“Perhaps, more importantly, the Kano case has just confirmed to us that the country now has judges without borders; they sit anywhere -in the air and at sea, in their wives’ beds and on their concubines’ laps. They work 24 hours; they operate with the speed of light such that cases can be filed at 11pm and judgment delivered at 12 midnight while the other party is sleeping. Whatever they do is valid. It stands. There is no control again; the steering wheel is rusted and stiff. The state backs its carefully selected judges with everything it has –guns, threats, excuses, lightning and thunder.”

Today, those whose ancestors snatched Kano are fighting each other over the city and their spoils. The Yoruba would look at their drama and sing for them the song of Ambrose Campbell/ Ebenezer Obey: Eni rí nkan he tó fé kú torí è/ Owó eni tó ti so nù nko? I won’t translate this!

Their victims are taking sides. I shake my head for them. May I never be found on either side of siblings feuding over whose turn it is to loot me.

“Emir Sanusi II should be referred to as the 59th Emir of Kano (and) not the 16th – unless the history of Kano started after Dan Fodio’s Jihad and imposition of Emir Sulaimanu in 1807.” With these words, Journalist Jafaar Jafaar on Friday started an online war which is still raging as I write this. So, two wars are being fought simultaneously on and over Kano. The first is the game of thrones between brother and brother over the city’s kingship and its pricey palace. The second war is on social media being fiercely fought between a conquered people and their conquerors over when the history of the city started.

Kano’s monarchy has a very well documented history. The best known by historians is ‘The Kano Chronicle’ – a list of rulers of Kano since the establishment of the Bagauda Dynasty in 998 AD. Long before Bagauda and his tribe of adventurers entered Kano, history says the founding ‘chief’ was a man called Barbushe. He was credited with enormous strength and spirituality – a man who could look very far and see tomorrow. The Kano Chronicle describes this strange man’s own ancestor, Dalla, as “a black man of great stature and might; a hunter who slew elephants with his stick and carried them on his head about nine miles…”

One day, spirit-possessed Barbushe told his people that in the coming years they would lose everything they had to a stranger.

“A man shall come to this land with an army and will gain mastery over us,” he told the people of Kano.

If it was today, those people would snap their fingers over their heads and reject the prophecy. Barbushe’s people did not snap any finger, but they voiced their rejection in their own way. They told him: “Why do you say this? It is an evil saying.”

The seer kept his peace; he ignored them. Then continued. He told the people that if their conqueror “comes not in your time, assuredly, he will come in the time of your children, and will conquer all in this country, and forget you and yours and exalt himself and his people for years to come.”

The Kano Chronicle said the people were exceedingly downcast because they knew their leader told the truth of a future of slavery awaiting them. They believed him and asked: “What can we do to avert this great calamity?”

He replied them: “There is no cure but resignation.” Then “they resigned themselves” and have remained in that state of resignation till today.

It is a long story. My source is H.R. Palmer’s ‘The Kano Chronicle’ published in 1908. The prophecy is on page 64. You may read that portion and others and match that history with whatever is happening to these people today.

I remembered Barbushe’s prophecy when I saw the Hausa journalist and his online army asking questions and referring to their own ancestors as the ‘Habe’ rulers of Kano. The 19th century Fulani (and their successors) called any people they conquered ‘Habe’.

The Hausa think the altered, contemporary king list of Kano city is rigged against their ancestors. They think it robs them of their royal and cultural essence. The people who enslaved them reset the calendar and the clock of their history. Their existence started with their defeat. Their fate is classic in how not to surrender to fate. Could the 1804 Jihad of Dan Fodio and its spread to Kano be the fulfillment of that promise of eternal subjugation; a rulership which history predicted would misgovern them “till they become of no account”? The prediction, and everything around it, even its myth and legend, appear to have come with a fatal ring of prescient finality wound around these people. Their resignation is proof that there is no medicine against destiny and no armour against fate.

Students of Kano history would have no problem identifying successive emirs of the city as snacks of power. In some cases, governors munch, chew, and swallow them. Some other times, they try and fail. On January 1, 1954, Premier Ahmadu Bello installed his “close personal friend”, Muhammad Sanusi, as emir of Kano. The man succeeded his father, Abdullahi Bayero. But in August 1963, the friendship was over. Sanusi was dethroned even despite opposition from the federal. On June 8, 2014, Sanusi’s grandson, Lamido, became emir despite opposition from Abuja and its forces. He was there for six years and was dethroned by a governor who was deputy governor when he was enthroned. Last week, Lamido’s destiny brought him back to the throne even in the face of a blitzkrieg from federal forces.

Emirs are riverside reeds, precarious at all times. In 1982, Governor Abubakar Rimi had a big issue with the Emir of Kano and, in an interview, he described the emir as “nothing, nothing, nothing but a public person.” He said the emir was “holding a public office” and was “being paid from public funds” and his “appointment is at the pleasure of the governor of the state.” He said the emir “can be dismissed, removed, interdicted, suspended if he commits an offence.” Rimi said there was “nothing unique about Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano… believe me, if he commits any offence which will make it necessary for us to remove him, we will remove him and we will sleep soundly.” His listeners shivered. The PRP governor proceeded from there to plot the sack of the emir “for failing to fulfill government orders or to show due respect to the State Governor.” There was opposition from the streets with thousands shouting: “we don’t want the governor; we want the emir.” Ado Bayero survived that coup and soon ate the exit cake of Governor Rimi. The opposite appears to be the case now with Bayero’s son, Aminu.

Perhaps, more importantly, the Kano case has just confirmed to us that the country now has judges without borders; they sit anywhere -in the air and at sea, in their wives’ beds and on their concubines’ laps. They work 24 hours; they operate with the speed of light such that cases can be filed at 11pm and judgment delivered at 12 midnight while the other party is sleeping. Whatever they do is valid. It stands. There is no control again; the steering wheel is rusted and stiff. The state backs its carefully selected judges with everything it has –guns, threats, excuses, lightning and thunder.

The case should strengthen us to double down on our insistence that Nigeria is a federation and must be so governed. A Nigerian Federal High Court sat in the United States of America and plunged a knife into the tendons of Kano chieftaincy. And we are excusing the perfidy with lexis and structure of e-judiciary. You would think under our laws, chieftaincy matters are state and local government matters. That is what our law says but the offshore judge did not think it was necessary to respect that law. Popular comedian, Mr Macaroni, would ask: “Are you normal?” We are not.

Section 251 of our constitution clearly states what areas the Federal High Court has jurisdiction over. The section has three subsections. Subsection 1 gives that court jurisdiction on matters relating to the revenue of the government of the federation and allied matters. It lists those matters. Subsection 2 gives it “jurisdiction and powers in respect of treason, treasonable felony and allied offences.” Subsection 3 gives the court powers to hear cases “in respect of criminal causes and matters in respect of which jurisdiction is conferred by subsection (1) of this section.” Nowhere in that section or anywhere in the constitution is the Federal High Court empowered to sit over chieftaincy matters. Yet, a judge who was not even in the country, assumed jurisdiction under the cover of midnight darkness in the Kano emirship tussle and, aided by candies of impunity, signed an injunction. That judge is, very soon, going to the Court of Appeal on promotion. One day, he will become the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Power and its allure rob society of order. In William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, we see how man with power enjoys the anonymity conferred on him by darkness. We see how control is lost and he strays calmly from goodness to savagery. America’s second president, John Adams, in March 1801, stayed up till midnight of the eve of his last night in office creating courts and signing appointment memos of his friends and supporters as judges to fill his freshly minted courts. US history remembers those judges harshly as “midnight judges.” The court ruling at the centre of Kano’s emirship logjam walked in from the United States at midnight on Thursday. The reinstated emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II, jogged into the palace midnight on Friday. The deposed emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, sneaked into the city under the canopy of darkness before dawn on Saturday. The security forces of the federal government soon filed out and took embarrassing positions. The hinge of their involvement was the tokunbo court order from a midnight judge who sat across the seas. Our courts no longer dread darkness and its forbidden fruits; they have become like hired killers, their fingers stained with the blood of justice.

Yet, the judiciary had seen better days – even in the so-called dark days before the white man came with his civilisation. There was a time in Kano when what distinguished judges were learning and piety. Sulyman, emir of Kano from 1807 to 1819, had a very tough mother and an upright alkali (judge). The emir’s mother was found on a particular day ill-treating a private citizen. She was charged for it at the court of Alkali Yusuf al-Hausi. The court found the queen mother guilty and pronounced corporal punishment. Emir Sulyman could neither shield nor save his mother – she served her sentence. Thirty-six years later, Emir ‘Abd Allah Maje Karofi took over the throne of Kano and was there till 1882. At a point during his reign, the emir bought a horse from a Tuareg and refused to pay despite repeated demands. The Tuareg took his case to court and Alkali Ahmad Rufa’i found the king guilty. The king’s punishment was an order that the emir’s confidant named Kasheka, who represented him in court, be seized and sold into slavery to settle the debt. A shaken Emir Karofi quickly arranged for the money and paid his creditor, the Tuareg. My source for these stories is Professor Tijjani Naniya’s ‘The Dilemma of the Ulama in a Colonial Society’ published in the Journal of Islamic Studies in 1993.

The period of those judgments was a time when kings feared and respected the law. It was an era when judges knew the law and applied it as they should, entertaining neither fear nor favour. Today’s judge would jail the creditor and shout rankadede to the debtor-king. The jungle of our judiciary has matured and the beasts grown in all departments.

In my moments of devotion and meditation, I watch wild animals on TV channels. Right before me is a vulture, hyena and lion sizing one another up over a banquet of skunked meat. What we witnessed between Thursday and Saturday night in Kano was exactly that. Beastly fights over meals are a natural feature of life in the jungle. Bayero was dethroned and Sanusi enthroned. Enthronement and dethronement are not strange with monarchies. It didn’t start today in Kano and elsewhere; it won’t end with this Kano matter. How did Sanusi become emir in June 2014? Was he the favourite of the kingmakers? Aminu Ado Bayero, the dethroned emir, how did he get the throne four years ago? General Ibrahim Babangida once said that the moment you get into power through a coup, you should expect that a coup would be staged against you one day. It is delusional not to accept this. It is like Napoleon thinking his revolution would be the last. Russian writer, Yevgeny Zamyatin, says exactly this in his novel ‘We’ – described by a reviewer as “a prediction of the natural conclusions of totalitarianism.” It was from ‘We’ that George Orwell pinched the whole idea of his monumental ‘1984’. In “We” is the warning to all who stand but who think their stability is forever: “How can there be a final revolution? There is no final one. The number of revolutions is infinite.” One era will be succeeded by another era just as one preceded it. There is no goodnight in power politics. Sanusi is back; Bayero is out, but may yet come back. There is no end to snatching and running away with power.

IN two days, May 29, it would be a quarter of a century since we began our third journey on the democratic path. Some insist, this is not democracy, but civil rule. It was a bloody process getting back on this path, past three military regimes that brooked no opposition. We lost hundreds of fellow Nigerians whose lives were cut short in our determined fight to kick the military out of power. Today, even the most optimistic of Nigerians would admit, this has been, at best, a bumpy ride.

As I stood this Saturday, May 25, 2024, on the podium of the Thirtieth Annual Convention of the Wakirike (Okrika) USA, in Newark, New Jersey, these were my reflections. My mind raced back to the bloody street battles for democracy and the “renewed hope” for democracy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The USA Chapter of Wakirike, a sub nationality of the Ijaw Nation, had invited me to give the Keynote Address on “Educating The Wakirike Child”. But my mind was racing through the unforced errors of the Tinubu administration in its first year in office and the future of the country.

In his very first hour as the country’s President, Tinubu had announced an end to fuel subsidies. This worsened the living conditions of the people and pushed millions more below the poverty line. If I were the President, I will keep pride aside and revisit the subsidy issue. I will also stop the waterboarding of the Naira that has also greatly devalued life in our import-dependent country.

Also, there was no need to have dissolved the governing boards of federal universities and polytechnics when there were no ready replacements.

I had wondered what was the hurry in Tinubu signing the ill-advised Student Loans Scheme just 12 days into office only to withdraw it and sign a reviewed one which still did not address the fundamental issue: that government should fund education not pilgrimages.

The same hurry in dissolving the school councils, was again, evident in his September 2023 recall of our ambassadors with immediate effect. There were also embarrassing gaffes such as announcing that the United Arab Emirates had lifted a year-long visa ban on Nigerians. Another presidential story refuted was that Maersk, the Danish shipping company, had agreed to invest $600 million in the Nigeria port sector.

There are the somersaults on the estimated N15 trillion the Calabar-Lagos coastal highway, including a change of route twice within months.

Tinubu was a beneficiary of a fearless press. He was also a supporter of the media. Therefore, the spate of journalist abductions by soldiers and other security men under his administration is an assault on his past.

But the basic issues we face are beyond the Tinubu administration. Our country has become a collection of ironical stories by an otherwise progressive people. The reason for government is the welfare and security of the people. On both scores, our governments have scored pathetically low marks. There is general hunger in the land. As for security, the control of the Nigerian state over the means of violence is now hotly disputed by bandits, terrorists and ‘Unknown gunmen’.

Our politics has been reduced to a criminal enterprise. On July 10, 2003, a sitting governor, Dr Chris Ngige of Anambra State, was abducted in Government House and detained by his godfathers. They accused him of not following their dictates contrary to an oath of allegiance he reportedly swore to at the Okija shrine. His well-known abductors, were never prosecuted because, according to the then Obasanjo administration, Ngige never won the elections. Rather, his abductors ‘stole’ the votes. Despite this truth, Ngige was not removed. In a beatification of electoral fraud, a dozen years later, he was appointed Minister of Labour. A second story. President Muhammadu Buhari was the military dictator from 1984 to August, 1985. During his dictatorship, he made laws like Decree 4 of 1984 which criminalised both false and true reports in the media, backed-dated laws that led to the execution of young men, brutalised the populace, imprisoned people like former Governor Adekunle Ajasin who were found innocent by the courts and, generally ruled in an abnormal way. Thirty years later, he was allegedly elected President and continued his unique rule. Perhaps the most kleptocratic ruler in our history is General Sani Abacha. Under the Buhari administration, various countries were returning huge sums looted by Abacha, yet Buhari swore Abacha never stole!

The legislature can be viewed from the lens of the Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume. On May 15, 2024, he argued on Channels Television that stealing by politicians should not be classified as theft. To him, politicians who do not steal more than N1 billion ($800,000) should have immunity from prosecution!

With the electoral system subverted, the executive and legislative arms compromised, the military and security arms sometimes behaving like rogue institutions, the country is in need of a rebirth.

To make matters worse, the Constitution tells a grievous lie against itself by claiming to be a federal document when in truth, it is a unitary constitution.

As things stand, it is almost impossible for the Nigerian people to remove the government and elect another; it is in fact easier for the government to remove the people, and elect another people.

Yet, Nigeria’s problems are not insurmountable. The basic solution includes the mobilisation, unification and determination of the people to change their circumstances as happened on April 2,2024 in Senegal. We can bring about the needed change, as Malcolm X would say, by any means necessary.

A primary problem in Nigeria is impunity and the basic step necessary, is to ensure and insist that for every crime, there must be punishment. In China, stealing from the state can earn as high a punishment as execution; I do not advocate capital punishment, but long prison terms, including life imprisonment for thieving elites will be appropriate.

We also need constitutional amendments to reflect our pre-independence desire for a federal system. In this wise, the three items that should be on the Exclusive List are currency, foreign policy and defence. All other matters, including the creation and maintenance of local governments, should be on the Concurrent List.

Emphasis must be on the welfare and security of the people, including enabling them to be engaged in self-defence, rather than criminals, in the absence of security forces, having a monopoly of violence.

States must be encouraged to be financially self-reliant. In this wise, food self-sufficiency and agricultural development, should be encouraged, derivation returned to 50 per-cent and, unviable states should be encouraged to merge.

Were you dispossessed of anything? Are you wounded? Betrayed? Are you now abandoned? Are you desperate? Have you given up or about to?  Healing is coming your way today! The poor and desperate widow at the gate of Zarephath and her only son were robbed, wounded and also abandoned to die until God sent his servant to rescue them. As he is also sending help to you! The story of this hopeless woman and his son is one of the most interesting in the whole bible. She has been sorrowing for the irreparable loss of her husband and the bread winner of the family. She has been struggling to take care of herself and their only child. And now, there is food crisis, hunger caused by the total drought in the land that has left them with just a last meal before starving to death. My God! I mean, a poor, hungry, desperate, hopeless and depressed widow with a kid waiting to die. Jesus Christ! What situation can be worse than this? Tell me. You already know that widowhood is one of the most difficult trials in life. You suddenly lose your partner, your best friend, your helper, companion, your glory, your encourager, your protector, your pride, confidant and your adviser and you suddenly become lonely, depressed, disrobed and single again. I think that is why we are seriously admonished to always take good care of the widows in our midst. This must be on our first line of charge as a church and as individuals. That is what I do. I just got an incredible testimony from a lady who lost her husband, her only child, her business and has an implant in her heart. Her condition made me cry and I prayed for her daily. She just sent me a huge donation and an encouraging message that God used me mighty in her life. Imagine that. My God! Sure, this was one of my best times in the ministry. Her case looked hopeless and irreparable as at January this year before she picked my book Power of Midnight Prayer by Gabriel Agbo. Truly, with God all things are Possible!

    Elijah himself was not better off. Like the rest of the Israelites, he was not happy with the godlessness, paganism and demonism in the nation. Imagine the level of backsliding when the King of Israel went off his senses to marry Jezebel; the daughter of a heathen king and also joined his in-laws in the Satanic Baal worship. It did not end there. Ahab also built temples, shrines and towers for this detestable, demonic and blood-thirsty heathen god. Jezebel brought demonism, witchcraft, lust, greed, prostitution, sorcery and the down fall of the king and people of Israel. Please, be careful of whom you marry or associate with. God warned us seriously not to be yoked with the ungodly because they will surely lure you away from righteousness into godlessness and destruction. You already know the unenviable story and the end of the wicked Ahab and Jezebel and the pain they brought on Israel. God used Prophet Elijah to intervene. He locked the heaven and went away. No rains, no dews in the land. Yes, ungodliness, disobedience, idolatry, occultism, spilling of blood can bring drought, curses, punishment, confusion, untimely deaths, and lack of progress to people, families and individuals. The man of God was directed to a brook, where he drank from and was miraculous fed by the ravens. But soon the brook dried up and he was again told to go to the city of Zarephath to meet a widow that will sustain him until the drought was over. A desperate Elijah was directed to meet a distressed widow who was waiting to die. Wow! I really can’t understand this God. He did not send him to the palace. He did not send him to the rich or at least to people who still had supplies to last for some days, but to a poor widow that has a last meal to eat and die. Your miracle, your deliverance, your answer is coming from where you did not expect. It will beat all human imaginations and calculations!

President Bola Tinubu extends his condolences to the family of the late Emeritus Professor Ayodeji Banjo, who passed away at the age of 90.

Professor Banjo was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan from 1984 to 1991, and also former Chairman of the Board of the National Universities Commission and former Pro-Chancellor of the Universities of Port Harcourt, Ilorin, and Ajayi Crowther.

President Tinubu mourns the academic par excellence, who only recently turned 90, describing him as a stout beacon of professional and moral excellence.

The President celebrates the life and legacies of the late Emeritus Professor of English, renowned for his immense contributions to the development of education in Nigeria.

The President commiserates with the family of Professor Banjo and the academic community while praying to God Almighty to grant the departed eternal rest.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

President Bola Tinubu condoles with the family of Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, who has passed away at the age of 61.

The retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police was the pioneer Director of Operations and third substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from 2012 to 2015.

The President also commiserates with the associates of the former anti-graft czar, the EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, as well as the government and people of Adamawa State.

President Tinubu prays to God Almighty to grant repose to the soul of the deceased and comfort for his family.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

Unfolding events in Kano following the reinstatement of His Royal Highness Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano on Thursday, May 23, 2024 by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf is, to say the least, very alarming. The way and manner politics is being played, is not only recklessly insensitive to the dangers being posed to human lives in Kano, but frighteningly disgraceful and inconsiderate to whatever could be the choices of people of Kano State. If anything, it is the kind of abrasive politics that can only be associated with military governments or leaders who come from military background. That it is being championed by an APC-led Federal Government is very shocking.

Given that APC is a party envisioned to be progressive, what could have been the objective of such a reckless show of power? To protect the traditional institution and returned the dethroned Alh. Aminu Ado Bayero back as Emir of Kano? How is that a progressive or even democratic mission worthy of risking the lives of thousands of citizens? That the Federal Government is using its might because of the control it exercises over security agencies in a partisan manner to trample on the constitutional authority of Kano State Government over traditional institutions highlight the crisis of impunity in the country. Why President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will approve such reckless mission, which is incompatible with both the founding vision of the APC and every principle of democracy is worrisome. If this had come from former President Olusegun Obasanjo or former President Muhammadu Buhari, given their military background, it will be understandable.

As a member of APC from the North-West, I am scandalised that my party has degenerated to a level below any democratic standard. The only rationale so far is to restore the old abrasive politics of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in Kano State by undermining the Kano State Government led by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. We must remind leaders, President Asiwaju Tinubu in particular, that the fundamental reason why APC lost Kano State to NNPP was the reckless way Dr. Ganduje managed politics in Kano State. The dethronement of Emir Sanusi in 2020 on account of the disagreement between Dr. Ganduje and the Emir was very unnecessary and unfortunate. For Dr. Ganduje to have descended on the Kano Emirate the way he did in 2020, only created the basis for politicising the Kano Emirate, which is now reducing the tenure of Emirs to correspond with the tenure of Governors.

Could the objective of the Federal Government’s intervention be to restore the revered status of Emirs? How is that possible given the reality that, however considered, the Kano State Government has the legitimate constitutional authority to manage affairs of traditional institutions? If as is being claimed that the directive of the Federal Government to security agencies is to enforce the court order stopping the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi, how is that going to be possible? Except if the mission is to create lawlessness based on which we return to the old garrison politics of former President Obasanjo era when cheap political excuses are used to impose state of emergencies and remove sitting Governors, it is very difficult to understand the possible mission of the Federal Government in Kano State with respect to the unfolding politics around the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi.

As things are, the action of the Federal Government in Kano State can only lead to further destruction of the APC in the State and by extension in the whole North. Let no one be deceived, already the APC has been weakened both in Kano and the whole North by several factors, the most important of them is the fact that we have not lived up to our campaign promises to Nigerians since 2015. Unfortunately, given the way we have rolled out policies that crashed standard of living of citizens under the current administration of President Asiwaju Tinubu, the support base of the APC in the North has further shrank. Perhaps, President Asiwaju Tinubu and all those behind the reckless attempt to trample on the constitutional authority of Kano State Government should be reminded about the fact of our poor electoral performance in Kano State and the North-West during the 2023 Presidential elections.

In 2015, APC won 89% of the votes in Kano State with 1,903,999 as compared with PDP’s 10% or 215,779 votes. In 2019, APC votes in Kano State reduced to 77.5% or 1,464,768, but PDP’s votes increased to 20.7% or 391,593. In 2023, APC’s votes in Kano State for the Presidential election reduced to 517,341, PDP got 131,716, while NNPP got 997,279 votes. For the seven states in the North-West, although President Asiwaju Tinubu won majority votes in the region with 2,652,235 across the seven states as compared to PDP’s vote of 2,329,540, this sharply contrasted with the votes the APC got in 2015 and 2019 of 7,115,199 and 5,995,651 respectively as compared with PDP’s votes of 1,339,709 and 2,280,465.

This means APC got less than 30% of the votes it had in 2015 and less than 50% of the votes it got in 2019 during the 2023 Presidential elections. With such reality, our leaders should be more interested in making amends by reorganising the party in the region and make it more attractive to citizens, if we want to return to the old electoral glory of enjoying the mass support of citizens from the North-West. From all indications, given the response of the Federal Government to the politics being played out in Kano State around the reinstatement of Emir Sanusi, the question of reorganising the APC to make it popular in the North-West is not being considered.

In fact, the mere fact that we are retaining Dr. Ganduje as National Chairman of the APC with all his baggage and poor record of performance since his assumption of office suggest that, as a party, we are in denial of all the challenges facing us. With such denial, President Asiwaju Tinubu risked being considered as a leader who may have already conceded his election for second term within one year of his first term tenure. Why should this be so? Many of us in APC who fought for the emergence and victory of President Asiwaju Tinubu with the firm belief that being a dedicated democrat and progressive politician who has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria, he will make a fundamental difference in terms of providing what could be estimated to be a more responsive and representative leadership, the last one year since his emergence as President of the Federal Republic is like a nightmare.

To be candid, it is depressing that both the APC as a political party and its governments, especially at Federal level, but also in many states controlled by the party have not lived up to the expectation of being responsive and representative governments. With party organs not meeting as provided by the APC constitution, capacity of leaders and members of the party to intervene and influence changes in the direction of returning the party to its founding vision of emerging as a progressive party has been weakened if not eroded. Given such circumstance, party leaders and members are reduced to being distant observers.

It is quite troubling that an elected government under the leadership of President Asiwaju Tinubu will be deaf and dumb and insulate itself from all the appeals of party members and leaders regarding the situation facing the party. This was exactly the kind of situation, which confronted late Chief M. K. O. Abiola after the annulment of June 12, 1993 election, that made him to lament about how his efforts to engage military leaders in dialogue to reclaim his mandate were ignored by the military regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha as the military leaders ‘remained like stones, neither stirred to show loyalty to the collective decision of the people of their own country, nor to observe Allah’s injunction that they should exhibit justice and fair play in all their dealings with their fellowmen.’

It is heartbreaking to admit that since the inauguration of President Asiwaju Tinubu, he ‘‘remained like stone, neither stirred to show loyalty to … the people …nor to observe Allah’s injunction …(to) exhibit justice and fair play.’ Some of us in APC who made our modest contributions towards the emergence of President Asiwaju Tinubu, both as the candidate of the party and as the President of the Federal Republic are being treated almost as offenders. The only justification for that could be our outspokenness. Is President Asiwaju Tinubu such a gullible leader to the extent that he only wants praise singers around him? Is that the way he wants to reproduce the Lagos success story? Did he surrounded himself with praise singers when he was Governor of Lagos State? The evidence suggests to the contrary. Why then is he handling the responsibility of serving as the President of the Federal Republic in ways that compromised his democratic and progressive credentials?

Is this not the same Asiwaju Tinubu who was in the frontline of the struggle for democracy in Nigeria in the 1990s on account of which his life was threatened and he had to go on exile? Was this not the same Asiwaju Tinubu who as Governor of Lagos State had to stand up to the Federal Government of former President Obasanjo when they attempted to trample on the constitutional right of the Lagos State Government? The inspiringly successful legal battles of the Lagos State government against the Federal Government between 2003 and 2007 are still very fresh in the memory of Nigerians. Why is President Asiwaju Tinubu undoing all his achievement as a committed democrat?

If allowed to continue, Nigeria is gradually moving back to the dark ages of garrison politics under an APC-led government, which is envisioned to be progressive with Asiwaju Tinubu as President who was undisputedly a fighter for democracy. With APC almost disbanded given that its organs are no longer functional and handed over to Dr. Ganduje who is everything but a progressive and acting more like someone with a mission to destroy the party, the prospect of reforming the APC and return it to its founding vision is more and more becoming unreal. All these combined, winning elections in Kano State, the North-West and by extension, the whole country for APC will almost be impossible. If care is not taken, very soon, we will start having incidences of elected APC leaders moving to other parties in preparations for 2027 elections.

In the specific case of Kano State, the damage is already done. Give or take, whatever is the outcome of the current power struggle around the Kano Emirate has the potential of negatively affecting the electoral fortune of the APC. Does all these then suggest that APC is lost? Even before the Kano State debacle, the APC is lost to the extent of its derailment from its founding vision of being a progressive party. The emerging scenario whereby APC-led Federal Government of President Asiwaju Tinubu is using garrison politics to trample on the constitutional powers of Kano State Government would have damaged the democratic credentials of both President Asiwaju Tinubu and the APC beyond repairs, not to talk of returning the APC to its founding vision of becoming a progressive party. The truth must be told that once the APC-led government of President Asiwaju Tinubu find garrison politics attractive as a means of resolving political disputes, its commitment to rule of law and respect for principles of federalism will prioritise the use of force. Democratic rudiments promoting negotiations and consultations aimed at contracting agreements around interests would be sacrificed and undermined.

What then should we do given such an ugly reality? There must be creative way to return to the struggle for democracy in Nigeria. Beyond elections, patriotic Nigerians must organise themselves and begin a new political initiative to build a strong political party, which must be functional with competent and credible leadership that should enjoy the confidence of Nigerians. Such leadership should have the skills to manage and reconcile internal disputes and regulate the conduct of elected representatives such that they are able to meet the expectations of Nigerians in lines with campaign promises as provided in the party’s manifesto.

As a member of APC, I must admit, I have lost hope about the prospect of reforming the APC to return it to its founding vision given the way President Asiwaju Tinubu and many APC leaders are conducting themselves. Unfortunately, given that all other political parties in the country are also not functional and only serve as special purpose vehicles for elections, the challenge of developing Nigerian democracy is beyond just changing political parties. To build Nigerian democracy, we need at least a political party, which will respect its own rules, guarantee that its organs as are meeting as enshrined in the party’s constitution, it has credible leadership that will be accountable to party members, and above all have the tolerance to accommodate divergent opinions and interests of party members.

Nigerian democracy must grow beyond just elections. Democracy is as good or bad as any dictatorship when it is incapable of regulating the conduct of elected representatives. The legal framework for the operations of political parties in Nigeria must be strengthened to compel strong compliance to internal rules of political parties. A situation whereby in the name of democracy we end up producing emperors who operate more as garrison commanders is unacceptable and all patriots and genuine democrats should be called upon to join the crusade to change it and build a truly strong democracy in Nigeria. The reality whereby democracy is reduced to a comedy of electoral circus must give way to one which promotes veritable consultations and negotiations driven by functional structures of political parties. And agreements or decisions of parties should be binding and enforceable based on compliance to internal rules of parties. That is the democracy Nigerians wanted and is the democracy we struggled and campaigned for, which we must return to!

The 16th Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Sunday, presided over the first emirate council meeting of district heads and senior traditional council members at the Gidan Rumfa palace.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) finally assumed the superior responsibility of the emirate by presiding over the maiden edition of the expanded council meeting after his reinstatement on Friday by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.

With no fewer than 40 district heads and significant figures among the senior council members renewing their allegiance to the new emir, the raging tension around the emirship in the state has finally fizzled out.

Upon taking up residence in the palace, 40 district heads and council members prostrated themselves before him, signifying their official endorsement of his position as the rightful Emir of Kano.

Notable among those that paid homage were the five kingmakers, including Madaki, Wali, Makama, Sarkin Bai, and Sarkin Dawaki Mai tuta.

Others included Waziri, Turaki, Sarkin Shanu, Danburan, Dan İsa, Dan Lawan Dan Amar Magajin Gari, Dan Majen, Dan Kade, Matawalle, Sarkin Fulanin Jaidanawa, Magajin Malam, Dokaji, and Dandarman Kano.

The remaining were Marafa, Dallatu, Magajin Rafi, Sarkin Fada, Bunun, Baura, Dan Madamin, Dan Galadima, Talba, San Turaki, Dangoriba, Dan Maliki, Falaki, Yarima, Baraya, Zanna, Yan Daka, Fagaci, Dan Masani, and Wakilin Barden Kano.

The emir subsequently met with several interest groups, including the vigilante, women organizations, private individuals and well-wishers who had gathered at the palace to show their respects and loyalty.

Prior to the council meeting, Emir Sanusi, who was greeted with admiration and jubilation, emerged in ground style on white royal horse from his inner palace in the famous Gidan Rumfa, acknowledging warm greetings from his subjects.

Emir Sunusi reclaimed his position as Emir on Thursday following the assent of the repealed law by Governor Yusuf.

The new law overruled the 2019 version, which divided the Kano emirate into five distinct regions and was used as the basis for removing Sanusi as Emir of Kano.

[Dailypost]

• It’s my day to brag as a happy man, says President

• Work to start from C’River, A’Ibom simultaneously with Lagos

• Sections one and two to be completed in 24 months

The construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal road will bring benefits that are “more than imaginable”, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said yesterday.

He spoke at the groundbreaking of the 700km highway at Ahmadu Bellow Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The President has also approved the simultaneous commencement of work from the Cross River and Akwa Ibom end of the highway.

Describing himself as a “happy man” and the day “as my day of bragging”, a boisterous Tinubu dispelled fears being expressed on the project, saying it rather brings hope to the people and a bright future for the country.

The President said: “During the period of construction, the road will provide direct employment to thousands of people and indirect employment to tens of thousands of artisans and more.

“Economic opportunities for millions are being opened. It will fast-track community development. It will bring development closer to the people and give 30 million people improved access to production and marketing centres.

“You can easily predict a journey vertically and go along the horizontal line and do the definition of your geometry.

“For free movement of people, geometry teaches us that the straight line is the shortest distance between two points. Go for it.

“The potential of the road is enormous. The spur to Sokoto is undergoing procurement.

“Let us speed up the financial details being worked out. Don’t be afraid, we will do this road.

“It will be a success for Nigeria and we will do more. I am a very happy man today. Share with me in the joy.”

He said the project will also complement the expansion of the country’s maritime industry in the wake of the recent decision by the UN to grant Nigeria an extension of its continental shelf by an additional 16,300 square kilometres.

“We must take advantage of it,” he said, adding that the establishment of more export processing zones along the coastal states must be a priority.

The President added: “We said we will do this road, we’re determined to do it. The way we’re going, we’ll have a road that will outlive all of us here. That is how to build the future.

“The project is more than just a mere road; it is a symbol of hope, unity and prosperity.

“It will connect communities and bring prosperity to people, create opportunities for millions. We’re at it…hold on to the right side, and you’ll have opportunities; hold on to the left side of it, you’ll have prosperity.

“For our nation to excel, we just have to be bold and courageous in our endeavours.

“Thanks to Hiteck (the contractor)  for believing in us and for believing in the country, Nigeria.

“Not just talking about Lekki Deep Seaport and all the economic opportunities along that coast, what is a 700km concrete paved road? What it will bring is just more than imaginable.”

He also applauded the Chairman of Hi-Tech Construction Company, Amb. Gilbert Chagoury, and Engr. Ronald Chagoury, whose company is handling the project, for being worthy stakeholders and believing in the Nigerian project.

“We worked to tame the Atlantic and turned a disaster into a great asset and value. We lost weight and took abuses, but we tamed the Atlantic. We achieved our goals,” the President said, recounting how the indigenous company successfully executed a project to prevent the Atlantic Ocean from encroaching on endangered sections of the Lagos shoreline.

He also applauded Aliko Dangote, who was present at the event, for his enduring capacity in business and commitment to continue investing in Nigeria, urging other industrialists to emulate Dangote’s commitment to investing in Nigeria.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on behalf of the 10th National Assembly, declared his strong support for the coastal highway project.

He appealed for an executive bill to amend the Procurement Act to ensure speedy completion of projects.

“Nigerians are behind you, Mr. President. Do not be afraid.

“A few days ago, we were debating at the Senate and we concluded that we must amend the Procurement Act.

“A situation where you want to construct a road of N100million and you start by putting N2million this year means you will finish the job in 50 years.

“We must be in a position to budget in a way that we also look at the tenure of the presidency and the government,” he said.

He described the existing budgeting process as flawed and partly responsible for the abandonment of over 14,000 projects across the country.

Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, announced that the President has directed that sections 3 and 4 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project should commence from Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.

Emphasising that due process was followed in awarding the contract for this transformative project, the Minister described President Tinubu as an uncommon thinker and courageous leader.

Umahi said over 40 new projects are ongoing across the country, and all compensations up to kilometre 6 of the Lagos-Calabar project have been paid.

He assured that the routes of the project have been re-aligned based on the President’s instructions and environmental assessment reports, while the first section of the project will be inaugurated before the end of President Tinubu’s second year, and will be tolled.

The Oniru of Iruland in Lagos State, Oba Abdulwasiu Lawal, in whose domain the project is situated, assured the President that the community will ensure the removal of all bottlenecks.

He stated that his people had made painful sacrifices for the project to materialise and called for adequate compensation for his people.

In separate remarks, governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abdulrahman Abdulrazak (Kwara), and Hope Uzodinma (Imo) described the wide-ranging support from sub-nationals as a vote of confidence in the national acceptance of the project.

At the coastal road flag-off were governors, deputy governors, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Dr Umar Ganduje; ministers, members of the National Assembly, traditional rulers and dignitaries.

Most of them had earlier attended the inauguration of the reconstructed Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway and the rehabilitated Third Mainland Bridge.

[TheNation]

The Nigerian Army has denied any involvement in the Kano State emirate tussle.

The Director, Army Public Relations, Maj. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Sunday said the Army had no involvement in the tussle and its personnel were not involved in enforcing any court order.

He said contrary to insinuations by the Kano State chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association “troops of the Nigerian Army have not been involved in the Kano State emirate tussle and are not involved in enforcing any court order. ”

He noted that the service steps taken were to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

Onyema said, “They have only taken proactive steps to checkmate any possible breakdown or breach of the security that may be occasioned by the Kano Emirship tussle.

“The issue of paramount concern to the Nigerian Army and other security agencies is the prevention of the breakdown of law and order in the state, which could be taken advantage of by adversarial non-state actors.”

He noted that the military would wade into the matter when the police could no longer handle the security situation in the state.

“All the Army is doing at this stage is to monitor the situation as it unfolds and be on standby in the event of any escalation that could threaten the security of the state and the region in general,” he added.

The emirate tussle began when Aminu Ado-Bayero was dethroned on Thursday by the governor of the state, Abba Yusuf, and Muhammadu Sanusi II was reappointed as the 16th Emir of Kano on Friday.

Ado-Bayero was deposed following the passage of the Kano State Emirate Councils Amendment Bill by the House of Assembly which the governor accented to.

Also, the additional four emirate councils created under the immediate-past governor, Abdullahi Ganduje were abolished and the monarchs were dethroned.

As a result of the development,
Ado-Bayero’s whereabouts had been unknown since he was dethroned but the media was awash of the news of his return to the state on Saturday. His return was reported to have raised tension in the state.

Meanwhile, the Kano Branch of the NBA condemned the use of men of the Nigerian Army to enforce court orders involving the tussle.

Amid controversies that trailed the Kano Emirate tussle, security agencies in Kano State on Sunday night said it has uncovered plots to unleash terror and set the state ablaze.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Usaini Gumel who was flanked by other heads of security agencies, DSS, NSCDC among others disclosed this while briefing newsmen said it uncovered plots to launch an attack on the Kano State House of Assembly and other prominent locations in the state.

CP Gumel further said it will embark on a house-to-house search to fish out the miscreants plotting to cause unrest and destabilise the peace in the state.

According to him, “We have uncovered credible intelligence about some group of people who are considered as enemies of the state and miscreants who are trying to unleash terror in the state by embarking on targeted attacks at locations, particularly the House of Assembly and some prominent locations within the state capital. This intelligence has been verified by so many sources.

“We have perfected plans to embark on serious patrols as well as detections particularly areas where we were informed that the miscreants are hiding. No hiding place for them.

“Whoever, under whatever guise is found to be planning to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the State or feel that he/she can jeopardize the existing security settings in the State will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

“We are going to embark on a house-to-house search for anybody who they are above the law,” CP Gumel however stated.

Meanwhile, a reliable source revealed that the miscreants were mobilized and paid to destabilize and cause tension in the state.

The source also identified some of the targeted areas, the residence of the Majority leader of the assembly, Lawan Hussaini (a member who sponsored the repealed law) and a member representing Gwale among others.

[Vanguard]