AS the current emirship crisis unfolds in Kano, many residents are left wondering which of the two embattled emirs will lead the Durbar festival, one of Northern Nigeria’s most significant and historic traditional festivals.
On Thursday, May 23, 2024, the Kano State House of Assembly amended the Emirate Council Law.
The amended law abolished the existing five emirates and restored the single emirate system in the state.
By implication, all the five emirs ruling at the time of the amendment were dethroned, and the state government reinstated Lamido Sanusi, who was deposed by the previous administration, led by the current national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje.
The APC produced President Bola Tinubu and the party controls more states in Nigeria.
Ganduje’s APC lost to the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State and the ANPP’s leadership vowed to return Sanusi as emir.
Sanusi’s reinstatement threw the entire state into confusion and the impasse has remained unresolved nearly two weeks after.
The state Governor Abba Yusuf backed Sanusi’s reinstatement but the decision did not sit well with one of the dethroned five emirs, Aminu Ado Bayero and his supporters.
He refused to relinquish the throne.
Two days after he was deposed, Bayero, who had been away from the city, returned to Kano and made his way to the Nasarawa mini palace, since the newly reinstated emir had already occupied the main palace in Kano, the state capital.
A Federal High Court issued an order restraining the governor from reinstating Sanusi as emir before Bayero returned; the governor ignored the order.
Relying on the court order, Bayero continued in his capacity as emir and expressed optimism that he would emerge victorious from the tussle.
“I call on the people to remain law-abiding as we await the pronouncement from the court in this legal matter. We call on the authorities to be fair and just in this matter. Kano is like a mirror and an influential state in Nigeria.
“Justice is the way to go on every issue. There will be justice. Nobody is above the law. We will accept whatever the law says. I appreciate all the people who have shown concern,” he said on Saturday, May 25.
However, two days after his return, the State High Court restrained Bayero from parading himself as the Emir.
More contradictory court orders followed, leaving many people further confused about the position of the law on the issue.
Pronouncements by the courts compelled the Chief Justice of the Federation, Olukayode Ariwoola, to summon the state Chief Judge and the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. The Nigeria Bar Association also described the courts’ injunctions as embarrassing to the legal profession.
The ICIR reports that as both emirs continue to hold separate courts, the date for one of Kano’s most significant festivals inches closer, and it remains unclear which of the emirs will lead the event.
Kano Durbar festival
The Durbar festival is usually held twice a year in Kano and some other ancient towns in Northern Nigeria, to mark the Eid-el-Fitr and Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
Kano is known to have one of the largest Durbar festivals in the country.
A colourful celebration that often lasts for three or four days, the festival is characterised by processions through the city led by the emir, a key player in the event.
The emir leads about five processions throughout the period of the festival.
On the first day, he leads a procession of men dressed in colourful robes and turbans first to the Eid grounds for prayers, then through the city, riding on horses in a parade that residents throng out to the streets of Kano to watch.
The processions stop at various points, including the Government House and other locations to pay or receive homage and for prayers.
One of the processions often has the emir making a temporary stop at the mini palace, which Bayero now occupies.
In April 2024, Bayero led the first Durbar for the year, and the second festival is expected to begin on June 16.
But with both deposed and reinstated emirs now sitting in Kano, and in light of contradicting court orders on the legitimacy of either, the forthcoming festival threatens to take a different look from the norm. Who will lead the Durbar?
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.