and you know that absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he said.
He quickly added that the alarm he raised had paid off. He said he held a fruitful virtual meeting with Governor Aliyu brokered by a respected Islamic scholar in the North and all the contentious issues had been resolved. He said, “Current events have overtaken recent developments. It is true that the Assembly is considering a bill that may whittle down the powers of the Sultan. But we are addressing the issues through dialogue. I had a fruitful tripartite discussion with the governor and a respected Islamic scholar from the North. We held a virtual meeting on Thursday and we reached a good understanding. We were able to breach the gap in communication between us. The governor gave us assurances that he would not depose the Sultan. Even the bill that the House of Assembly is considering will be handled through dialogue.”
With an eye on the ongoing tussle for the emirate in Kano and the attendant daily tensions, Barrister Fagge and Prof Akintola suggest ways to prevent a crisis in Sokoto.
WHAT TO DO
Section 6 cap 26 of the Chieftaincy laws of Northern Nigeria empowers state governors to appoint and depose an Emir or Sultan, said Professor Akintola. All other states in the federation have such laws.
“If we must have sanity in this matter, the power to appoint and depose the emir, obas or obis should be taken away from the governors. The governors are elected for four years, at the most eight years and traditional rulers are there till death do us part. Kingmakers should be left to handle the appointment of traditional rulers,” he said.
When reminded that constitutional democracy as practised in the country gives little room for his advocacy, he replied that the relevant state law should be amended to define roles for traditional rulers and insulate them from perceived partisan politics, which the current situation encourages to their detriment.
Arguing that traditional rulers are custodians of “our cultural heritage, shared values and therefore should be allowed to be appointed by kingmakers, Prof Akintola disclosed that MURIC will continue its campaign to have the current chieftaincy laws amended
For Barr Fagge, the chieftaincy law, which is currently in the residual legislative list, should be moved to the exclusive legislative list and centralised so that the affairs of traditional rulers are removed from the purview of state governors.
“Although their office is ceremonial and advisory, people recognise their influence and leadership hence politicians always feel threatened by traditional rulers who fail to back them. Traditional rulers are human beings and they will be partisan or perceived to be partisan till the end of time,” he said.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
