“Drop your new emirates law now”, Kano elders warn Ganduje

Kano elders, under the umbrella of Advocates for United Kano, on Sunday, called on Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to repeal the Kano Emirate Law, which created four additional emirates in the state.

A statement signed by a former presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, alongside 10 others and made available to newsmen in Kano, expressed dismay over the creation, describing it as an attempt to destroy the ancient city’s 1000-year-old heritage.

The statement read, “The Advocates for United Kano is a non-partisan group of citizens from all professions and backgrounds, who are law-abiding and irrevocably committed to the peace and progress of our dear state.

“Consequently, we hereby express deep concern about the persistence of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the destruction of the Kano Emirate, a product of the efforts of our forefathers, which has survived for centuries, championing purposeful administration and scholarship in Kano State and beyond.

“It is without doubt that the Kano Emirate has, for centuries, been a formidable force in shaping the character and economic outlook of the Kano society in particular and Nigeria as a whole. Unfortunately, however, the actions of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, which, to a great extent, borders on personal margins, and unequivocally bent on destroying that legacy.”

The statement further lamented what it described as the governor’s deliberate attempt to politicise the emirate, therefore ignoring every effort of well-meaning individuals that cautioned him.

The statement read “Well-meaning citizens, cutting across various spheres of endeavour (religious, political, academic, legal, judicial etc) have expressed views that despite the ill-conceived action of the governor, Kano Emirate “has remained the most influential emirate in the Sokoto Caliphate under the control of the Emir of Kano, traversing the entire territory that is now known as Kano State.

“The governor has been cautioned to apply reason and rectitude in contemplating dissecting the Kano Emirate to meet certain political ends. But political impunity and vendetta have beclouded his good senses of reasoning and judgment. Clearly, he is resolute in the mission of destroying the legacy of Sheik Usman Dan Fodio, which Kano Emirate duly represents.

“The governor, for political reasons, has deliberately overlooked the numerous words of wisdom, written to him formally and/or expressed through various media and went heedlessly ahead to sign into law the obnoxious bill, creating four additional emirates within the historical jurisdiction of the Kano Emirate.”

It added, “He also trampled the sound counselling adduced by lawyers and courts of appropriate jurisdictions and continued with the unilateral action, leading to the creation of the new emirates.”