Zazzau Emirate: Disquiet in Kaduna over delay in appointment of new emir

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the delay in the appointment of the next Emir of Zazzau after the demise of late Emir Shehu Idris, whose death was announced on September 20, 2020.

Earlier, the Zazzau kingmakers – comprising Wakilin Zazzau Ibrahim Aminu, Makaman Zazzau Muhammad Abbas, Fagacin Zazzau Umar Muhammad, Limamin Gari Dalhatu Kasim and Limamin Kona Muhammad Aliyu – had shortlisted three princes for the throne including Bashar Aminu, Munir Jaafaru and Aminu Shehu Idris. The shortlist is based on a grading and voting system agreed and executed by the five kingmakers.

However, the recommendations of the kingmakers were jettisoned by Kaduna State government allegedly for leaving out some princes, including Magajin Garin Zazzau Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, believed to be the governor’s favourite.

Bamalli is from the Mallawa ruling house. Palace sources say some of the obstacles against him include the fact that he is neither a son nor a grandson of a former emir.

Though, it was also gathered that the governor, Nasir El-rufai, jettisoned the recommendations of the kingmakers over alleged inducement of some of the kingmakers.

Read Also: FG lifts ban on Emirates, says UAE will now issue visas to Nigerians

As the drama continues to unfold, a former federal permanent secretary, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has urged former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, to stay out of the Emir of Zazzau debacle.

This followed speculations that the former Kano Emir, who is also a former Central Bank (CBN) governor, is playing a key role in who becomes the next Emir of Zazzau.

While reacting to Sanusi’s alleged involvement, Baba-Ahmed said if Sanusi must get involved, he should advise his friend Governor El-Rufai to resolve the problem now and justly, noting that the governor is “boxing himself into a corner” and “his options are getting worse by the day”.

Meanwhile, a group, Zaria Progressive Minds, has asked Baba-Ahmed to focus on contributing his quota towards developing Zaria and the state in general as he has no moral justification to ask the former Emir of Kano to steer clear of the Zazzau Emirate issue.

Chairman of the group, Musa Wusasa, in a press statement on Monday exonerated the former CBN governor and Governor El-rufai of any wrongdoing and blame in the delay in the emergence of new emir, saying the Kaduna governor was being thorough to ensure a credible candidate with integrity succeeds the late Shehu Idris to consolidate the task of uniting people in the state and moving the Emirate forward.

There have, meanwhile, been insinuations in the state that a bill for the amendment of the emirates and chieftaincy is being prepared for onward submission to the state assembly.

Governor El-rufai confirmed the existence of the bill on Tuesday while presenting the 2021 budget before the state House of Assembly, saying his administration was working on the chieftaincy and traditional council bill which will be forwarded to the house.

“We shall be approaching the house with more bills to further strengthen governance in the state,” he said.

The governor disclosed that the Chieftaincy and Traditional Council Bill “will entrench the reform of the chieftaincy system, specify composition and classfification of emirates and traditional council and update the provisions of colonial laws and chieftaincy matters that we inherited”.