Open letter to 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero ~ Inuwa Waya
Assalamu alaikum my dear brother,
I am writing you this letter as a brother, as a friend and as someone whose parents and uncles associated in friendship and camaraderie with yours for decades. I am also writing as an elder in kano and one who is passionate about the peace, harmony and tranquility of our dear state.
Even though I have an unfettered access to you and can contact you at anytime, I have waived that privilege and decided to make this letter an open one. I trust an open latter is more realistic and can be subjected to objective and unbiased interpretation.
Even though the letter is addressed to you, some aspects of it might be of interest to the general public especially because you are a public figure.I therefore seek your understanding in this regards.
Your Royal Highness, I am impressed with your timely decision to cancel your planned Hawan Sallah(traditional horse riding). Whatever your considerations are, the decision is timely just as it is desirable. From my personal interactions with you since our childhood, I know you to be a man of patience, peace and collective calmness.
We all acknowledged your level headedness and your peaceful approach to matters of common concern. You inherited the sterling qualities of your father.
His Royal Highness, the late Alhaji Ado Bayero (13th Fulani Emir of Kano) was a man of virtue, goodness and honour. He was a man of nobility, magnanimity and honesty.
Unexpectedly but providentially, he was appointed the Emir of Kano in 1963 and was one of the longest in Africa having been on the throne for fifty one years. During his reign, he encountered challenges, trials and tribulations.
He was reprimanded and directed not to go out of his palace for six months just for innocently accompanying his friend to a trip abroad. Sometimes, changes were made in his domain without consulting him in order to humiliate him. Water and Electricity were sometimes disconnected from his palace. He was misunderstood and called unprintable names.
Members of his household were a times subjected to various forms indignities. Several attempts were made to silence him dead or alive. Your Royal Highness, remember the daring and audacious assassination attempts against the late revered monarch at Hauwasa (Masallachin Murtala) quarters in kano.
On that fateful day, the entourage of your late father was attacked by unknown assailants. The rain of the assassin’s bullets left many mutilated bodies on the street. The palace guard inside his Royal Highness’s vehicle instantly died while the driver sustained multiple injuries.
You were in that entourage and your junior brother, His Royal Highness, Nasir Ado Bayero (my bosom friend and confidant) who was shot in the foot was equally part of the entourage. It was by Allah’s mercy and grace that the late Emir escaped that assassination attempt which shook the entire Country.
Not only did he came out alive, there was no visible injury in his body in spite his old age and vulnerability to the attack. I can not in this letter recount every negative experience the late monarch went through.
Suffice it to say, he did not allow these adversities to break his spirit. As a true Muslim, he always attributes every happening to him as ordained by Allah. He always mentioned to his people that every trial is a test of faith from Allah and that a true believer must always pray, offer thanks to Allah and seek for His forgiveness.
The will of Allah according him will always prevail. Such was the teachings of your late father up to the time Allah took his life. May his soul rest in peace and may Allah forgive his shortcomings and imperfections and admit him in Jannatul Firdaus. Ameen.
Your Royal Highness, you were appointed the 15th Fulani Emir of Kano under similar circumstances with that of your late father. You became the Emir by Allah’s grace. Your good character and kind disposition has never been doubted. You presided the affairs of your people with compassion.
You have not committed any offence known to anybody or authority as to compromise your integrity. That in itself is enough consolation for you and for those of us your friends. The change of government came along with changes to the kano Emirates law and as a result you lost your position.
Ordinarily, you have two options. One is to attribute what happened to you as an act of Allah, calm frayed nerves and go about your normal life with the hope and confidence that Allah is in control of your life. Many Emirs were dethroned and they left everything in the hands of Allah.
Your late uncle Sir Muhammadu Sanusi the 1st, the late Sultan of Sokoto Ibrahim Dasuki and many other Emirs during and after the colonial era accepted their fate with equanimity and did not throw a challenge to their deposition. The other option you have and which you currently opted for is to challenge your deposition. That’s within your constitutional rights under the Nigerian Law and nobody should fault you for taking that decision.
Many Emirs challenged their deposition in courts and some were reinstated by court order while others lost the case. Emir Jakolo of Gwandu emirate and Emir Auwal Ibrahim of Suleja emirate are examples of those who took their cases to the courts.
Your Royal Highness, your case is in the court and as a trained lawyer, I can not comment on it in order not to prejudice the outcome of the case. The only issues for consideration in respect of your case that requires my advise is that which concerns the larger society.
I have observed that since this matter started, it has been metamorphosing into different shapes and forms with alarming rate. These must be contained in order not to escalate into a major crisis that will affect security of lives and properties and slow down economic growth and development in kano state.
After viewing the video in which you announced the cancellation of your planned Sallah Darbah, I became curious to know what are the reasons. When you mentioned the security threat associated with the event, my blood pressure became elevated.
I trust you can not make such a sweeping announcement without credible information that a major threat to law and order was imminent. Your position and your fears were confirmed a day after when the kano state commissioner of police announced a total ban on any form of horse riding during the forthcoming Sallah festivities to mark the end of the month of Ramadan.
The commissioner mentioned that the kano state police command had received credible intelligence that criminals will use the occasion to forment trouble in the state. It is their constitutional duties to maintain law and order to ensure peaceful coexistence. The government both Federal, state and local, have a primary function to maintain law and order.
Your Royal Highness, if criminals and miscreants would always wait for you to make a move and use it as a harbinger to cause mayhem and destroy lives and properties of innocent people, then you must constantly reassess the kind of moves you should make.
You must resist the temptation to make moves that will lead to the breakdown of law and order. You must not allow the people to have a wrong perception of you as the catalyst for formenting trouble. You must be a unifying and not a divisive factor to your people. You must act to relieve and not increase the burden of your people.
You must be a peacemaker and be seen to be extending olive branch. By going to the court, you have done the right thing as an aggrieved person. You should have confidence and allow the courts to reach judgement. Until that judgement, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that will alter the cause of events.
The Supreme Court will give its judgement. In actual fact, they will only pronounce what Allah has decreed for you before you were born. Only Allah gives power to whom HE so wishes, at the time HE wants, and only HE can take it away from anybody at the time HE wishes. In simple terms, power belongs to the almighty Allah and not in the hands of a mere mortal. After the judgement and irrespective of its outcome, you must thank Allah for the numerous mercies HE showered on you.
HE gave you life, good health, power, influence and authority. These bounties are not given to every person. If Allah wills, you will come back and if HE decides its the end, you will not come back. It means that Allah has another plan for you. Having the throne doesn’t necessarily guarantee your happiness.
There are those who had been in and out of power and never wished to wield power again. There are those who abdicated their power. There are others who regretted ever been in power because of the calamitous effect of its aftermath. There is no amount of struggle that will give one what is not destined for him. Every aspect of life is in the hands of almighty God. In conclusion Your Royal Highness.
The Kano people had shown sufficient love, affection and admiration to your late father. You must reciprocate that love irrespective of the circumstances of today. You must aspire to be on the right side of history. Your main preoccupation today is to see how you can help to bring rapid development to kano state.
The state needs desired investment in infrastructure, power, water supply, waste management and a number of others to enhance the economic wellbeing of the people.
In the end your Royal Highness, I wish you and your family Allah’s mercy and blessings. I hope Allah will accept all our prayers and supplications for the month of Ramadan. I wish you happy Sallah.
I remain truly yours Inuwa Waya.
