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Shekarau & Kukuna: A Histo-critico
Analysis towards De-Theorizing the 2nd Term Jinx in Kano
By
Nasiru Wada Khalil
Kano started as a city state in 999AD
(389H), and from this time till date it has witnessed 56 traditional
leaders in the status of Emir’s, from Habe, Kutumbi & Fulani’s dynasty
the latter reigning up till present. Non of these traditional rulers or
leaders have had the chance of ruling Kano twice, despite the fact that
traditional authority is a life time phenomenon, nonetheless events of
abdication, dethronement, impeachment & exile occasionally disrupts the
life time tradition of the leadership in the traditional authority.
However such a case occurred in 1652-1-062H when Emir Muhammadu Kukuna
(1651-1652 AD- 1061-1062H) was dethroned and sent to Zaria and three
months later in 1652 re-emerged as the leader of Kano for eight years
and seven months i.e 1660 AD-1062-1070H.
The historical account of the dethronement
of Kukuna was not elaborated upon, what is known is, Madaki dethroned
him and installed his nephew Soyaki, son of Shekarau, three months after
Soyaki had ruled Kano, senior stakeholders in the then traditional
authority of Kano amongst whom were Galadima Wari, Dan iya Babba, Makama
Muhtar, and Sarkin Dawaki Gogori unanimously decided to remove Soyaki.
They secretly sent to Kukuna to return to Kano but should by-pass the
city of Kano to Gaya, where Sarkin Gaya would welcome him and then
accompany him to the city of Kano.
When Madaki heard the news of Kukuna’s
return to Kano, he asked the people of Kano the way out, and they
advised him to confront the Kukuna’s entourage before they entered the
city. They went and met them at Hotoro (now in Tarauni L.G. of Kano
State) from where the people of Kano left Madaki alone, while Kukuna
followed him -with a spear- down to the city. Madaki escaped, and Kukuna
went and met his nephew, the then emir of Kano and asked him to leave
(East, 1979. Dokaji, 1978. Hogben and Kirk-Green, 1966)
The socio-political lesson out of this
historical event is the fact that Kanawa have long been politically
strategic and conscious of who should rule them. They don’t allow
themselves to have an imposed leader by anyone irrespective of his
socio-political status. People of Kano always have a cleaver way of
incapacitating any form of political imposition. For instance, in the
case of Madaki, they did not object to confronting Kukuna and prevent
him from entering Kano but when they meet him they showed their stance
by leaving Madaki alone to face the situation which they were sure of
its impossibility.
The similar situation occurred 356 years
later in Kano, in 2007 but in a different form (indeed ‘softer’ form)
when Shekarau was elected by the people of Kano. However, this time
around, the majority of Kano electorate collected “Tsari” (political
jargon for election bribe) from politicians whom they regarded perhaps
as thieves or incapable of satisfying their political demands and
eventually voted for the one they liked or trusted.
Popular Jinx in
Adage of Kanawa
The people of Kano
have a lot of positive stereotypes and epithets that they use to praise
their State, for example “Kano Tunbin Giwa,”(Kano the stomach of the
elephant) “Kano ta Dabo Cigari ko da Me Kazo an Fika,”(Kano of Dabo the
conqueror) “Kano Jalla Babbar Hausa”(Kano the protector of
Hausa domain) and even in oral poetry as in “…Ginshimin gari mai Dala
da Gauran Duste Kanon Dabo Birni”(A gigantic city with Dala &
Gwauron Dutse-the large rocks- The Kano of Dabo, the city )(Mamman Shata,
song: Bakandamiya) and so on.
In a political sense,
the people of Kano especially at this present moment, are making praises
in the form of jinx, e.g. “Kano bargon wuta, ba’a yafaki sau biyu”(Kano
the blanket of fire) or “ Kano Rigar Kaya”
(Kano the gown of thorn) and so on, all in an effort to describe the
impossibility of ruling Kano twice. This jinx is usually facilitated by
people of the opposition party in order to discourage the potential
electorate, so that they can get the opportunity of winning election
against the incumbent.
Reason for Breaking
the Jinx: Meeting Political Standard of Kanawa
Kanawa have a certain
standards through which they accept or reject any political leader.
Political legitimacy is not based on the constitutional right, but
rather, on the following requirements.
1.
Decency: A legitimate leader
in Kano needs to be decent in his conduct, for leadership in the land of
Kanawa is seen as a Godly assignment i.e God’s representative, and as
such they view their leaders in a spiritual and less temporal manner.
One needs to be decent not only in utterances but even in his dress
code. This mindset was first explored by Emir Muhammadu Rumfa
(1463-1499AD-867-904H) the reason why he decreed the issue of Turban and
Gown as part of turbaning etiquette, of not only the Emir or district
head, but also the Alkalis and Ulamas.
This can be proved if
we look at the kind of reception one would receive on being properly
dressed in full Hausa regalia at the expense of ones peers with
different form of dressing. There is even an adage which says “Riga
ita ce Mutum” implying that decency is in the dress code. Malam
Aminu Kano (a nationalist and political icon from Kano) happened to have
this type of understanding that is why he always wears caps even when
wearing suits.
2.
Similarly using vulgar
language is not something liked by the Kanawa, even though while
one is making vulgar utterances they can laugh at him but disliking it
deep in their hearts. Use of vulgar language contributed tremendously
towards unpopularity of one of the civilian governors of Kano State.
3.
To live in peace & harmony
with the people of Kano, respect for leaders, especially traditional
leaders and Islamic scholars, is paramount, even if one where to
disrespect the wealthy people, it would not be going ashtray in the eyes
of Kanawa.
4.
People of Kano believe in
professionalism to the extent that they don’t usually compete with any
person who inherited a profession, even when at logger head with that
person, they would not confront him directly instead they would use the
person of this caliber for the said purpose, but don’t usually encroach
on other people’s profession or inherited disciplines.
5.
The Religiosity of the
Kanawa is their cultural forte. They are hyper sensitive to the
issue of religion, and they are always ready to submit their allegiance
to anybody who either seems to be religiously dedicated and/or,
especially knowledgeable.
Governor Shekarau in
his own person whether subconsciously or otherwise possesses these
features that the Kanawa have set as their political standard.
Thus, because Malam Ibrahim Shekarau seems decent, very respectful
especially towards the Ulamas & traditional leaders, as aforesaid,
together with the fact that he is also not the vulgar type, and above
all, religious, he’s admired by the Kanawa.
Any one with these
qualities, not only Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, and irrespective of where he
comes from, the people of Kano will respect him and can vote for him, or
rather, allow him to rule Kano, even more than twice.
In a nut shell the
issue of the impossibility of ruling Kano twice is unfounded and has no
basis in the history of Kano from whatever angle or direction. Many
examples in the area of traditional and modern leadership in Kano have
reoccurred on one person almost in every segment of leadership in Kano.
Therefore this jinx of Kano Bargon Wuta is just a concocted lie
and a political strategy of the minority.
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