The great jihad of Shehu Usman Danfodio ( holy war) of 1804, led to the establishment of traditional emirate systems in many parts of the northern region.
Shehu Usman Dan Fodio gave his Islamic flag to four of his students, these four students formed the four ruling dynasties of Mallawa, Bare- Bari, Kitsinawa and Sullubawa. Mal. Musa reigned Zazzau from 1804 – 1821 (17 years) and he was the founder of Mallawa ruling dynasty, Mal. Yamusa 1821 – 1834 (13 years) he was the founder of Bare-Bari ruling dynasty, Mal. Abdulkarim 1834- 1846 ( 12 years) he was the founder of Katsinawa ruling dynasty and Mal. Abdulsalam who was the founder of Sullubawa ruling dynasty.
The late emir of Zazzau Alhaji Dr. Shehu Idris was from Katsinawa ruling dynasty, who ruled for 45 years. The long time he spent on the throne has made people to even forget how new emir should be produced, and it might be the reason why our governor engages himself in reading past books on how past emirs were produced.
When our past emirs were produced, the system was not so much politicised and personal interest was completely absent or minimized.
There is a strong need for new laws on how new emir should be produced in the future. The throne should be rotated among the four different ruling dynasties, to give everyone a sense of belonging.
Only those holding territorial offices should be eligible to contest for the throne, this will drastically limit the number of the contenders and while selecting a new king, special marks should be awarded to those who are either direct sons or grandchildren to an emir to limit the competition.
I, therefore, call on Governor El-rufai to please only act on the recommendations of the kingmakers. He should also sample the opinions of the people of the emirate on the three candidates already forwarded and select anyone with the highest support.
Hasheem B Ahmad
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