Why We Did Not Create Bichi Emirate Council – Kano State Govt

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Kano State Government has said that Bichi could not make it as one of the newly created three second class Emirates in the State because it has no recorded antecedent as an ancient traditional enclave.

The Source reports that the State Government on Tuesday July 16, carved  out Gaya ,Rano and Karaye as second class Emirates.

The three newly created second class Emirates were among the five, including Kano and Bichi, whose first class Emirs were on May 23,2024 deposed based on the strength of the 2024 Emirates Bill that was  passed by the House of Assembly and assented to by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf same Thursday May 23,2024.

The dethronement of the five Emirs and the abolition of their Emirates paved the way for the reinstatement of Muhammad Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano, four years after he was  first deposed by the immediate past Government of Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, based on the now amended 2019 Emirates law.

The 2019 Emirates Law was also instrumental to the balkanization of the, otherwise, behemouth Kano Emirate into five.

The creation of the three new second class Emirates from the ashes of the abolished Gaya ,Rano and Karaye First Class Emirates was sequel to the passage on Tuesday July 16 by the state lawmakers of the 2024 Emirates Establishment Bill,which was also signed into law same day by Governor Yusuf.

The State Government, on Wednesday, July 17, proceeded to appoint Emirs for the three second class Emirates.

Instructively, the deposed first class Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir, was returned as the new second class Emir of the Emirate.

Alhaji Muhammad Mahraz Karaye was appointed the second class Emir of Karaye. Before now, he was the  District Head of Rogo.

The newly created second class Emirate of Rano has Alhaji Muhammad Isah Umar as the Emir. He was the District Head of Bunkure .

A statement from the Governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, said all the newly appointed Emirs are to serve as second class Traditional Rulers.

Speaking on why the Bichi Emirates was not given the same treatment as Gaya ,Rano and Karaye which were  dissolved together with it as First Class Emirates, Haruna Dederi,  Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice noted that it is a well known fact that Bichi is not among Emirate Councils in the history of Kano .

According to him, Bichi Emirate was the creation of former Governor Gandunje for his political gains.

He said much as some people may not be happy that the area was excluded from among the newly created second class Emirates, they  should also be aware that Bichi has never been part of existing Emirates in Kano .

However, The Source findings have revealed that there may be more to the exclusion of Bichi than the Commissioner for Justice offered.

Impeccable sources revealed that the entire scenario revolves around pay back time for Governor Yusuf. It was gathered that the Governor, during his campaign visits to two of the deposed Emirs was accorded less than a friendly reception.

One of the deposed Emirs was said to have openly told Governor Yusuf campaign train that they were not welcomed and will never be supported for his ambition to become the Governor of the State.

“It was as a result of the shabby treatment meted out to him that he vowed to deal with them should he eventually became the Governor.

Besides, initially when the Emir of Bichi, Nasir Ado Bayero was deposed, he never posed any problems .But somewhere along the line he was persuaded by his elder brother Aminu Ado Bayero, the deposed Emir of Kano, to join in the legal challenge of the dethronement.

So, his involvement in the court battles, may have also cost him the chance of having a second class Emirate created for him in Bichi”,  a source who craved anonymity volunteered.

Governor Yusuf, The Source has authoritatively gathered, was more goaded in the Emirates creation exercise, by the need to compensate the deposed Emir of Gaya for the uncommon equanimity he exhibited during, and after the early days  of his dethronement.

” If you can recall, when all the five Emirs were deposed, it was only the Emir of Gaya that came out openly to accept the decision in good faith.

“He never posed any threat. That informed the fact that he was the only one among the dethroned Emirs that returned back, though at a  lower level.”