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Re: Kano Crisis: Open Letter To President Buhari – By Muhammad Garba

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I read with extreme disbelief a horrid and impish letter addressed to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari which was published in Daily Trust of Monday, December 15 and authored by one Jibrin Ibrahim, who has been desperately trying to flare up civic disobedience in the peaceful ancient city of Kano, while he is away in a foreign country with his family. I have responded to one or two of his write ups in the past, and therefore, decided not to revere this latest worthless item with a rejoinder but to laugh it off and move on. But knowing fully well the writer’s knack for out-and-out attack, smirk, disdain or unreserved envy of the government of Kano state, and particularly His Excellency the Governor, one is desirous to put out a response to the letter in which the author presented tissues of deceptions in a way that may look factual to the President’s humble office and unsuspecting public who knows not especially those outside Kano. It might also help in dissuading him and his likes of mudslingers hired with a mandate to smudge any target personality or government policy by every available spit they could get.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, Kano has not been engulfed in any crunch talk less of political crisis that seeks your intervention. With the presence of the various arms of security agencies in the state, if there is any, it would have been tabled in your office by the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the Department of Security Service or even by the state’s Chief Security Officer, the sitting Governor as the case may be. And if the writer is referring to the creation of four new Emirates in Kano as political crisis, then you can see how the sentiment of the hatched men is laid bare. In fact, this is a slur on the person of the President and Commander-in-Chief for him to not to be unaware of a volatile political situation in one of his strongest support base in the country.

Mr. President, for your information, the creation of new Emirates in Kano has been clamored for by the people in Kano state for decades. The matter was brought to the attention of the state Executive Council which sponsored and approved an Executive Bill tagged: Emirate Council Bill 2019 that provides for the establishment of additional Emirates in the state. The Council endorsed the new Emirates namely Rano, Gaya, Bichi and Karaye and forwarded same to the state Assembly for necessary action. After deliberation, the Assembly passed the Bill and paved the way for the new Emirates to re-emerge. You may recall that some of these Emirate have even pre-dated Kano in ancient times, while the effort to revive them during the Second Republic was short-lived.

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Your Excellency, the writer claimed that virtually all the elders in Northern Nigeria and very many people of goodwill from across the country have appealed to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje without success. This is just but a cooked story because the writer is in no position to know that. If the writer is referring to the selfish interest of some disgruntled elements in our midst who have been dreadfully wanting the Governor to rescind the popular decision, they are mistaken. Because the exercise followed due process and has come to stay. It is equally part of effort to reform obsolete laws guiding the existence of the traditional institution to tally with existing reality. In fact, the creation of the four new Emirates was done for the the traditional institution to stand the test of time and move in pace with global world, in such a way that it can help in accelerating the development and socio-economic reality of the people.

Your Excellency, Mr. President, it is true that since your debut in to the political stage of the country, the good people of Kano have shown nothing but love and affection to you and proved it by voting for you in great numbers in all the elections you have contested in. With this in mind, I believe you will not in any way be an impediment to the hopes and yearnings and aspirations of the people in your strongest base in Nigeria. Out of distraction, the writer is even questioning Your Excellency’s judgment or decision on the choice of candidate of your great party, the APC and even wondering why you have not meddle into the affairs in Kano state.

Your Excellency, despite the release of interim report of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission over alleged malpractices by the Kano Emirate Council, the matter is still before a court of law and will not discuss that.

Your Excellency, as I kept repeating, and as the writer said, Kano has been relatively peaceful over the past few years. The creation of new Emirates will not in any way be the source of tension in the ancient city.  Mr. President, even though similar exercise was conducted by the government of late Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi  based on popular demand  that led to the creation of Auyo, Dutse, Gaya and Rano and the promotion to first class status of the Emirs namely, Hadejia, Gumel and Kazaure were also promoted to First Class status,  due process wasn’t followed at that time.

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Your Excellency, no doubt, Kano Emirate has an illustrious legacy but that does not mean it can’t adopt contemporary changes in the face of ever changing reality. The writer and his cohorts in whatever disguise, have politicized the traditional institution and accuse the government of the same just to facilitate their narrow interest. Kano is mostly Hausa/Fulani Muslim and there is no anything that suggests creation of new Emirates will undermine peace and unity in the state. While it is true that the traditional institution has tremendous influence as an advisory role to government and also a key contributor in the delivery of justice and other public services, with no place in Nigeria’s constitution, however, it has no stated role but complement in matters deem fit by the government. Yes, it is a religious role, Islamic religion, which the writer has no right to delve into whatsoever.

Your Excellency, while I have already stated the rationale behind the creation of the new Emirates, the writer was trying to draw sympathy to the people who have no regard to established and constituted authority. With the establishment of the new Emirates,  the Kano Emirate Kingmakers–Madaki, Makama, Sarkin Dawaki Mai Tuta and Sarkin Ban Kano whom he argued have a contention with the creation of the new Emirates have refused to pay allegiance to the new Emirs in the respective domains in Dawakin Tofa, Wudil, Gabasawa and Dambatta. If as they contended, the Kano Emirate itself is a creature of statute, because there is no law that specifically establishes the Emirate, the state House of Assembly, which members represent the interest of the people   have made laws and has therefore, given backing to the Emirates that exists merely as a historical fact recognized as part of the tradition and cultural heritage of the Kano people.

The writer of the letter, Mr. President, is begrudging the action of the Governor and House of Assembly for passing into law a bill that gives legal and institutional backing to the Emirates, looking the other way when the interested persons filed a case in a court presided over by a person with interest in the matter. Majority of the people in Kano are happy with the creation of the new Emirates and that is why Kano has remain peaceful. The likes of Jibrin Ibrahim, who lose nothing if the peace is break have been using the pages of newspapers and social media platforms to instigate the public into civil unrest, which has fell on deaf ears. The people of Kano are enlightened and can instantly revolt against anything they are not comfortable with. Events leading the unpopular decision of the former governor of Kano state, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso following the demise of the most revered Emir in history is a classical case in point.

Your Excellency, it is against this background that I am using this opportunity to draw your attention to the fact that we in Kano are living peacefully. And from all indications, some sullen elements are bent on creating tension to further their selfish agenda. All relevant security agents in the country should also take note of this.

Garba is the commissioner for Information, Kano state

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