On the averted feud between Gov. Kwankwaso and Emir Bayero
By Usman Aminu Sani
August 30, 2011 was the day that marked the end of Ramadan. The Kano State emirate council had made adequate arrangement for the usual Durbar Sallah, Hawan Daushe, Hawan Nassarawa and Hawan Dorayi. These traditional activities normally attract a lot of visitors, both within and outside the state. While people were eager to troop out to witness the activities marking the Durbar Sallah by the Emirate Council, we suddenly heard the State Commissioner of Information, Youth and Sports, Dr. Umar Farouk Jibrin announcing the cancellation of all the four events.
The Commissioner further claimed in his shocking announcement that due to the ill health of our revered emir Ado Bayero, the entire activities were cancelled because the emir would not be able to make himself available for the august events. Instantly, the Emirate Council refuted the government announcement, assuring the good people of Kano State that contrary to what the information Commissioner announced, the Durbar Sallah events would hold as arranged. How come about the cancellation information made by the Commissioner became the general question on the lips of the people. At this juncture, the conflicting information about the Durbar Sallah indicated that all was not well between the Kwankwaso led government and the Emirate Council.
We later got the real story of the impending feud between the governor and the emir. What happened? Emir Ado Bayero had embarked on medical check up outside the country where his physician had advised him to have enough rest, meaning that he should not travel on far distance except within his immediate environment. As soon as the emir returned from the Medical trip, he adequately informed the governor of his arrival and what his physician stated about his health. The emir further disclosed to the governor that with the advice given by his Physician, he would not be able to attend the Hawan Nassarawa and Dorayi, which took a reasonable chunk of distance and time to do. This means, the emir was ready to attend the Durbar Sallah and Hawan Daushe, which are normally staged in his immediate environment.
It is expected that governor Kwankwaso would understand the position of the emir, who in spite of the medical advice, he sacrificed to please his subjects by accepting to attend two out of the four events of Durbar Sallah. Instead, the governor chose to be political at the detriment of emir's health, which is of paramount importance to the emir and his subjects. What happened again? The governor wanted the emir to include the Hawan Nassarawa, which is more tasking than Durbar Sallah and Hawan Daushe in his activities against the medical advice. It is however instructive to note that it's when the emir embarked on Hawan Nassarawa that he would be able to pay traditional Sallah homage to the governor. So, the governor was trying to satisfy his inordinate political ambition by insisting that the emir should embark on Hawan Nassarawa to receive Sallah homage or cancel the four events, forgetting that one good turn, they say deserves another.
As you can see, we now have a governor that always want to be a domineering dominator on whatever he wants to do as if he does not know that we are still in democracy. Thus, sensing that the emir was going to stand by his word, the governor quickly directed his Information Commissioner to announce to the world that all Durbar Sallah activities, which he did not arrange in the first place, have been cancelled. The information Commissioner, without trying to know the other side of the issue, acted like zombie and did exactly what he was told to do. Of course, the repercussion of this act was nothing but embarrassment. It however beats one's imagination that the governor who was once a Minister of Defence and now the Chief Security Officer of a political fragile state as Kano could embark on act of wanton insecurity that was capable of throwing his state into heavy tension, all in the name of receiving Sallah homage at all costs.
Consequently, in spite of the unwarranted cancellation notice by the government, the revered emir was able to stage a colourful Durban Sallah and Hawan Daushe, the two events which attracted a lot of dignitaries with pump and pageantry. In order to hide its shame, the government who had earlier announced the cancellation of all the Durbar Sallah activities quickly came on air again, without shame, to announce that it was ready to receive the emir at the Government House, especially now that it has seen that emir has gained his health to stage such wonderful two events without it in attendance. What a disgrace?!
It is often said that if a child does not know where it is going, the elder should show it the way. The emir knew that the Kwankwaso government has already taken a pebble, which it cannot swallow and if he doesn't offer the needed help to get out of it, it will certainly affect his subjects. What the emir did was to tactfully, stressfully and diplomatically staged the Hawan Sallah, against his physician's advice, to finally pay the Sallah homage to governor Kwankwaso, which the later was so desperate about. The question again is this, if the emir was able to sacrifice for the political interest of the government, why was the government not willing to sacrifice for the interest of emir's health? This is a question, which governor Kwankwaso might not be able to answer.
It should be recalled that since governor Kwankwaso assumed office some three months ago, he has been running between the pillar and goal post, keeping malice against perceived foes. He has also been trying to undermine the wonderful works of his predecessor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, which he has not been finding easy to do despite series of blackmails embarked by this government against the latter. Governor Kwankwaso equally issued threat to deal with journalists that do not go along with his government funny way of doing things. The governor is almost fighting everybody, including his shadow on daily basis. People are now regretting having the government in place as nothing has been achieved so far except being active in destruction. In recent time, the government wanted to create tension in the state, using Durbar Sallah as subterfuge but the emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero was able to down the tension, through his wealth of experience by allowing the sleeping dog to lie.
Usman Aminu Sani, Gyadi – Gyadi, Zaria Road, Kano. Email: usmanaminusani@yahoo.com
