His Royal Highness, the new Emir of Kano, might end up with the same fate that befell him as CBN Governor.
Of
all the cities in Northern Nigeria, Kano is perhaps the most important.
Although it used to be subject to the Sokoto Caliphate, in many
respects it has since become a far more important city in Nigeria than
Sokoto. Kano was the administrative capital of the entire Northern
Nigeria under British colonial rule. Today, it is by far the biggest
metropolis in Northern Nigeria. It is not only the vibrant commercial
capital of the region; it is a leading epicenter of economic activity in
sub-Saharan Africa.
True progressives
Kano
is also in many respects the most truly progressive state in Nigeria.
It has never been a follow-the-leader city. The people of Kano have a
mind of their own. They specialize in bucking the national trend. Kano
is the city of trail-blazing Mallam Aminu Kano and the Northern Elements
Progressive Union (NEPU), which later became the formidable People’s
Redemption Party (PRP). It is also the city of Maitama Sule, another one
of Nigeria’s former luminaries and perhaps the most distinguished
orator ever in the history of Nigerian politics.
For these reasons
and more, the politics of Kano have far-reaching regional and national
implications. It also goes without saying that the Emir of Kano is
inevitably a very influential man, not only in Kano and the North, but
in Nigeria as a whole. By virtue of his office, a lot of people look up
to him. His views go a long way to shape public opinion in the Northern
part of the country and even beyond. This makes the choice of the Emir
of Kano more than a local affair. It is a choice that must be made
soberly and with great circumspection as befitting such a local office
of national significance.
Lack of probity
This
makes the choice of Lamido Sanusi, the disgraced former Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria, as the new Emir of Kano most inappropriate. It
is a choice that, wittingly or unwittingly, will bring the office of
the Emir into disrepute. It is improper that a man who still has
allegations of financial improprieties hanging over his head at the
national level, to which he might have to answer in the court of law,
should be appointed to such an important post. This is how Nigerian
leaders show they have little or no understanding of the ethics of
public office and good governance. Lamido Sanusi has just been fired as
CBN governor on allegations of corrupt practices. How then can such a
man be rewarded with the appointment of Emir of Kano before his
innocence is established?
This is the Nigerian way and it is the
way of ignoble and corrupt practices. Sanusi’s appointment to such an
important post could not have taken place in countries concerned about
probity and transparency in public office. His appointment confirms the
allegations of our gaggle of Western traducers that Nigeria is a citadel
of corruption. It tells the world that Nigeria deserves to be one of
the lowest-ranked countries on the corruption index of Transparency
International; a global civil society organization that engages in
comparative analysis of the levels of corruption in the countries in the
world.
Case against Sanusi
Sanusi is
accused by the federal government of running the accounts of the CBN
like a bull in a china shop. It is only in Nigeria that you can have a
Central Bank governor spend government money as outrageously and as
whimsically as Sanusi is alleged to have done. The government reveals
that Sanusi gave away nothing less than ₦163 billion in 63 unauthorised
“intervention projects” in different parts of the country. This largesse
is more than the entire annual budget of a state like Edo. He is also
accused of being guilty of a number of grave financial improprieties.
Will
he now get away with these corrupt practices simply because he has been
appointed as Emir, or will he be prosecuted to the full extent of the
law? Your guess is as good as mine. If the charges against him are
dropped simply because of his appointment, it will be another example of
Nigeria’s tendency to condone corruption. Even the former prime
minister of Israel was tried and sentenced to jail for corruption, which
is what happens in those countries with zero tolerance for the
improprieties of public officials. The question now is whether the Emir
of Kano is beyond the law. Another question is whether Nigeria a real
republic or no more than a banana republic?
The Emir of Kano does
not have any constitutional immunity from criminal prosecution. If
Sanusi is prosecuted in spite of his appointment and found guilty, it
would undoubtedly be demeaning to the office of the Emir of Kano when
and if he is ignominiously sent to jail. Indeed, he would be the first
Emir to be granted such distinction in Nigeria. While every Nigerian
must be deemed innocent of all charges until proven guilty in a court of
law, commonsense dictates that you do not appoint a man with criminal
allegations hanging over his head into high office until he has cleared
himself of those allegations in the court of law.
APC treachery
This
makes the appointment of Sanusi as Emir by Governor Kwankwaso of Kano
an act of deliberate mischief. The Nigerian Senate recently declared
Sanusi a liar and mischief-maker for making false allegations that a
whopping 49 billion was missing from the federal accounts. A liar and
mischief-maker is not suitable for the politically-sensitive post of
Emir of Kano. Governor Kwankwaso himself was accused of being a
fraudster by no less a person than Goodluck Jonathan, the President of
Nigeria. What we now have is that an alleged fraudster has appointed
another alleged fraudster into high office, undermining the reputation
and integrity of the important city of Kano.
Are there no
protocols concerning the appointment of Emirs and Obas in Nigeria?
Certainly there must be. Even if there is none, should propriety not
tell Kwankwaso that a man facing corruption charges is not be eligible
for political appointment? Only in Nigeria does this kind of disregard
for ethics and good governance hold sway. Since this is coming from one
of the new kingpins of the APC, who is even being touted by some as
presidential- candidate material, what does it tell us about “fresh air”
that the APC claims it will bring to Nigerian politics? It tells us
that the APC is one big charade.
Make no mistake about it: this is
a political appointment. Even more pointedly, it is an APC appointment.
Governor Kwankwaso who made this appointment is a rebel PDP Governor
who recently defected to the APC. He would not have made the appointment
as a PDP governor. This appointment was made to spite the government of
Goodluck Jonathan. But what small-minded people like Kwankwaso don’t
seem to understand is that when they undermine the government of the
Goodluck Jonathan, they are undermining the government of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
Unworthy governor
One
of the allegations against Sanusi by the federal government is that he
is suspected to be one of the financiers of Boko Haram. The fact that
the man is now appointed as Emir, without these allegations being ironed
out, is further evidence that some Northerners are not ready to
confront the issue of terrorism in the North. If they were, a man facing
terrorism-related charges by the federal government would not be the
preferred choice as Emir of Kano, a city that has been attacked
severally by the Boko Haram.
By this act, Kwankwaso has made
himself an unworthy governor of Kano. Only an unworthy governor would
turn such a revered institution as the emirate of Kano into political
football. Kwankwaso has made the people of Kano into a laughing-stock.
Revered institutions like that of the Emir of Kano should be beyond the
shenanigans of this type of political manipulation. I have said it
before and I say it again: there is nothing progressive about the APC.
This appointment of Sanusi as the new Emir of Kano is further proof.
What the APC bring to Nigeria is the same tired old-time corrupt
politics that has been the bane of the country for the longest time. The
APC is one big con.
Unfortunately for Kwankwaso, he chose the
wrong state to do this prank. Kano is a highly volatile city. The people
are not going to take this appointment lightly. Already, there have
been a number of violent skirmishes since the appointment. Kwankwaso has
lighted a bush-fire whose consequences may be more than he bargained
for. You can never tell how far Kano citizens who have been brazenly
disrespected by the governor will go in registering their protest. In
any case, Kwankwaso’s act is sure to backfire against the APC in Kano.
This means we have not yet heard the last of Kwankwaso’s treachery.
Questionable future
If
Lamido Sanusi were wise, he should spend some time reading the
tea-leaves. Some people are already concluding that Sanusi is the new
Emir by divine providence. However, appointments as Emir or even as
Sultan are no longer sacrosanct. Mustapha Jokolo was removed as the Emir
of Gwandu in 1995 and replaced by Mohammed Jega. Ibrahim Dasuki was
removed as the Sultan of Sokoto in 1996 and replaced by Muhammadu
Maccido.
Therefore, this is a piece of advice for the new Emir of
Kano. Don’t bother to move your belongings into the Emir’s palace just
yet. Don’t even bother to change the curtains or the carpets for now.
You may not be on your throne for long. Thanks to Kwankwaso, the Kano
Emirate has been politicized to all effects and purposes. Today, it is
clearly in the APC camp. But if the APC lose the governorship election
in Kano in February next year, it is not improbable that the Emirate
will immediately be declared as a PDP terrain.
In that case, His
Royal Highness, the new Emir of Kano, might end up with the same fate
that befell him as CBN Governor. He might be summarily dismissed.
Source: PremiumTimesNG
No comments:
Post a Comment