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Opinion

The Benefit of State Creation, By Adnan Mukhtar

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Comrade Adnan Tudunwada
Adnan Mukhtar Tudun Wada

 

 

On July 11, the Senator representing Kano South Sulaiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila sponsored a bill for the creation of a new state, Tiga State.

This is not the first time that people from different parts of the country are agitating for the creation of new states in their region.

The call for the creation of Tiga State didn’t start today ,During the regime of Late General Sani Abacha the creation of Tiga state gatheres momentum ,Insiders in the Presidential Villa confirmed that General Abacha have already made up his mind to carve out Tiga state from the present Kano state but due reasons best known to him the Late Head of state announced the creation of Zamfara state from the Northwest on 1st October 1996,even with that the agitation did n not die down , I came across agitators for Tigari State from Kano North and Tiga from Kano South while in Secondary school during the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ned Nwoko, a Senator from Delta State sponsored a similar bill for the creation of Anioma State.

Young men like me who are in their early 30s and not current with issues in the country may think that the recent move by Senator Sumaila was the first of its kind.

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There were similar requests for the creation of Okura state out of Kogi, Aba from Abia, Hadeija from Jigawa, Katagum from Bauchi, Karadua and Kafur from Katsina, Lagoon from Lagos, Borgu, Kainji and Gurara from Niger and many more.

In 2013, the House of Representatives received more than 50 requests for the creation of new states.

The creation of states began in 1967 when General Yakubu Gowon created 12 states after abolishing the regional system, General Murtala Mohammed 7 states, General Ibrahim Babangida created 11 states between 1987 to 1991 and General Sani Abacha created 6 states.

Some young men on social media were criticising the move by the Senator by expressing their pessimistic thoughts that the bill may not scale a second reading or get the assent of the President. They argued that such requests had never given any priority since the return to democracy 25 years ago. The idea of creating more states is dead on arrival.

Some are of the view that such moves require a very long process because constitutional amendment in the country is a very difficult thing.

While states in the country relied on federal allocation to survive, they can’t pay salaries and their internally generated revenue has been very poor; the creation of additional states is adding a burden to the Federal government at this time of economic instability.

Nigerians are facing the most difficult economic condition under President Tinubu. Sadly, the President doesn’t care to address this critical issue by going ahead to purchase a presidential aircraft that’s worth 150 billion dollars although the president has yet to increase the minimum wage, long queues at the filling stations, a bag of rice is close to 100k with a 30k minimum wage; I wonder whether the president is serious enough in attending to this matter of National concern.

Some of the agitators of this are seeking the expansion of platforms for their citizens to utilise their potential under a federal system of government.

It was not a wrong thing to come up with this idea but a constitutional right. I’m sure most of these agitators and bill sponsors are speaking the minds of their people.

Some people are accusing Sumaila of trying to divide the people of Kano. These sets of people are deceiving themselves. The people of Kano South have been crying about marginalisation and being denied the dividends of democracy since 2011.

Abubakar Rimi was from Sumaila in Kano South, he governed Kano in the second republic. Kabiru Gaya governed Kano in 1993 and since then, the people of this zone are yet to be given any chance to govern Kano.

They have also been crying that most of the developmental and infrastructural projects are been centred in Kano Central while abandoning the rural areas.

State creation in states like Kano with 44 local governments will enhance development and bring government closer to the people.

While I support the idea of having more states like in the US, we should put this at the back of our mind states are building blocks for development in the Federal system of government and will boost democratic governance.

Adnan is a political PR consultant, he teaches Islamic History, Culture and Civilization at Federal University Dutsin-Ma. He can be reached at adnanmukhtaradam@gmail.com

Opinion

Izala Sect: Crisis of Leadership, Accusations of Shiism Meddle in Polarising Its Members, History Repeats Itself

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By Yakubu Nasiru Khalid

Formally, the Izala sect was formed in 1978, created to eradicate innovation (bid’a) within the Islamic doctrine. It has a modern structure and leadership both at the state and national levels. Therefore, the leadership of the Izala has come with a well-structured and hierarchical bureau and the feeling that they are different from who they see as the “Conservative Islamic Group.”

The structure comprises three arms: the Council of Ulama, the Administrative Council, and The First Aid Group. Each of the councils has its own head and followers to achieve designed goals. Even with this structure, the sect experienced crises at both levels, which polarised its leadership.

The reasons attached to the polarisation of Izala at the national level later descended to many states where the organization has a large following. The reasons were multifaceted, from jurisprudence, political, financial, and external meddling to sundry issues.

Initially, there was a problem regarding the leadership of the organization, especially the question of who was the supreme leader of the organization between the Administrative Council and the chairman of the Ulama Council. At the time, the head of the Administrative Council was Alhaji Musa Muhammad Maigandu, from Kaduna, and Sheikh Ismail Idris was the chairman of the Ulama Council, Jos faction recognized Ismail Idris.

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The Jos faction rejected Maigandu for not being a scholar but a businessman, arguing that an Islamic organization should be led by a scholar, not a businessman. This added more fire to the crisis.

Furthermore, the Kaduna faction was very critical of some views and fatwas of Ismail Idris, especially those that dealt with the issue of bid’a. According to Ismail Idris, the followers of Izala would not pray behind an Imam who’s not a member of Izala, they would also not marry from the family of a person who inclined to Sufism and would not eat the meat of an animal slaughtered by a follower of the Sufi group.

The Kaduna faction was outrightly against these views and opposed them. Another vital factor that played a role in the split of the Izala group was the accusations and counter-accusations of financial management. Ismail Idris was accused of organizing in the Arab countries, and he was further accused of personalizing vehicles donated to the Izala sect.

In addition, Ben Amara argued that the eruption of the Gulf War in the 1990s between the USA and Iraq was another important factor in the polarisation of the Izala. The Jos faction supported the American invasion of Iraq because of the Saudi Arabian interest, while Kaduna supported Iraq. The Jos faction called Kaduna “Saddamawa” meaning (supporters of Saddam) while Kaduna called Jos “Bushawa” meaning (supporters of American interest).

The leadership of the Jos faction blamed Shia for the internal crisis of Izala and accused some Ulama of being secret agents of Shiism who were working toward dismantling the group.

yakubunasirukhalid@gmail.com

 

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Opinion

Gov. Yusuf’s executive order extending retirement age for HoS, Kano Assembly Clerk, and others unconstitutional

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Sani Usman-DanAbdullo, a Director of Admin and General Services at the Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids, KSACA, has written to the state assembly, seeking its intervention in the
Executive Order issued by Governor Abba Yusuf.

Mr DanAbdullo, in a petition dated January 6 and addressed to Speaker of the Assembly, Jibrin Ismail Falgore, recalled that the governor had in January 2025 issued Executive Order No. 1 of 2025, extending the service period of some civil servants.

According to him, the governor extended the service year of the Head of Service, Assembly Clerk, some judicial officers, Permanent Secretaries and a host of other staff in the state health sector for 2 years after they were due for retirement as of December 2024.

The lawyer also recalled that the state assembly had enacted a law fixing the retirement of staff at 60 years of age or 35 years of service, depending on whichever comes first.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, asserted that the governor’s executive order was unconstitutional, “since the House has already made laws which the order seeks to alter”.

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He noted that that executive order is not meant to alter, amend, modify or expand the law made by the legislature.

“This act, is, therefore, a clear violation of the principles of rule of law and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution being not only a clear attempt to usurp the legislative powers of this Honourable House, but to contradict the existing laws already enacted by it in exercise of its powers as such,” the petition added.

While dismissing a claim that the governor issued the order in the spirit of the Doctrine of Necessity, Mr DanAbdullo said there was no justification for extending the service years of the affected retired officers since there are many competent hands with adequate qualifications to be appointed.

“And as for the staff in the health sector, they can be retained on contract arrangement in line with the existing service law of Kano State,” the petition added.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, warned that the provisions of the Constitution must not be subordinated to any other law, and must not be subjected to the indignity of deletion of any section or part thereof.

“In view of the foregoing, I urge this esteemed House to employ all legal mechanism at its disposal to overrule the Governor’s decision in the act complained of, which is capable of setting a very dangerous precedent that will ruin the entire public service system of our dear State, if allowed.

“TAKE NOTICE Sir, this act of indiscriminate issuance of executive order, if allowed, will cause the entire Kano State the following catastrophic effects,”

The State Assembly failed to attend to the petition even if it means dismissing it for fear of the governor, if the petition is not attended to we will have no option but to go to court”. He added

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Opinion

The Movement (Tafiyar Matasa) and the Very Big Questions to Answer

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Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Yes, I am not some sort of social critic who would unfairly denigrate someone’s achievement for personal gain or political interest that I do not have. Thus, this is pre-eminently the right time to speak the truth to the members of my generation in Nigeria whether they care to accept it or not. But remember the truth is always truth and can stand alone.

No doubt that not everyone is happy with how leadership is running in this country, with the exception of those at the corridor of power. But this is not enough to be a raison d’etre to handle our dear nation to the hands of inexperienced youths. Forgive my pen for the use of “inexperienced”. Just because most of them have never been to real leadership. Of course, I am myself opposed to the exclusionary habit of the present politicians, they’ve relegated youths to the mantle of power but we have to cautiously control our faculty of thinking to avoid getting entangled in a lust for power.

I was very happy when I heard the idea of “The Movement” known as “Tafiyar Matasa” in the Hausa language. And of course, the genesis of the movement was attributed to the unavoidable “EndBadGovernance” protest of 1st August, 2024. The movement began immediately after the protest, in fact, it is one of the noticeable outcomes of the protest due to the unity it brought. The idea of the movement was preached and promoted by some prominent northern activists and social media influencers to serve as a last resort to the youths in their effort to bring good governance. No one can deny the fact this is a laudable effort. But the very big question supposed to be asked here is: youthfulness is the only parameter and yardstick to measure the caliber of a good leader? If yes, why Yahaya Bello (Former Governor of Kogi) and Abdurrasheeed Bawa (former EFCC Boss) were arraigned for looting the public treasury! The point I want to make here is, being young or old will not be a determining factor for an individual to be a good leader. We can have corrupt leaders within any range of age.

Another important issue to take into cognizance is the failure of some youths to comprehend the logic and existing distinction between being a good activist and being a good leader. Leadership is quite different from activism, therefore, a good activist may not necessarily be a good leader. It is common knowledge that the conveners of this important movement lack practical leadership acumen and organizational skills that are fundamental for successful leadership. Okay, should we handle our future to the trial and error leaders? We have to exercise extraordinary care when it comes to leadership.

Yet another problem faced by this movement is financial constraints. To be sincere and frank, the quantum resources required to run a great national political movement like this oversizes the pockets of the conveners. Another organic question to ask here is: where the movement conveners can solicit humongous financial resources? From the politicians they are castigating? If yes, this is performative contradiction!

Finally, I would like to remind my fellow youths that new breed, as the late Yusuf Maitama said, cannot solve the Nigerian problem. There must be mutual cooperation and understanding between the new breed and old breed. We must work together with them to acquire all necessary experience, knowledge, and practical leadership skills.

Written by
Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi
From Bayero University, Kano
Department of Education
Contact via 07065941454 or habu92hassan@gmail.com

 

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