Amidst the festering Kano Emirate Royal Crisis, the alleged plots to unseat the Sultan of Sokoto, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during the last general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called for a clear cut constitutional roles for the country’s traditional institutions.
This is even as he has appealed to State Governors to accord all the necessary respect to the offices of Traditional Institutions, much as the constitution of Nigeria does not ascribe any recognition to them.
In a statement he issued on Tuesday, June 25 ,2024, on his official site, the Waziri Adamawa, noted that the traditional institutions had been part and parcel of the governance structure in the country, even before the advent of colonialism.
Alhaji Abubakar warned that so long as traditional institutions are unstable, the task of maintaining peace and order will continue to be difficult particularly in the local communities.
He insisted that the traditional institutions must be protected from the arbitrariness of Governors, who have been threatening their stability in recent times .
“Recent developments in the country have seen a growing tendency of State Governments exerting influence in distorting the modalities of enthroning traditional stools.
“It is a reality that stares us in the face from every corner of the country. While it is understandable that the institutions of traditional rulership is in the exclusive purview of the State Governments, although through the Local Government Authorities, it must be established that Traditional Institutions constitute a component of our governance structure .
“And thus, traditional institutions must be protected from the arbitrariness of State Governments that threaten their stability.
“When the structure of ascension of traditional rulers is unstable, it will become equally difficult to maintain peace and orderliness in Communities.
“Although, our constitution in its current format does not ascribe any recognition to traditional institutions ,yet our experiences show clearly that they perform enormous roles in the economic life of their domain ,as well as maintenance of peace and security in communities .
“I wish to remind that the traditional institutions formed the governance structure before the advent of colonialists.
“And they governed well. Consequently, they are institutions we must protect and preserve and not destroy.
“It is, therefore, on this basis that I lean towards the advocacy that calls for constitutional reform that will not just recognize traditional institutions in our body of laws, but also define the responsibilities of their offices .
“This reform is even more important in view of the collective drive to stem the ugly tide of terrorism and sundry security challenges at the local levels” Atiku Abubakar stated.
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