Razaq Bamidele
Akintola Ishaq, a University don and pro-Islamic faith activist, has explained why he wants a section of the Northern Law repealed or reviewed saying, expressing fears and concern about the double-edged nature of the piece of the legislation that can cause national embarrassment of an unimaginable proportion.
The Professor of Islamic Eschatology spoke on the occasion of His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar’s 15th coronation anniversary on the topic: His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar; 15 Years of Leadership: Progress and Prospects.
Akintola, who lectures at the Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State is also the Director of a faith-based organization, the Muslim Right Concern (MURIC), entertains the fears that, if the Law in question is not looked into with a view to repealing or reviewing it accordingly due to its potential to cause societal discomfort, it can also inhibit some potentials for causing societal harmony and social discomfort.
The MURIC Director was referring to Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria that empowers state governors to depose traditional rulers including the sultan, reminding that, the Sultan, as a monarch, has a dual roles of overseeing the affairs of the ancient city of Sokoto as well as as a national religious leader being the National President of the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
According to the don, by the nature and composition of the NSCIA, anyone who occupies the position of governor in Sokoto State has the power to depose the sultan, lamenting that, “the removal of the sultan will automatically have the bandwagon effect of removing the President General of the NSCIA!”
Akintola revealed further that, as Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria empowers state governors to depose traditional rulers including the sultan, he disclosed that, incidentally, too, Article 7 (i) of the NSCIA constitution (also) stipulates that the Sultan of Sokoto shall be the President General of the NSCIA.)
He spoke further: “Here lies the dilemma facing the Ummah (Muslim Community). The governor of a single state can depose the Sultan and leader of all Nigerian Muslims. This situation is capable of causing unmitigated embarrassment. It also has the capacity to trigger a religious crisis of unimaginable dimensions.
“Whereas even the president of Nigeria cannot interfere in the affairs of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a state governor can interfere and even depose the Sultan and President General of the NSCIA. This has far-reaching comparative disadvantage vis a vis the bargaining power as well as the pressure group influence of Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.”
Buttressing his submission, the vocal don cum activist went down a memory lane by citing the example of former Sultan Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto, who was deposed in 1996 by the military governor of Sokoto State, asking how can the Muslims can guard against a repetition of that anomaly and ensure that our President Generals are not disgraced in future?!”
Answering the question and proffering solution, the MURIC Captain suggested securing immunity from deposition for the Sultan, that one of the two laws has to give way, saying, Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria which empowers state governors to depose traditional rulers and Article 7 (i) the constitution of the NSCIA which gives the Sultan the singular authority to be the President General.
He spoke further thus: “The good people of Sokoto State must recognize the favour which Allah has bestowed upon them as the sole candidates for the prestigious position of President General of the NSCIA. (And so) there is no doubt that they will want to continue to enjoy that privilege by maintaining the status quo.
“The onus is therefore on the Sokoto State House of Assembly to set the machinery in motion for the repeal of Section 6 Cap 26 of the Laws of Northern Nigeria in such a way that it will exclude the Sultan from the governor’s exercise of the power of deposition. It is a simple exercise which may not go beyond a motion in the House seeking to insert the phrase ‘except the Sultan of Sokoto’ in the dethronement clause.”
The maverick preacher however seized the opportunity to remind all and sundry that the suggestion is not about the reigning Sultan, but rather, about the progress of the Ummah and about freedom from undue executive influence.
Describing the Monarch severally as humility and simplicity personified, the lecturer added that, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, “is a mover, a shaker, an exemplary leader, a quintessential Sultan primus inter pareil and a combination of royalty, humanity and simplicity nulli secundus.”
Akintola, who is not given to hero-worshipping the Sultan comes across as a first-class traditional ruler and the first Sokoto monarch to shun opulence by towing the path of simplicity since his coronation on 2nd November 2006, asserting that, “evidence abounds of his preference for little even in the face of profusion and his choice of low-key and moderation when pomp and pageantry were readily available as an integral part of royal niceties and the perquisites of his highly revered office.”
In the highly electrifying paper, the professor marvelled that, “as generals in the army are known for barking orders and that military carriage that is suggestive of obedience willy nilly, Sultan Muhammad has elected to adopt a consultative mien in the Sultanate,” expressing the delight that, “this has won him immense admiration from his emirs and subjects and the result is a Sultanate in harmony from which no grunts, growls or grumblings emanate.”
Continuing, Akintola observed that, “His diplomatic acumen must be acknowledged with the realization that not once has there been any report of strained relationship with the executive arm of government in the state,” admitting that, he fits into the Nigerian democratic system of indirect rule by politicians via traditional rulers and this is no mean feat for a man who has just removed the shining medals of an army general.
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“As a result, Sokoto has become today one of the few fortunate states where the Chief Executive focuses on the socio-economic welfare of the people without having to cast curious glances over his shoulders for assurance of the loyalty of his citizens. Expectedly, this has brought social equilibrium and progress to the state,” the don submitted.
Concluding, the LASU lecturer had a word of commendation for the State Governor; Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal over a remarkable progress he has been made in the state, pointing out that, “With a population figure of 4,998,090 (2016) in a land area of
27,825 square kilometres, a Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per Capital of
$1,274 and a literacy rate of 73.4, Sokoto State has performed creditably and excellently.”
