KANO SAGA: Exactly what are these “human rights” behind all the noise?
By ABU MUSTAPHA
Aminu Baba Dan Agundi is the plaintiff in the case before Justice Liman. Many people outside Kano saga: exactly what are these “Human Rights” behind all the noise?
Aminu Babba Dan Agundi is the plaintiff in the case before Justice Liman. Many people outside Kano do not know this man, his history, and how he came to be claiming being king maker as a HUMAN right.
Kano emirate had traditionally and for at least two centuries had only FOUR kingmakers. These are the Madaki, the Makama, the Sarkin Dawaki mai Tuta and the Sarkin Bai ( a tiltle currently held by Dr Mansur Muhtar, former finance minister who inherited his father and grandfather). Apart from the last one all the others have two or three family lines but the families have all documented by late Waziri Abubakar.
Sometime in the 1980s one of the Kingmakers, the Sarkin Dawaki mai Tuta Bello Dandago, passed away. The then Emir, Ado Bayero, in his wisdom appointed Babba Dan Agundi, father to Aminu, who according to all learned historians did not belong to any of the families owning the title. He did this as a favour to a loyal friend.
Subsequently the same Alhaji Ado Bayero of blessed memory appointed the son, Aminu, to the title. This is where the story begins.
People from Kano know Aminu and his character and there is no need to go into his person here. The point to make here is that sometimes during the governorship of Governor Shekarau, the state government complained to the emirate about open participation in partisan politics by Aminu, who was then district head of gabasawa and a kingmaker. At this point Aminu was a strong ally of Rabiu Kwankwaso and campaigning for him. As the emirate investigated and was mulling over the appropriate measure, Aminu decided to disrespect the revered Emir who then removed him from office and stripped him of the title.
Aminu took Ado Bayero to Court, and spent the next decade and more abusing him at every opportunity.
The Kano State High Court ruled against the emirate cooncil and ordered his reinstatement. The emir refused to comply and instead appealed. The court of Appeal ruled that Aminu should be reinstated. Ado Bayero refused. And then passed away.
Enter Emir Sanusi II. At this point the Kano State Governor was Rabiu Kwankwaso and the government DEMANDED reinstatement of Aminu as a kingmaker. Emir Sanusi flatly refused and explained that he was bound by the precedent of Ado Bayero and would rather take the matter to the supreme court first, especially as everyone knew how much disrespect Aminu had shown the revered Emir. If the supreme court still ruled against the emirate he would discuss next line of action.
Sanusi changed lawyers and went to Supreme Court. As it turned out, in 2020 the supreme cour overturned rulings of the lower Courts. Its argument was that traditional titles were a customary priviledge conferred by the emir who is the custodian of custom. If Emir Ado Bayero said Aminu was insubordinate and in his view not deserving of the priviledge it was his sole prerogative to withdraw it. This brought an end to this phase of the story.
Enter Governor Ganduje. As part of his fight against Emir Sanusi II, Ganduje recruited Aminu as an ally, being a political thug with connections in Abuja. He wound him up by reminding him that Emir Sanusi had refused to give him back his title and taken matter to supreme court and promised to make him a kingmaker in return for support in deposing emir sanusi.
Please recall that Kano has always had only FOUR kingmakers. After Ganduje dethroned Emir Sanusi, he then CREATED out of nothing, a new title which never existed in Kano- Sarkin Dawaki Babba- and made this a FIFTH kingmaker in the emirates law that was repealed. The title was borrowed from Zazzau emirate. The irony is that while Emir Sanusi honoured the late Emir Ado Bayero and resisted every attempt to return the man who disrespected him to office, it was Ado Bayero’s own son, Aminu Ado Bayero who yielded to Ganduje and gave his father’s sworn enemy this new and unprecedented title.
Aminu Babba Dan Agundi is therefore the FIRST holder of thus new title which was only created barely four years ago and never existed in Kano’s 1,000-year history. His father did NOT hold this title. While his previous title of which he was stripped was indeed that of a kingmaker, the new title was an improvisation unknown to Kano history, custom and tradition. It was sheer abuse of power for the Governor to so callously tamper with a tradion as significant as selection of the emir to cater to the whims of a single individual.
The repeal of Ganduje’s emirate laws also repealed this intrusion into kingmakers and reverted to the four kingmakers known to Kano history and custom.
Aminu Babba Dan Agundi went to court seeking enforcement of his fundamental human rights. He says the repeal of the law denies him and his children and grandchildren the right to be kingmakers!
He did not inherit the title. The title was created by government and not known to custom and history. It has existed for less than four years in a kingdom with king lists going back to 999AD.
Most people outside Kano have no knowledge of how ridiculous this entire suit is. do not know this man, his history, and how he came to be claiming being king maker as a HUMAN right.
Kano emirate had traditionally and for at least two centuries had only FOUR kingmakers. These are the Madaki, the Makama, the Sarkin Dawaki mai Tuta and the Sarkin Bai ( a tiltle currently held by Dr Mansur Muhtar, former finance minister who inherited his father and grandfather). Apart from the last one all the others have two or three family lines but the families have all documented by late Waziri Abubakar.
Sometime in the 1980s one of the Kingmakers, the Sarkin Dawaki mai Tuta Bello Dandago, passed away. The then Emir, Ado Bayero, in his wisdom appointed Babba Dan Agundi, father to Aminu, who according to all learned historians did not belong to any of the families owning the title. He did this as a favour to a loyal friend.
Subsequently the same Alhaji Ado Bayero of blessed memory appointed the son, Aminu, to the title. This is where the story begins.
People from Kano know Aminu and his character and there is no need to go into his person here. The point to make here is that sometimes during the governorship of Governor Shekarau, the state government complained to the emirate about open participation in partisan politics by Aminu, who was then district head of gabasawa and a kingmaker. At this point Aminu was a strong ally of Rabiu Kwankwaso and campaigning for him. As the emirate investigated and was mulling over the appropriate measure, Aminu decided to disrespect the revered Emir who then removed him from office and stripped him of the title.
Aminu took Ado Bayero to Court, and spent the next decade and more abusing him at every opportunity.
The Kano State High Court ruled against the emirate cooncil and ordered his reinstatement. The emir refused to comply and instead appealed. The court of Appeal ruled that Aminu should be reinstated. Ado Bayero refused. And then passed away.
Please recall that Kano has always had only FOUR kingmakers. After Ganduje dethroned Emir Sanusi, he then CREATED out of nothing, a new title which never existed in Kano – Sarkin Dawaki Babba – and made this a FIFTH kingmaker in the emirates law that was repealed. The title was borrowed from Zazzau emirate. The irony is that while Emir Sanusi honoured the late Emir Ado Bayero and resisted every attempt to return the man who disrespected him to office, it was Ado Bayero’s own son, Aminu Ado Bayero who yielded to Ganduje and gave his father’s sworn enemy this new and unprecedented title.
Aminu Babba Dan Agundi is therefore the FIRST holder of thus new title which was only created barely four years ago and never existed in Kano’s 1,000-year history. His father did NOT hold this title. While his previous title of which he was stripped was indeed that of a kingmaker, the new title was an improvisation unknown to Kano history, custom and tradition. It was sheer abuse of power for the Governor to so callously tamper with a tradion as significant as selection of the emir to cater to the whims of a single individual.
The repeal of Ganduje’s emirate laws also repealed this intrusion into kingmakers and reverted to the four kingmakers known to Kano history and custom.
Aminu Babba Dan Agundi went to court seeking enforcement of his fundamental human rights. He says the repeal of the law denies him and his children and grandchildren the right to be kingmakers!
He did not inherit the title. The title was created by government and not known to custom and history. It has existed for less than four years in a kingdom with king lists going back to 999AD.
Most people outside Kano have no knowledge of how ridiculous this entire suit is.
