13th July, 2024
PRESS RELEASE:
SOKOTO NEW LAW: DIALOGUE IS THE ANSWER – MURIC
The Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, yesterday
signed into law a bill widely believed to have the effect of reducing the
powers of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar. In a swift
reaction, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has responded dialogue as the way
forward after signing the bill into law.
MURIC spoke via its Executive Director,
Professor Ishaq Akintola, in a statement made available to pressmen on
Saturday, 13th July, 2024.
He said:
“Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State signed a new
bill into law yesterday. The new law is widely believed to have the effect of diminishing
the powers of the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council
for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar. (https://punchng.com/sokoto-gov-signs-law-stripping-sultan-power-to-appoint-district-village-heads/)
“While
we are not comfortable with the new development, MURIC is of the humble opinion
that confrontation at this point in time will only heat up the polity. We
believe that dialogue should be adopted as the way forward in view of the
intricate nature of the relationship between Nigerian governors and their
traditional rulers vis a vis the Nigerian political architecture.
“The problem can only be effectively addressed by
attacking its root. Every state governor has total power over the traditional
rulers in the state. They have the power to hire and fire as stipulated in the
states’ chieftaincy laws. That is why MURIC has been crying out against the
dethronement clauses in states’ laws and calling upon lawmakers in each state
to revisit that aspect of the law but no single lawmaker has listened so far.
“Even Nigerian Muslims did not pay attention to
MURIC when we warned twenty eight (28) years ago that it was dangerous to allow
the governor of Sokoto State to have the power to depose the Sultan. We argued
at the time that although the Sultan is a traditional ruler in Sokoto State, he
is more than that in the rest of the country because as the President General
of the NSCIA, he is the leader of all Nigerian Muslims.
“In a paper delivered at the University of Ilorin
in the year 1998, MURIC’s Executive Director warned that Nigerian Muslims would
continue to suffer unbearable embarrassments unless the Sultan was given
immunity from deposition. The paper was entitled, ‘Leadership Crisis in the Nigerian Ummah, A Case Study of the
Challenges Facing Islam and the Muslims in the 21st Century’ (See
Akintola, I. L., Islam and Muslims in
Nigeria: Challenges of the 21st Century, Z I. Oseni, ed., Jimsons, Ilorin, pages 26-42,
1998).
“Also in a paper delivered on Saturday, 30th
October, 2021 at a Sokoto conference organized to commemorate the 15th
anniversary of the Sultan, MURIC’s Executive Director delivered a paper
captioned ‘His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, 15 Years of Leadership:
Progress and Prospects’.
“The
2021 paper urged Sokoto lawmakers to amend the section of the Sokoto
chieftaincy law which empowers the governor to sack the Sultan simply by adding
the words ‘except the Sultan of Sokoto’ to that clause. In spite of the loud
applause which greeted the paper at the venue and promises of acceptance and
application in the state’s legislature, nothing came of this effort. Even the
publicity which followed the conference yielded nothing. An Emir chaired the session
and he promised to give the Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly a
copy that same evening.
“The Premium Times publication of 3rd
November, 2021, (i.e. four days after the conference) quoted MURIC’s Executive
Director as saying, ‘This is not about the reigning Sultan alone. It is about
the progress of the Ummah…’ (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/493125-muric-salutes-sultan-on-15th-coronation-anniversary-seeks-immunity-from-dethronement.html?tztc=1). Yet
nobody paid attention until there was a change of government on 29th
May, 2023.
“We have gone down memory lane for four reasons.
One, so that we may be properly understood. Two, to raise awareness among Nigerian
Muslims. Three, to show for how long MURIC has been preoccupied with the fate
of Nigerian Muslims, particularly the leadership of the Sultan. Four, to bring
the heads of Sokoto politicians, their lawmakers and the rest of Nigerian Muslims
under the same thinking cap.
“There is need for us to synergize, re-engineer
and re-strategise on the Sokoto affair. It is going to be a long struggle, not
against the governor of Sokoto but against all the governors of the 36 states
of Nigeria. We must not target the liberation of the sultanate alone. All
Nigerian monarchs are under threat. We must carry the lawmakers and the Nigerian
press along.
“To
this end, MURIC remains assured of the outcome of a tripartite meeting arranged
by an influential Islamic scholar from the North about two weeks ago. The
meeting involved the Governor of Sokoto State, the scholar and the Director of
MURIC. Though virtual, the meeting yielded one positive fruit, namely, a pledge
by the governor not to depose the Sultan. We are already seeking ways of
leveraging on this to open the doors of dialogue among major stakeholders.
“We therefore seek the cooperation of all
interested parties. The unique position of the Sultan is yet to be understood
by all. Neither does the city of Sokoto appreciate its princely status and
highly favoured position as the seat of the caliphate. It is our hope that
Sokoto continues to enjoy that special status but that depends on the progress
or otherwise of the dialogue.”
“For now what we need in Sokoto is dialogue. The
bill has been signed into law but law is made by men, not men by law. Again, we
must remember that the law is an ass. It will always carry what is placed on
it. Charles Dickens in his ‘Oliver Twist’ called the law ‘an ass, an idiot’
because the law, when applied too rigidly or too flexibly, can be blind to the
realities on the ground.
“Therefore, signing Sokoto’s new bill into law
cannot and should not be the end of the story. It is simply democracy at work. The
sons of Sokoto made the law. The sons of Sokoto will apply it to favour Sokoto
and to protect the dignity and integrity of Islam. This great city called
Sokoto must continue to rise. The seat of the caliphate will not fall. The
legacy of Uthman Bin Fudi lives forever.”
#LongLiveBinFudiDynasty
#LongLiveTheSultan
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
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