Politics and traditional institutions in Nigeria, My Take.
Having covered the swearing-in ceremony of Mallam Nasir El Rufai in kaduna, I understood better what it meant to be loved by your people and what it also means for the people not to like you at all and they begin to clamour for change.
The inauguration ceremony started like every other ceremony of such magnitude at the Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna, until the governor of the state Mallam elrufai who was then the governor elect came in, People hailed him sang and even cried for the man they believe could bring about the change they need at this time. Things were normal until the crowd became over bearing thereby leading to the cancellation of most of the activities slated for the celebration. The usual ritual parade by the joint military personnel was not even observed because of the crowd and their over bearing attitude.
However things went the other way when the military tried to push back the crowd to make way for dignitaries and even the governor who had just taken his oath of office, this action infuriated the youths who felt they were being deprived of their rights, this led to them throwing stones at dignitaries, law enforcement agents and even the VIPs that were present. when I looked closely enough, one thing was different about the direction of the stones, it wasn't too long before I discovered that the Emir of Zazau was sitting comfortably in that direction, the youth threw shoes, stones and whatever they could lay their hands on at the Direction of this first class traditional ruler in Nigeria.
These actions that took different dimension left me with numerous questions begging for Answers. What is the sin of the Emir that his subject couldn't forgive him to the extent that they could publicly stone him without reservation? How come our traditional institutions are now so Involved politically that even their subjects can no longer bear their bias and support for a particular candidate to the detriment of another? how come the traditional institution is no longer revered the way it use to be? All these I pondered on as I put my pen to paper.
As I was thinking of these questions and a possible explanation, I remembered the Lagoon Saga in Lagos State sequel to the Governorship election where a traditional ruler threatened to drawn certain people if they don't vote for his preferred candidate .
Lest I forget the main issue, trust me, I went on an enquiry expedition within the Murtala Mohammed Square to know why the sudden disrespect for a Royal father publicly. what I heard from the people are unprintable things about the Emir, an Advanced educated woman who in my judgment should be a retired civil servant even told me that the situation would have been worse if the former governor Ramalan Yero had come to the venue, adding that we would have witnessed another kind or stone and pure (sachet) water rain.
Like I was saying earlier, I heard unprintable things so you wouldn't expect me to add them in this write up so I won't be guilty of same offence as the irate youths of kaduna, all I can tell you is that is was a case of a traditional ruler getting too involved in politics to the extent that his subjects lost hope in him, I was told that he publicly campaigned for the PDP candidate who eventually lost the election, others even added that he was always getting his share of the loots from the state treasury which the youths felt was the reason for the poverty rate in the state. Their grievance is now that the emir who help sabotage the former administration is getting too close to the incumbent, they wanted to nip it in the budd before things gets too dangerous. They threw stones until dignitaries had to take cover, the emir was taken to a hidden safe place within the premises, these boys insisted on waiting for him to make sure they stone him before he leaves the square. Efforts by joint security forces did not help until the police had to bring in hot water canon which eventually dispel the youths before the royal father was quickly whisked away.
The inauguration ceremony started like every other ceremony of such magnitude at the Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna, until the governor of the state Mallam elrufai who was then the governor elect came in, People hailed him sang and even cried for the man they believe could bring about the change they need at this time. Things were normal until the crowd became over bearing thereby leading to the cancellation of most of the activities slated for the celebration. The usual ritual parade by the joint military personnel was not even observed because of the crowd and their over bearing attitude.
However things went the other way when the military tried to push back the crowd to make way for dignitaries and even the governor who had just taken his oath of office, this action infuriated the youths who felt they were being deprived of their rights, this led to them throwing stones at dignitaries, law enforcement agents and even the VIPs that were present. when I looked closely enough, one thing was different about the direction of the stones, it wasn't too long before I discovered that the Emir of Zazau was sitting comfortably in that direction, the youth threw shoes, stones and whatever they could lay their hands on at the Direction of this first class traditional ruler in Nigeria.
These actions that took different dimension left me with numerous questions begging for Answers. What is the sin of the Emir that his subject couldn't forgive him to the extent that they could publicly stone him without reservation? How come our traditional institutions are now so Involved politically that even their subjects can no longer bear their bias and support for a particular candidate to the detriment of another? how come the traditional institution is no longer revered the way it use to be? All these I pondered on as I put my pen to paper.
As I was thinking of these questions and a possible explanation, I remembered the Lagoon Saga in Lagos State sequel to the Governorship election where a traditional ruler threatened to drawn certain people if they don't vote for his preferred candidate .
Lest I forget the main issue, trust me, I went on an enquiry expedition within the Murtala Mohammed Square to know why the sudden disrespect for a Royal father publicly. what I heard from the people are unprintable things about the Emir, an Advanced educated woman who in my judgment should be a retired civil servant even told me that the situation would have been worse if the former governor Ramalan Yero had come to the venue, adding that we would have witnessed another kind or stone and pure (sachet) water rain.
Like I was saying earlier, I heard unprintable things so you wouldn't expect me to add them in this write up so I won't be guilty of same offence as the irate youths of kaduna, all I can tell you is that is was a case of a traditional ruler getting too involved in politics to the extent that his subjects lost hope in him, I was told that he publicly campaigned for the PDP candidate who eventually lost the election, others even added that he was always getting his share of the loots from the state treasury which the youths felt was the reason for the poverty rate in the state. Their grievance is now that the emir who help sabotage the former administration is getting too close to the incumbent, they wanted to nip it in the budd before things gets too dangerous. They threw stones until dignitaries had to take cover, the emir was taken to a hidden safe place within the premises, these boys insisted on waiting for him to make sure they stone him before he leaves the square. Efforts by joint security forces did not help until the police had to bring in hot water canon which eventually dispel the youths before the royal father was quickly whisked away.
After carefully looking at the whole thing, I came to realise that our traditional rulers and institutions have been compromised by Politicians, Royal fathers have neglected their primary duty and responsibility to their subjects, most of them are now political godfathers of a sought, they now support the highest bidders, most of them are even contractors to the government of the day this makes it difficult for them to chastise anyone who seems to be performing woefully.
To avoid a repeat of what happened in Kaduna in other states and kingdom in the federation, royal fathers should be father to all, and not to a certain group that can afford to pay for their prayers and blessings, they (Royal Fathers) should realise that publicly supporting one of your subjects against the other is like fighting yourself and expecting to Win.
Nigerians are now wiser you can no longer eat your cake and still have, they now know how to fight for their rights. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Our politicians on the other hand should not destroy our traditional institutions for personal gains, they should remember that political offices don't last for ever, if you destroy your home because of a temporary abode you will have yourself to blame at the end of the day.
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