The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Senator Shehu Sani, has stated that the lack of defined constitutional role for traditional rulers in the country has made them vulnerable to all manners of blackmail and ridicule.
Following the recent decision by the Kano state government to reduce the power and influence of the Emir of Kano, Mallam Sanisu Lamido Sanusi and also create other emirate councils in the state, Sani condemned in strong terms the action of the Kano state government in ridiculing the traditional ruler for political reasons.
Sani said, “The absence of clearly defined roles in the constitution makes traditional rulers vulnerable to the abuse of power, victims of blackmail and pawns and punching bags in the political chess game of their respective states.
“During elections, they are forced to campaign for their states Governors and the ruling parties in their respective states or risk being dethroned. Traditional rulers are expected to play major roles in security matters with no security votes other than handouts thrown at them by their states Governors.
“A traditional ruler who wants to survive must be stupidly loyal, dumb and humiliatingly subservient and one that must always distance himself from the political adversaries of the Governor in office.
“Traditional rulers doing a governors bidding can hardly be accused of aiding kidnappers or inciting inter ethnic violence even if its true. State Governors habitually creates political emirates and chiefdoms to settle scores or to reward loyalty or to reinforce their power base or for the purpose of divide and rule.
“The traditional rulers are also not free of blame, when most of them have bastardized and commercialized the institution by dispensing traditional titles to people in government and those that can pay.
“They create and sale funny titles with no historical basis, roots and antecedent and to people majorly underserving. Almost all governors parade one or multiple fake traditional titles given to them while in office.
“Traditional institutions have being largely desecrated by political interference, partisanship, erosion of cultural and moral values, materialism and outright violations and meddling, inimical and corrosive to the very ethical and moral component that the institution claims to possess.
“Without constitutional protection, traditional rulers will continue to be forced by their governors to behave like party Excos or political appointees or be ejected.”
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