– The YPP presidential candidate in 2019 general election
said the attempt is to whittle down Emir Sanusi’s power and “quash
independent voice”
– The former deputy CBN governor called for the restructuring of
the country to allow traditional rulers function in advisory
role
Kingsley Moghalu has berated the creation of four new emirates
in Kano by Governor Umar Ganduje, describing the development as an
attempt to bastardise the throne of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi for
politically motivated reasons.
Moghalu, who was the presidential candidate of the Young
Progressives Party (YPP) in the 2019 election, made this known on
Friday, May 10, while speaking at the Sikiru Kayode Adetona third
annual professorial chair lecture.
The former deputy governor of CBN described the development in
Kano as an attempt to “quash an independent voice.”
He, however, posited that the traditional rulers ought to be
selected by the citizens and not the governors.
He said: “We have seen something happened recently in Kano
state, that is the emir of Kano’s throne has been balkanised and
bastardised.
”We know why; it is to quash an independent voice, so this
raises the question of the roles of traditional rulers.”
“The government should no longer appoint traditional rulers. Let
the traditional rulers be selected by their community and
recognised by the government.”
Moghalu, who raised an eyebrow against traditional rulers being
the “errand boys for politicians,” called for the restructuring of
Nigeria constitution in a way that will allow traditional rulers
play an advisory roles.
He said: “In a restructured Nigeria, with a new constitution,
traditional rulers should have a formal role, that is, advisory
roles. This is what we should do. We cannot make traditional rulers
errand boys for politicians and when they refuse to play that role
we begin to play around with them.”
He also called for the total restructuring of Nigeria, saying
the need is expedient as it will help empower people to demand for
good governance and accountability.
He added: “We need to empower our people to demand good
governance, accountability,” he said.
“Without restructuring Nigeria, It will be very difficult to get
local governance in Nigeria. What we should do is that there should
be two tiers of governance in Nigeria; the national government and
the sub-national government where the latter can then create
whatever structure they deem appropriate at the local level.
“The question of constitutional restructuring must be addressed.
We as citizens, who elected them, should take responsibility for
the failure of our government because if you want a restructured
Nigeria, then you should vote for a government that believes that
Nigeria is not working and needs constitutional restructuring.
“The reason we are still missing it in over 60 years is that we
still haven’t got good leadership.”