By Editor
The recent claim by Aminu Abba Dan Agundi that a traditional stool is “permanent” is not just wrong it is reckless, legally baseless, and dangerously misleading. In a constitutional democracy, no individual, no matter their title, stands above the law. To suggest otherwise is to challenge the authority of the State itself.
- The Law Is Supreme Not Tradition
Traditional institutions exist because the law allows them to exist. Under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the power to regulate, appoint, or remove traditional rulers rests squarely with the State Government through the House of Assembly and the Executive. Any claim that a monarch cannot be moved defies the Constitution and is therefore meaningless. There is no untouchable throne in a Republic anyone claiming otherwise is speaking outside the law.
2. No stool is a private property. It is a public office held in trust for the community. When elected representatives, acting within the law, determine that change is necessary, that decision is final. Claims of “permanence” are an insult to democracy and the social contract, showing either ignorance or a willful disregard for the welfare of the people.
3. The Kano Emirate has never recognized an immutable throne. From the Sokoto Caliphate through colonial rule to modern Nigeria, monarchs have risen and fallen according to law and consensus. History proves that no title, however revered, is above accountability. To claim otherwise is to ignore centuries of governance and adaptation.
4. The law is the ultimate measure of authority. Any amendments or repeals by the Kano State House of Assembly instantly define the legal reality of a traditional office. To insist that a monarch is permanent is to confuse ego with legality a dangerous and untenable stance.
Conclusion:
We reject attempts to create confusion or suggest a “state within a state.” In a Republic, the law alone is absolute. Every monarch owes allegiance to it. Any claim of permanence that contradicts statutory law is null, legally meaningless, and politically reckless. Let this be clear: no throne, no matter how revered, is above the law.
Mubarak Aliyu is a public affairs analyst and writes from Kano Nigeria