Sokoto Gov Aliyu gave us his word that he won’t tamper with Sultan again – MURIC’s Founder

By KEMI KASUMU

The Founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, has revealed that Governor of Sokoto State, Mr. Ahmad Aliyu, has rescinded his plan to whittle the powers of Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.

He gave this revelation in an Internet communication with The DEFENDER on Saturday, saying the governor’s change of mind was necessitated by a tripartite conference call with Governor Ahmad Aliyu at the instance of “a very influential” Islamic scholar in the state, who initiated the online meeting.

Akintola started by saying, “The purpose for the public hearing being organised by the Sokoto State House of Assembly scheduled for Tuesday June 2, 2024, has been removed with the governor giving me his word that he has dropped his plan to depose the Sultan and so the public hearing is no longer going to happen.”

Told that the latest media report as at the time of the conversation was that the House would hold the public hearing, Akintola said, “After the court has given injunction stopping the Sultanate Council Law amendment Bill? I do not not think there will be such a think because the governor has spoken and I believe him as our Muslim brother that, once he gave his world not to any lo her do anything that will tamper with the Sultan, he said he won’t do it any longer and his word is his bond.”

He said he had shared this update with some journalists who called to interview same day of this chat and expressed confidence that Governor Aliyu will be calling for a renewed fight if my Tuesday “We see that he only gave us his promise that he will not keep”.

In another media interview with Vanguard Professor Ishaq Akintola said, “The Sultan of Sokoto is not an ordinary traditional ruler who controls just his town or city. He is a paramount ruler, a first-class traditional ruler who controls all the monarchs, all the chiefs and emirs in the state. Not only that, he is also the President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. That is the umbrella body for all Muslims in Nigeria. If you remove him, you have not only removed the Sultan of Sokoto, you have also removed the leader of the Muslims in Nigeria without consulting those Muslims. Today, the population of Nigeria is around 220 million.

“Out of the 220, Muslims constitute around 150 million. Muslims must be concerned if there is evidence that a governor is planning to remove the Sultan. We cannot say it cannot happen. We have seen so many governors who have exercised their executive power.

“Soludo of Anambra removed four traditional rulers in a single day. We have seen a governor who demolished the building in the House of Assembly so that lawmakers cannot sit. These governors are very powerful and they are not exercising their powers with restraint. When the governor of Sokoto removed 15 traditional rulers, we saw the signal,” he said.

On concern of Muslim concern, the MUR8C leader said, “We also know that our major concern is the fact that the Sultan is the President-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Nigeria. If a governor removes and appoints another Sultan, that one cannot be the same as the one who left. He may be one that would scatter the Sultanate. He may be one who would cooperate with the South-West and South-East. He may not be as warm as this Sultan. He may not be as peace-loving and dialogue-prone as this one. The fears were there, and we said we would not go down this road again because one Sultan had been deposed before.

“Remember that Colonel Yakubu Muazzu, a former military Governor of Sokoto State, dethroned Sultan Dasuki on the 20th of April, 1994, unceremoniously. They don’t consult the Muslims when doing this kind of thing. The Muslims around the country. Not even the Muslims in Kano are consulted. Those in Niger are not consulted. With a stroke of the pen, the governor will just sign the deposition and we said it will not happen again because if they keep dethroning the Sultan and head of the Muslims, the embarrassment will continue ad infinitum.

“That was our major reason for coming to say no, we don’t want this embarrassment again. It has happened before, we don’t want it to happen again.”

On relationship between the Sultan and the governor before his alarm, he said, “We have a branch of MURIC in Sokoto. I can confirm to you that your thinking aligns with the feedback we got from Sokoto. The relationship was sour between the governor and the Sultan. As long as the Sultan remains the leader, the President-General of the Muslim community in Nigeria, what happens between him and the governor should be our major concern. The issue is, he is our leader and he is our leader. He has performed creditably well even though we know that it is the governor who has the power to appoint the Sultan and to remove the Sultan and any Emir or king just as any other governor in other states has the power to appoint and fire. That is based on the laws of each state.”

Why would the state government contemplate removing such a revered traditional and religious leader.

“The laws of Northern Nigeria empower the governor to remove the Sultan or any Emir after appointing them. But concerning the Sultanate, there should be some kind of regard for the Muslim community and our feelings. For instance, nobody even the President of Nigeria can tamper with the position of the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria. It is independent. Right now, what we are canvassing for is that kind of independence and immunity for the position of the Sultan so that no governor will have the power to remove him.

“What we will be comfortable with is a situation whereby the Sokoto State House of Assembly will amend the chieftaincy laws of Sokoto state to disempower the governor from removing the Sultan at any point in time because of the interest of the Muslims.”