Why the Emir Matters
Why the Emir Matters
History, Hubris, and Human Development
The Kano Emirate makes history as the first to witness 2 dethroning in the interval of 4 years since Nigeria’s independence in 1960.
The Kano Emirs also make history as the only monarchs the people’s elected officials have fired 7 times since 1960.
Currently, the Kano Emirate is also making history as the first where two kings would hold court in the city at the same time.
While many perceive the monarchies in various states of Nigeria as politically obsolete institutions, the traditional rulers still play a key role in preserving historical-cultural identity and promoting human-cultural development (or otherwise) within their jurisdictions.
Yet, the recent dismissal of 5 Kano Emirs by the Kano State Government highlights the slowly diminishing power of traditional rulers across the country.
Before this period, many considered traditional rulers as superhuman majesties ‘second to the gods’ in authority. Their subjects could not depose them except by the intervention of the gods and their mortal handlers.
However, in contemporary Nigeria, the Constitution has not vested traditional rulers with the authority to make politically binding decisions.
It has relegated monarchs from sovereigns to subjects of the local, state, and federal governments and restricted their significance to symbolic souvenirs of their people’s religious attachments and cultural heritage.
Still, the Emir matters, like his colleagues in the Nigerian brotherhood, the Eze and Etsu, the Oba and the Obong, ‘though tribes and tongues may differ’.
Hubris: When the People defy the Gods
As he regained his dominion on the 23rd of May 2024, the reinstalled Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, said he owed his glorious welcome back from exile to God.
“We made it clear that God has preordained time and cause for everything and everyone. He gave leadership to whom he wanted and at the time he wanted.
“When He gives, no one can take it away, and when he takes it away, nobody can take it back,” the older Emir said.
But the people seem to defy the gods again as they did when their elected officials dethroned the Emir in 2020. They have set up the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, alongside the re-enthroned 16th Emir of Kano, Mohammadu Sanusi II.
They claim the courts don’t agree with God yet on the matter of reinstating the Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II.
“The Forum of Chiefs in Nigeria, the umbrella body of lower grade traditional rulers in the country, has urged Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to vacate the palace with immediate effect as ordered by the Federal High Court,” Vanguard reported.
They insist the gods don't have a say in this matter, and if they had any say, it’s what men tell the gods to say.
“The former Emir should accept the will of God because the will of the people is the will of God and the law is the interpretation of the will of the people,” they further stressed.
Like King Agamemnon, they believe the gods don’t defend any throne or determine who is king. They “only protect the strong.”
Despite King Agamemnon’s view, a wounded woman and captured Temple devotee’s reply to Achilles’s insinuations that the gods sometimes act against human wellbeing is this: “all the gods are to be feared and respected”.
It appears Nigerians fear and respect the gods. But they may not know which of the 2 eminent Emirs currently in Kano the gods approve of.
Maybe the people can plead ignorance of the gods’ will in this matter, lest their defiance of the gods be their hubris.
Albeit, ignorance could be the people’s chief sin.
History: When the People Defy the Kings
Eleven (11) notable traditional rulers have been dethroned and exiled to other places by the people’s elected officials in the last 63 years of Nigeria’s existence as an independent country.
The most prominent case of dethronement in recent times is the case of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the emir of Kano which happened in 2020.
This case was unique too because his grandfather Mohammad Sanusi I suffered the same fate when he was the Emir of Kano.
Mohammad Sanusi I was dethroned in 1961 after an allegation of financial misappropriation in the Emirates.
Like Mohammadu Sanusi II, other prominent traditional rulers have been deposed by the political government due to allegations of “insubordination”, political affiliation, illegitimacy, or mismanagement of finance.
The Kano Emirates seems to be the most politically targeted royal seat because it has the highest number of deposed rulers.
Out of these 11 deposed traditional rulers, 7 are from Kano Emirates.
The reinstatement of Alhaji Sanusi Lamido after 4 years of exile unlike his grandfather makes his case unique.
Yet, he is not the first traditional ruler to be reinstated after being deposed by the people or their elected officials since 1960.
Among these notable 11 deposed traditional rulers, only 3 of them were ever reinstated to their throne.
Although the Kano State, through the State House of Assembly and High Court, has reinstated Emir Mohammadu Sanusi II, the Federal High Court has not decided on the dethronement or re-enthronement of Ado Bayero as the Emir of Kano.
Human Development: When the Kings Defy the People
The days of the sovereign glory of the traditional rulers might be long gone, but they are still very relevant for the effectiveness of the modern political system, especially in Nigeria.
There are 15 sovereign states all over the world with some form of monarchical system of government - Belgium, Bhutan, Lesotho, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia, Liechtenstein, Bahrain, Saudi-Arabia, Eswatini, Luxembourg, Belize, Andorra, Denmark, Barbados, Grenada, Sweden, Brunei, Norway, Canada, Jamaica, Vatican City, Monaco and Netherland.
Many of these countries are prosperous and developed countries in the world while their citizens have a high sense of national identity and loyalty.
Does retaining traditional institutions have anything to do with the prosperity and development of these countries?
Are the kings - Emirs, Ezes, Obas, Obongs, and other traditional rulers in Nigeria significant to achieving human development and economic growth in Nigeria?
Is there any relationship between the prevalence of the dethronement of kings in Nigeria and the deferment of human development in their dominions?
We can consider the links between these dethronements and the following human development concerns under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 3, 4, and 5.
Child Brides
Of the 5 states that have sacked their kings since 1960, child brides are more prevalent in Kano and Sokoto States than in Ondo, Oyo, and Delta.
The higher prevalence of girl brides in Kano and Sokoto is often linked to cultural and religious traditions, which come within the purview of traditional rulers responsibilities.
According to the re-enthroned Emir of Kano, being a king in contemporary Nigeria “basically is a religious traditional role but it is also one that has a tremendous amount of influence in terms of being an advisory role in terms of political authorities and collaboration in the delivery of public services,” Emir Mohammed Sanusi II said.
According to the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, the percentage of girls who married under 15 and 18 years of age is highest in Kano state. Girls brides Under 15 years of age are 30.0% while those married under 18 are 56.7%.
“While 45 percent of girls in Nigeria were married before they turned 18, the practice of child marriage was more rampant in the northern part of Nigeria, with figures as high as 76 percent,” reports the NGO, Girls not Brides.
The prevalence of girl brides in states like Kano and Sokoto has been attributed to culture. The culture of the Hausa-Fulani practice Girl child marriage.
Another factor that has increased the prevalence of girl brides other than culture is poverty.
According to Erulkar and Muthengi, “Poor families use the early marriage of daughters as a strategy for reducing their economic vulnerability, the family shifts the economic burden related to taking care of their daughter to the husband’s family.”
Many have also argued that it is one of the best ways to prevent pregnancy out of wedlock and promiscuity among girls in the North.
However, it does not reduce the pregnancy of children in wedlock and the attendant health risks and mental suffering of children sequestered from their parents and original families.
Girl-Child Education
Kano and Sokoto States who lead others in child marriage lag behind others in education, recording the poorest attempt at educating the girl-child at the secondary school level.
According to NBS WAEC SSCE results statistics of 2021, one of the lowest numbers of WAEC enrollment for girls is in Sokoto state.
The number of females enrolled to sit for the WAEC SSCE exams in Sokoto was 1090 girls.
Although the literacy rate in the Emirs’ dominions is lower than all the others in Nigeria, the enrollment of girl-child is worse compared to the boy-child education.
The percentage of girls in the North who attend Primary school is 11%. Only 9% attend Secondary school while 17% attend tertiary schools.
The low percentage of girls who have an education has resulted in low representation of Northern women in significant social spaces.
Also, educated girls are less likely to get married at a young age and more likely to contribute to national development.
Out-of-School Children
As of 2020, Kano State had the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
Kano State had the most with 989,234, while Akwa-Ibom (581,800), Katsina (536,122), and Kaduna (524,670) followed closely, Premium Times reported.
“The out-of-school children especially the Almajiris in the North have become a big challenge facing Nigeria as a nation,” says Senator Ahmad Lawan.
Last week, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, raised concerns over the rampant begging by Almajiri students, insisting that the menace needs to be stopped, Punch reported.
Moreover, systemic issues such as poverty, unemployment, and lack of access to basic services perpetuate the cycle of street life for these boys. Without proper education or vocational training, they are unable to break free from the cycle of poverty and are more susceptible to exploitation, abuse, and involvement in criminal activities.
The Emir Matters
The sacred positions the traditional rulers occupy enable them to prolong their rich cultural heritage among their subjects and beyond their dominion.
Likewise, they can deploy the soft power they hold to promote progressive norms and practices for the emancipation of their people.
The kings need not defy the people any longer or deny them mental access to individual and inclusive emancipation.
The people need not defy the kings anymore or deny them their royal and ritual reverence.
Because the Emir matters!
This Data Dive was written by Lucy Okonkwo and edited by Oluseyi Olufemi.