Despite a restraining order, Kano State Government, Saturday, hosted a ceremony of appreciation initiated by the newly appointed Emirs in the state to celebrate their appointments.
The event was held at the Indoor arena of the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofar Mata and attracted a modest population of celebrants from the affected emirates.
Speaking in Hausa and later in English Language, Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje recalled that the occasion was initiated by the four newly appointed traditional rulers who felt to appreciate the government over their appointments. In subtle reference to the order of the Kano High Court, Ganduje stressed that the Emirs had already received their letters of appointments and returned their acceptance letters early on Friday ,even as he added that the new law has already been gazetted by the state government printer on the same day.
Dr. Ganduje said that the creation of the emirates, in all its ramification, is well rooted in a strong foundation adding that the law now is irreversible.
The governor also gave reasons for the creation of the new emirates in the state, saying that Kano was too big in size and population to have a single, centralized emirate council.
“The challenges of development are too many, are too weighty to be left in the hands of a highly centralized traditional institution” said the governor.
He added that historically, Kano’s traditional rulers had been independent of one another, noting that the government took this factor into consideration. He appealed to the new traditional rulers to assist the government in addressing the issues of education, health care delivery, security and agriculture in their various domains.
He tasked them to take records of strangers and new comers in their midst, to ensure that every child in their domain attends a school, to push their people to devote themselves to commercial agriculture as well as to ensure that their people take due advantages of the health facilities in their domains.
While admitting that he was aware of the opposition to the new law, he urged the people to support the new law, while directing all the district heads and Ulamas in their respective domains to go and pay homage to the new monarchs by Monday.
In his appreciation, the new Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero pledged his determination to serve the people of his emirate, while promising to continue with the legacy of his father.