Ganduje not fair to my locality in repealed Kano emirate law – Kwankwaso
Former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwakso, has explained his personal grudge against the Kano Emirate Council Law 2019, repealed on Thursday by the state House of Assembly.
Mr Kwankwaso, the leader of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) ruling in the state, said the law was unfair to his ancestral locality.
Mr Kwankwakso is from Kwankwakso in Madobi Local Government Area. He said the town is located less than 25 kilometres from the palace of the Emir of Kano and should have been in Kano, Kura or Rano emirate but was shifted to far away Karaye Emirate out of a grudge against him by former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Our heritage reporter reported how the state lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill for the dissolution of the four additional emirates created by the administration of Mr Ganduje and the removal of the five emirs.
Governor Abba Yusuf signed the bill repealing the 2019 law on Thursday and has reinstated Lamido Sanusi as the sole first-class emir of Kano.
Speaking on the development in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Friday, Mr Kwankwakso, however, said the lawmakers or the governor did not consult him before they took the decision.
“I hope to be in Kano to discuss with some of the lawmakers, especially the speaker, the governor, to brief me about how they arrived at the decision they took.”
Mr Kwankwakso, in the interview, dodged several questions on his involvement in the administration of Governor Yusuf.
He had in January, at a press conference, said the government would revisit the state Emirate Council Law 2019.
“When I said we will revisit the emirate council law 2019, I was not specific about it, and now they have done that. I will get to them and find out about the issue beforehand.
“The repealed law was enacted to despise us. For instance, I am from Madobi Local Government Area, from my town to the Emir’s palace in Kano is just 25 kilometres drive, but (in the repealed Kano Emirate Council Law 2019) they took us to Karaye Emirate. The ordinary people of Madobi has no link whatsoever with Karaye; they should have instead take us to at least Kura or Rano (Emirates)”, Mr Kwankwakso said.
Mr Kwankwakso also dodged a question on whether the decision to scrap the five emirates councils could deepen division and animosity amongst the residents.
He blamed Mr Ganduje for setting the precedent that led to the developments. He said Mr Ganduje was not tolerant of Mr Sanusi’s criticism as he was of the late emir, Ado Bayero.
“The question is that before people, has the former governor done the right thing? The decision to scrap the emirates is not to spite Ganduje; has he done the right thing? was the creation of the emirates done with good intention?”
He also expressed concern that emirship seats, like that of a governor, could become tenured, depending on the governor in power.
“The people expressing concern over the politicisation of the traditional institutions may be right, but who started it? When I came back on board as governor in 2011, everybody knows that the late Emir Ado Bayero did not support us; he supported former governor Ibrahim Shekarau.
“People were agitating for me to dethrone the late Emir, but after I won the election, I never attempted to remove him. We just calling on people to remain where they are in their respective positions”, Mr Kwankwaso said.
