MURIC urges calm, calls for dialogue on Sokoto’s controversial legislation

Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, has signed a controversial bill into law, which is seen as a move to limit the influence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar. In response, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for dialogue as the best approach to address the issue, rather than resorting to conflict.

This stance was expressed by MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, in a statement made available to Afri Reporters on Saturday, July 13, 2024.

The statement emphasised the need to unite and recalibrate the approach to address the Sokoto issue, adding that the move will be a prolonged effort, not just against the Sokoto State governor, but against all 36 state governors in Nigeria.

Professor Ishaq Akintola said further that the goal shouldn’t be limited to securing the sultanate’s freedom alone; all Nigerian monarchies are at risk as he highlighted the need to engage with lawmakers and the media to build a broader coalition and ensure the long-term protection of our traditional institutions.

He said: “Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State signed a new bill into law yesterday. The new law is widely believed to have the effect of diminishing the powers of the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar. (https://punchng.com/sokoto-gov-signs-law-stripping-sultan-power-to-appoint-district-village-heads/)

“While we are not comfortable with the new development, MURIC is of the humble opinion that confrontation at this point in time will only heat up the polity. We believe that dialogue should be adopted as the way forward in view of the intricate nature of the relationship between Nigerian governors and their traditional rulers vis a vis the Nigerian political architecture.

“The problem can only be effectively addressed by attacking its root. Every state governor has total power over the traditional rulers in the state. They have the power to hire and fire as stipulated in the states’ chieftaincy laws. That is why MURIC has been crying out against the dethronement clauses in states’ laws and calling upon lawmakers in each state to revisit that aspect of the law but no single lawmaker has listened so far.

“Even Nigerian Muslims did not pay attention to MURIC when we warned twenty eight (28) years ago that it was dangerous to allow the governor of Sokoto State to have the power to depose the Sultan. We argued at the time that although the Sultan is a traditional ruler in Sokoto State, he is more than that in the rest of the country because as the President General of the NSCIA, he is the leader of all Nigerian Muslims.

“In a paper delivered at the University of Ilorin in the year 1998, MURIC’s Executive Director warned that Nigerian Muslims would continue to suffer unbearable embarrassments unless the Sultan was given immunity from deposition. The paper was entitled, ‘Leadership Crisis in the Nigerian Ummah, A Case Study of the Challenges Facing Islam and the Muslims in the 21st Century’ (See Akintola, I. L., Islam and Muslims in Nigeria: Challenges of the 21st Century, Z I. Oseni, ed., Jimsons, Ilorin, pages 26-42, 1998).

“Also in a paper delivered on Saturday, 30th October, 2021 at a Sokoto conference organized to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Sultan, MURIC’s Executive Director delivered a paper captioned ‘His Eminence Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, 15 Years of Leadership: Progress and Prospects’.

“The 2021 paper urged Sokoto lawmakers to amend the section of the Sokoto chieftaincy law which empowers the governor to sack the Sultan simply by adding the words ‘except the Sultan of Sokoto’ to that clause. In spite of the loud applause which greeted the paper at the venue and promises of acceptance and application in the state’s legislature, nothing came of this effort. Even the publicity which followed the conference yielded nothing. An Emir chaired the session and he promised to give the Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly a copy that same evening.

“The Premium Times publication of 3rd November, 2021, (i.e. four days after the conference) quoted MURIC’s Executive Director as saying, ‘This is not about the reigning Sultan alone. It is about the progress of the Ummah…’ (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/493125-muric-salutes-sultan-on-15th-coronation-anniversary-seeks-immunity-from-dethronement.html?tztc=1). Yet nobody paid attention until there was a change of government on 29th May, 2023.

“We have gone down memory lane for four reasons. One, so that we may be properly understood. Two, to raise awareness among Nigerian Muslims. Three, to show for how long MURIC has been preoccupied with the fate of Nigerian Muslims, particularly the leadership of the Sultan. Four, to bring the heads of Sokoto politicians, their lawmakers and the rest of Nigerian Muslims under the same thinking cap.

“There is need for us to synergize, re-engineer and re-strategise on the Sokoto affair. It is going to be a long struggle, not against the governor of Sokoto but against all the governors of the 36 states of Nigeria. We must not target the liberation of the sultanate alone. All Nigerian monarchs are under threat. We must carry the lawmakers and the Nigerian press along.

“To this end, MURIC remains assured of the outcome of a tripartite meeting arranged by an influential Islamic scholar from the North about two weeks ago. The meeting involved the Governor of Sokoto State, the scholar and the Director of MURIC. Though virtual, the meeting yielded one positive fruit, namely, a pledge by the governor not to depose the Sultan. We are already seeking ways of leveraging on this to open the doors of dialogue among major stakeholders.

“We therefore seek the cooperation of all interested parties. The unique position of the Sultan is yet to be understood by all. Neither does the city of Sokoto appreciate its princely status and highly favoured position as the seat of the caliphate. It is our hope that Sokoto continues to enjoy that special status but that depends on the progress or otherwise of the dialogue.”

“For now what we need in Sokoto is dialogue. The bill has been signed into law but law is made by men, not men by law. Again, we must remember that the law is an ass. It will always carry what is placed on it. Charles Dickens in his ‘Oliver Twist’ called the law ‘an ass, an idiot’ because the law, when applied too rigidly or too flexibly, can be blind to the realities on the ground.

“Therefore, signing Sokoto’s new bill into law cannot and should not be the end of the story. It is simply democracy at work. The sons of Sokoto made the law. The sons of Sokoto will apply it to favour Sokoto and to protect the dignity and integrity of Islam. This great city called Sokoto must continue to rise. The seat of the caliphate will not fall. The legacy of Uthman Bin Fudi lives forever.”