The once highly revered emirship institution in northern Nigeria is under threat of losing its prestige as state governors and emirs fight for superiority.

An emir is an influential figure in the north as Kingmakers, traditional chiefs, Islamic clerics (Imams), leaders of farmers, local warriors and other important personalities in a town usually defer to the emir, paying homage and seeking for blessings.

The influence that emirs wield is making some governors uncomfortable in their states, and they are finding ways to clip the wings of the royal fathers, some of who have become overtly partisan.

At least three influential emirs have come under attack from their state governors in the last few months, with the most recent being the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman.

Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State, queried Emir Kabir Usman, over the non participation of some district heads in his domain in the recent durbar staged during the Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) festival.

The query, dated June 27, 2024 and issued by the Secretary to the State Government, asked the emir “to provide reasons for non- participation of some district heads in the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir Hawan Sallah celebration.”

It was an unusual development which many would see as an affront on the emir.

But THE WHISTLER was reliably informed that Governor Radda had earlier issued a directive that all district heads must participate in the Sallah durbar, and felt his authority was being challenged when some district heads failed to appear for the last Sallah durbar.

Although Governor Radda and Emir Kabir Usman are said to come from the same royal family in Katsina, and that the emir openly campaigned for the governor during the 2023 election, the queried nonetheless signposts a contest of power.

Bala Dan Abu, a veteran Journalist who worked as Special Adviser on Media to a former of Governor of Taraba State, told THE WHISTLER that some emirs could give their own directives that may run counter to that of the governor.

“When a governor gives a directive and a traditional ruler is giving a counter directive, there’s going to be conflict; that’s why the trend of governors trying to clip the wings of traditional rulers is becoming rampant,” he stated.

Abu said traditional rulers in the north are very powerful and influential, and could wield divine authority if they’re not controlled.

“I think these are some of the things the governors have learnt. In some cases, the traditional rulers are obeyed as if they’re God. They’re not queried or questioned; they have authority over many things, even land allocation, which is one of the things that is bringing them into conflict with the governors.

“On their own, they sit in their domain and allocate land. So, they’re very influential and they expect the governors to give them the kind of respect that their subjects accord them. They should have a say in the way things are done in government, and governors are not ready for that.

“And if there’s anybody trying to carve out an empire for himself, including traditional rulers in the state that is supposed to be absolutely under the governor, there’s bound to be conflict,” he added.

In Sokoto, where Governor Ahmed Aliyu is in a superiority war with the Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III, the state House of Assembly has passed the Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill through the first and second readings.

The amendment bill, if passed into law, will strip the Sultan of Sokoto of powers to appoint the kingmakers and to appoint district heads without government approval, among other things.

Governor Aliyu, who had previously removed 15 traditional rulers for various offences, is said to going for the Sultan for political reasons.

“The current administration of the state was expecting the Sultan to support them during the campaign before election, which is wrong. They are against him because of what happened in the past during the campaign. Maybe they wanted him to do something which he couldn’t do at the time, and they have not forgiven him. If not, what has he done?

“A traditional ruler cannot support a political aspirant, only the incumbent administration of his state. They are employees of the government, that is why it is not possible for them to abandon their state governments and support someone without power,” stated Basharu Guyawa Isa, chairman Rundunar Adalci, a civil liberty organisation in Sokoto, during a telephone conversation with THE WHISTLER.

Guyawa Isa said the situation in Kano showcases the extreme case of political persecution and molestation of emirs in the north by governors.

He said an emir cannot be removed from the throne without stating his offence, adding that it is extreme humiliation to dethrone an emir that has done no wrong.

Governor Abba Yusuf had on May 23 assented to the bill passed by the Kano State House of Assembly which reversed the creation of new emirates by the administration of ex-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Yusuf also reinstated the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, who was deposed in March 2020 for insubordination and other offences. With the governor’s proclamation, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero, who initially succeed Sanusi, has been removed.

But Bayero has refused to vacate the throne and Kano now seemingly has two emirs.

Guyawa Isa said, “The Kano case is the worst form of it. There is a video that has gone viral where a voice said to be that of Lamido Sanusi is telling Governor Abba Yusuf that he has to make laws that will bring him back to the throne.

“He funded their campaign before they came to power, now they’re in power and they have to pay him back. They had to enact the laws that will return him to power, which has happened.

“But how can you dethrone the existing emir without him breaking any law?  That is how the traditional rulers will continue to be pawns in the game of politicians if the right thing is not done. “

“The right thing, according to him, is for traditional rulers in the country to be given constitutional roles, adding that unless this is done, they would continue to be appendages of the ruling class.”

But Alhaji Sagir Muhammed, a traditional ruler in Jigawa State and the Wazirin Rigim, however said emirs should emulate the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, who had no political affiliations and was a father to all.

He said the “governors are suspecting the traditional rulers of dabbling into politics. That is what is happening in Sokoto and Kano. Sometimes the emirs make inflammatory remarks that are not welcomed by the government of their states, sometimes in the presence of the governors.

“The solution is for them to become apolitical like the late Emir Ado Bayero of Kano, and also maintain their integrity.”