Sometimes one has to search deep to find the right word to describe what is happening. Personally I am in a state of discombulation. It is a feeling of embarrassment that leaves one confused. If anyone is not embarrassed by recent happenings in Nigeria then nothing else will. And I am totally confused by the feeling of embarrassment associated with the occurrences. Which of the events will one recount and not feel embarrassed and confused? Is it the clampdown on innocent vendors and Newspapers or the open hostility towards the people of Kano? How could a government that is supposedly elected by the people and expected to operate under democratic norms including all the associated freedoms become so dictatorial? The arrest of vendors’ especially in Maiduguri and the interception of Newspaper distribution vans portray the Government as being vindictive and dictatorial while the country looses a lot of mileage as a democratic state. Apart from losses incurred by the publishers, there are heavier and devastating losses incurred by Newspaper Distributors and Vendors, most of whom depend entirely on the daily sales of Newspapers to be able to put food on their table. It is therefore sad that anyone with a sense of empathy will deny them this right. More so for those in Maiduguri who are haunted by the trauma of insecurity. Any distruption from their daily routines is double tragedy. To accuse Newspaper houses of peddling arms is to extend the sense of failure too far. As a matter of fact, clampdown on the Media is bad enough not to talk of the effect it will have on press freedom and the right to be informed which is worse. Why will a democratic Government allow such a brazen affront on a lawful activity that is protected by the Constitution?
The most insulting statement on the issue came from Doyin Okupe who tried to distance the Presidency from the clampdown. This is a direct affront on the sensibilities of the people. For the avoidance of doubt, the president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. There is no way the Nigerian Army can undertake such a potentially damaging task without clearance from the Commander-in-Chief. More so that anything affecting the Media has adverse consequences on the image of the country and that of the leadership. If indeed we believe Okupe (which I don’t anyway) then we are in serious trouble. It simply means that the Commander-in-Chief is not in charge. It means that the Military which he commands can operate without his knowledge. Have they weighed the implications of such statement? Even our adversaries in the war on insurgency will undermine us if they know that we have a disconnect between our troops and the leadership. Instead of admitting that the action taken is ill-advised, they are busy setting the stage for more blunders. I think the most sensible thing to do is to order a halt to this clampdown, apologize to the people of the country and compensate all those who incurred losses as a result. The compensation should be paid to all those on the value chain from Publishers to the street ventures. Anything short of this will only serve to confirm Government complicity in the whole saga.
Another embarrassing confusion can be located in the way and manner the Peoples Democratic Party and the Federal Government handled the ascension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to the exalted throne of Emir of Kano. The illegalities involved are so open and glaring that one begins to worry about the future of this country called Nigeria. Even though I am a supporter of the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano, I have no doubt that those opposed to his appointment are equally justified in their own way? But it must be noted that Allah is the ultimate power that decide who rules and who doesn’t. The seemingly conquering and powerful forces in Abuja should realize that they are not greater than God. They can misuse the powers they have, but they cannot play God. Granted that they do not want Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to assume the position of Emir of Kano, but since it is the will of the Almighty that he assumed the position at this point in time there is nothing they can do about it. Nothing can change the fact that he is the 14th Fulani Emir of Kano.
The act of hacking into his Twitter Account, sending congratulations to someone not appointed, closing down the airport and laying siege on the Palace cannot change anything. My interaction with my friends in Kano indicates that even those who initially opposed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s ascension to the throne started supporting him due to this affront on the people of Kano. The entire king makers went for Mubaya’ah or homage and the leader of the king makers handed over the traditional regalia made up of tagwayen Masu, Malafar Dabo and takalman sarauta to His Royal Highness Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. Some of the sons of late of Ado Bayero and other princes paid Royal homage on the new Emir. Other dignitaries including Governor Murtala H. Nyako of Adamawa State, Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Adams Oshimole of Edo and Alh. Aliko Dangote all went and paid their homage on the new Emir. Futile attempts to create unsavory religious crisis in the matter by claiming that His Royal Highness Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is a Shi’ite came to nothing. More so, that the respected Cleric SheikhDahiru Bauchi had visited the new Emir. The sealing of the Palace did not in any way deter the process from taking place.
The late Emir Ado Bayero had greater foresight than those who claimed to want to promote his son. He had started a building around Sharada area where members of his family were to relocate after his demise. Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had completed the house. The late Ado Bayero knew that since he did not inherit the throne directly from his father, it may not be out of place if another person other than his sons inherited the throne from him. Under the circumstances every great grandson of Mallam Dabo is eligible and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi the grandson of Muhammadu Sanusi is immensely qualified for the throne and it is Allah’s will that he ascends it at this point in time.
May Allah make it possible for him to have a peaceful reign and may peace, progress and development descend on Kano and indeed Nigeria during his reign. Those who continue to oppose the enthronement of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 47th Emir of Kano and the 14th in the sullubawa dynasty are only adding to the discombulation. Ran TAKAWA ya dade!
Ahmad Sajoh writes from Dougirei Jimeta, Yola
