Governors, Traditional Strongholds and Grassroots Security

By Alabi Williams | Posted July 2, 2024

Last week, the alarm was raised of a plot by the Sokoto State Government to dethrone the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar 111. The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, amplified the alarm when he sent a note of caution to Governor Ahmad Aliyu, against executing the plot.

In his address at the North-west Peace and Security Summit held in Katsina, the VP reminded participants of the importance of the office of the Sultan as well as the entire traditional institution. He then specifically sent this message to the Sokoto State government: “Yes the Sultan is the Sultan of Sokoto, but he is much more than that; he represents an idea, he is an institution that all of us in this country need to jealously guard, protect, promote, preserve and project for the growth of our nation.”

When the Sokoto Government had the opportunity to reply the VP, it noted that the alarm was false and the exaggeration by meddlesome busybodies baseless and uncalled for. According to the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abubakar Bawa, the Vice President could have cross-checked with the government to have a full knowledge of the facts, which is that it had not contemplated the act to sack the Sultan, for whom it had great regards.

In a statement authored by the CPS, he said, “we never denied him (Sultan) any of his freedom or rights. We, therefore, do not need to be told to guard, protect and promote the Sultan; it is our sole responsibility.”

The state Commissioner for Information, Sambo Danchadi, also denied the plot. He said the story of the planned dethronement was a figment of some persons’ imagination and it had no substance.

Despite the explanations, the Sokoto State House of Assembly, last week, was reported to have passed for first and second reading, a bill seeking to amend aspects of the Sultan’s responsibilities. Titled, the Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill, if passed and signed into law, seeks to reduce the powers of the Sultan to appoint kingmakers and district heads without the approval of the government.

If it’s just that, it perhaps has nothing to do with the office of the Sultan as leader of the Nigerian Muslim Community. It looks more like adjusting a state law to allow the government have firmer control of grassroots administration. The Sultan can continue to manage religious matters, while the state government is allowed to run its affairs.

Coming shortly after the yet-to-be-resolved Kano Emirate crisis, another poorly rehearsed move by a state government, to effect similar changes runs the risk of being misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. Timely communication is crucial in these testy times.

Generally, and across the country, the politicization and monetization of the traditional institution has denied it pristine legitimacy to stand up to elected authorities. Gone are the days when royalties made pretenses at owning some divine authorisation to administer territories. They too have succumbed to the frailties and fragilities that are common to all men.

Beyond the feigned aura and mystique, many have not discharged themselves well as protectors of their people. They meddle in politics and refuse to stay neutral.They scramble for food to eat like other mere mortals; and have sold their blueness.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is reported to have sacked the Chairman of the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council (RSTRC) and Paramount Ruler of Emohua Local Government Area, Eze Ohna Sergeant Chidi Awuse, for allegedly not including pictures of the Governor and his Deputy in a 2024 Calendar.

Fubara said: “I want to ask you: does it show any sign that, that leadership is working with this government? Does it show that your chairman is working with this government? So, I have decided today, we have to move forward. By the special grace of God, the administrative lifespan of the chairman is one year, which is renewable. So, at this particular time, I have to say that with the power vested in me, I announce that the tenure of Chief Sergeant Awuse has been terminated.” He appointed Eze Chike Worlu Wodo of Apara Kingdom as the new chairman.Apparently, some political misalignment had occurred and somebody was reluctant to adjust.

Overtime, the Government of Edo State has managed to stave off frontal confrontation with the foremost traditional institution in the state, headed by the Oba of Benin, Omo N’oba N’edo Uku Apkpolopkolo, Oba Ewuare 11, over different issues. The most recent has to do with some Enigies (dukes), who demanded equity in the application of resources within the Bini Traditional Council (BTC).

In a letter to the State Government, dating back to November 2022, the seven Enigies, who are traditional rulers in the seven Edo South local government areas, called for proper functioning and funding of the BTC, as is done in the other two senatorial districts, in line with the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law of Bendel State (1979).

That attempt by the Enigies to assert themselves within their local government areas was seen by the larger Bini Kingdom as act of rebellion and they were suspended. They went to court to challenge their suspension while the state government that was thought to instigate the affront got the bashing of many, for daring to be reform-minded and demanding accountability in the seven local government areas of Edo South.

Different state governments have assorted challenges as they grapple with obsolete traditional council laws and the urgency to retool them more effectively for 21st-century governance. There are emerging security challenges that require a governor to have his eyes on every detail of space within his jurisdiction. In many states, traditional institutions operate quasi-security apparatuses that might not fit into a governor’s style. Both the governor and the traditional ruler are expected to collaborate and share knowledge. But there cannot be two potentates in a state.

It is instructive that Vice President Shettima chose to react to the Sokoto situation at a peace and security meeting of the Northwest, a region that is ravaged by banditry and terrorists. Residents of the districts are no longer safe and cannot go to farms. The ready implication is that the old methods of securing the districts have failed and the perception is that the state government is now interested in knowing who the district heads are and how they are appointed.

From what we read, the planned amendment of the Emirate Council law has not taken the power to appoint district heads from the Sultan, but the State Government now wants to be part of the process.

That does not sound like asking for too much as peddlers of bigotry have exaggerated and misconstrued. If security is local, the traditional institution that has related more with the people since the outbreak of insurgency and banditry in the North and elsewhere has obviously not done enough oversight of the communities. At that peace summit, the Sultan lamented that it would take decades to eradicate banditry in the Northwest.

He said: “What we must do is challenge these bandits because we all know the consequences of banditry and insurgency on our lives. But it will take decades to get out of it if at all we get out of it…” That is not the verdict a state government expects to hear and not do something about it. The thing to do is shake the table and do things differently because the blame is largely that of governors, who are touted as Chief Security Officers of their states.

In the South-south, cultism has become a major security challenge for governments, of which Edo State has a fair share. Governor Godwin Obaseki lamented in early June, that 150 citizens were killed in cult-related violence in the state in the last five months. To deal with it, the state enacted an anti-cultism law and announced the banning of youth leaders (Okhaighele) in Edo South. The government, apparently based on intelligence had profiled the youth leaders as cultists, whose operations pose severe threat to the security and stability of the state.

But the ban of Okhaigheles was denounced by the Palace and interpreted as disrespect for the traditional institution of the state. The government has however insisted that the youth leaders are criminals, citing the example of Friday, June 7, 2024, when “some so-called youths opened fire on three members of the Nigerian Army attached to Okomu Oil Palm Plc. in Ovia South West Local Government Area…”

Rivers has a fair share of cult-relate murders of rivals, including security personnel. These cultists operate from districts managed by traditional rulers, who cannot claim ignorance of their activities. During elections, they are deployed for nefarious activities and are often aligned with politicians, like the case of the traditional ruler who will not publish a governor’s photograph. In the Southwest, the Agberos (touts) who operate in cities and towns belong to territories that fall within respective traditional jurisdictions. They are all traceable to palaces where they remit levies.

A socio-economically inclined and security-savvy government of a state must be concerned about what the traditional institution brings to the table, going forward. A Sultan or Oba who manages all the districts of a state is nearly as powerful, if not more than the state government. A reform-sensitive elected leader will not stand by and surrender all of that to one man, no matter how well-meaning.

History might have permitted such luxury and selfish politicians could have exploited it well to their advantage. But there comes a time when an amendment is helpful in the overall interest of the state. No individual in a republican system should be vested with unchecked feudal powers.

It has nothing to do with religion or disrespect, but all to do with equity and safety for all. Governors are themselves leviathans. Therefore, a proper blend of modernity and tradition could yield better justice.

Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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