What Is So Special About New Kano Emirates? Asks Borno Gov Shettima

Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has thrown his weight behind his Kano State counterpart Umar Ganduje, by taking a swipe at Nigerians faulting the decentralization of the Kano Emirate.

Shettima made his position known when the House of Representatives Committee on the Army paid him a visit at the Borno Government house as part of their oversight functions.

The Governor said while many other countries are bothered about developmental issues, the topical issue among Nigerians are that of balkanisation of Kano Emirates.

“Africa as a continent has met the agricultural and industrial edges and is now in the post industrial driven age of genetic engineering, robotic engineering. People are talking of going to Mars. The owner of Tesla was talking about flying Roadsters; while the topical issue in Nigeria now is the Balkanization of Kano Emirate into five emirates, that’s the topical issue; that’s what is bothering us as a people, a relic from the past. What is so special about the Emir for God’s sake?” Shettima said.

Controversies had emerged following Ganduje’s assent to a bill allowing the creation of four first-class Emirate Councils in the state which whittled down the influence of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Muhammadu Sanusi.

Borno State Chief Executive who is leaving office in two weeks, expressed concern that Northern Nigeria is always in the news for the wrong reason when there are more important issues that everyone should be worried about.

He said it is estimated that by 2050, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population would live in the North: “with desertification, deforestation, endemic poverty, pervasive illiteracy and 12 million almajiris we have provided the recipe for a perfect storm.”

Shettima maintains that there can never be peace without development and vice versa, and sermonized about how the problems facing the region was a perfect opportunity to deliver democracy dividends or risk having a democratic disaster that consumes everyone.

According to him, “education provides the best tool for addressing such challenges.”