By Bala Muhammad
“…if any sensible African is concerned about how colonial rule uprooted the prescient Islamic ethos of these empires and supplanted Western mores, one should also spare a thought for such resources that were expropriated in broad daylight ‘robbery’. So, it follows, that if the Caliphate was the custodian of the resources of its territories, which history shows to have been judiciously and justifiably expended, any “correction” by way of reallocating such resources to the original custodians should be in order.”
Lately, there was a lot of furore over the innocuous decision of the Sokoto State Government to procure a residence in Abuja for His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Saád Abubakar. As is now usual with social media ‘crusaders’, they soon made the matter ‘viral’, pointing accusing and accusative fingers in all directions. Many of the cyber comments were on the cons, and a few pros, and the propriety, and lack of it, in such action. The Waziri of Katsina, Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga, a very close confidante of the Sultan, is of the opinion that most of the commentators have little idea of The Station of the Sultan – who he is, what he is, and why he deserves a residence in the Federal Capital:
Most of our young people today, sadly, have not been taught their actual histories, which would have made them aware that the colonial successor-states that we have today in these parts of the Muslim World were, at one time in the past, independent, self-governing entities under the suzerainty of Islam. The pre-colonial Sokoto Caliphate and Kanem-Borno Empire, which today constitute a large part of Muslim Northern Nigeria, were at one time the biggest empires in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Before colonialism, all the resources and wealth of these empires were solely vested in the Caliph and his Emirs (in the case of Sokoto) and the Shehu and his Emir equivalents (in the case of Borno). It was the colonial enterprise that divested those considerable powers and resources from the Islamic rulers and reallocated them to the successor colonial and post-colonial establishments.
Therefore, if any sensible African is concerned about how colonial rule uprooted the prescient Islamic ethos of these empires and supplanted Western mores, one should also spare a thought for such resources that were expropriated in broad daylight ‘robbery’. So, it follows, that if the Caliphate was the custodian of the resources of its territories, which history shows to have been judiciously and justifiably expended, any “correction” by way of reallocating such resources to the original custodians should be in order.
Historically, all the Emirates under the Sokoto Caliphate had official guest-residences attached to all the Palaces for the Amirul Mumineen, the Sarkin Musulmi, the Sultan of Sokoto. In the early days of colonial indirect rule, the Sultan and all Senior Emirs and Chiefs and their entourages in Northern Nigeria were provided with guest-residences in Kaduna, the then Northern Capital City. Those residences still stand and serve the Northern Emirs and Chiefs and their supporting staff while on a visit to Kaduna. The residences were built by the Northern Nigerian Government and are today maintained by the respective Northern States’ Governments.
Currently, Northern States’ Governors have similar guest-residences in Kaduna and in Abuja, some of them very imposing and expensive. Perhaps one might argue that governors are the Chief Executives of their states and have roles and functions that make them to frequent Abuja, so they deserve such massive guest-residences. One may also wish to note that while a State Governor is leader of one state and serves only for a maximum of eight years in office, the Sultan is on a life-long appointment and the leader of over 90 million Nigerian Muslims and over 30 million others in the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali that made up the Sokoto Caliphate in its heydays.
It is also pertinent to know that the Sultan, Emirs and Chiefs are government functionaries by virtue of the laws of the Northern States. Therefore, all Royal Palaces are maintained and/or built by the States and or Local Governments in the Northern States. The Emirates and Chiefdoms Traditional Councils are also jointly funded by the States and Local Governments. Perhaps the advantage the Sultan and other Traditional Rulers in the Northern States have over the Governors and other political elected/appointed government functionaries is that of tenure.
Right from the day of his official installation, about eleven years ago, His Eminence the Sultan left no one in doubt as to his vision and mission for the exalted throne of the Caliphate, for the Muslim Ummah and for peace and harmony in Nigeria in particular and the world in general. He stated categorically on the day of his official installation as the 20th Sultan of Sokoto in 2006 that he is a father to all Muslims and a brother to all people irrespective of their ethnic or religious leanings; or their social or economic status. His vision was for Muslims and non-Muslims to live in peace and harmony with one another for the progress and development of our dear nation in particular and the world in general. His mission, since installation, has always been to ensure the cultivation and sustenance of his vision.
In his quest for peace and unity, the Sultan has been the most travelled traditional ruler contemporary Nigeria has known. Nearly all his local journeys were for making peace among the diverse ethnic and religious communities of the badly battered Nigerian nation, and nearly all his foreign journeys were for making peace the world over. He has attended and/or hosted over three hundred religious, social, traditional or cultural functions at his Palace in Sokoto, Nigeria and in all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria as well as in several other countries of the world in just eleven years.
The Sultan has also participated in over one hundred and fifty inter-religious functions locally and internationally; particularly on Muslim/Christian relations. As the Chairman of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, (with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, as Co-Chair) he has devoted a lot of time in seeing to the development and sustenance of mutual understanding and respect for one another by Nigerian Muslims and Christians. The Sultan and one of the most influential Christian leaders in Nigeria, His Eminence John Cardinal John Onaiyekan, founded a non-governmental organisation, the “Interfaith Initiative for Peace”. These positions continue to give the Sultan a respectable influence on Nigerian Christians; in addition to the influence he has on the Muslim community.
He has founded the ‘Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development’ for peace building, charity and development and operates in partnership with UNICEF and Bill Gates Foundation. It is on record that Mr Bill Gates, as the financier of the fight against polio world-wide, visited the Sultan twice to discuss and thank him for his effective leadership on the fight against polio in Nigeria. It is also on record that Nigeria achieved success in the polio fight only after the Sultan took over the fight and mobilised Nigerian Traditional Rulers on it.
The Sultan encourages traditional rulers to constantly dialogue with the Federal, States and Local Governments. He has also reconciled many warring traditional rulers with their home governments, thereby bringing about harmony and understanding between them. In addition, he initiated the presentation of a bill to the National Assembly with a view to creating appropriate roles for traditional rulers and for insulating them against partisan politics.
All these and several other roles and functions being performed by the Sultan make him frequent Abuja, as most of these activities are based in the nation’s capital. So he sometimes stays more out of Sokoto than in it. He meets with local and international leaders in both the public and private sectors more in Abuja than in Sokoto. That is why his subjects, including the Governors, were always concerned that a person with this status should be staying in a hotel whenever in Abuja.
Therefore, Sokoto State Government did the right thing. The Sultan indeed deserves a residence in the nation’s capital to continue to good things he is doing.
