Traditional Institutions in Modern Government

SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE FIRST EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF NASARAWA STATE, ALHAJI (DR) ABDULLAHI ADAMU (SARKIN YAKIN KEFFI) ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL INSTALLATION AND PRESENTATION OF 1ST CLASS STAFF OF OFFICE TO THE 11TH EMIR OF NASARAWA. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, ALHAJI HASSAN AHMED II MNI, MFR, ON MAY 22ND 2004.

The installation of the 11th Emir of Nasarawa, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed II, presents itself as an epic and significant chapter in the long and interesting history of the Makama Dogo dynasty. As in the days of yore, we are gathered here today to celebrate the victory of one of the most valiant warriors of our time. From very small beginnings, this emirate has grown to be one of the strongest in contemporary Nasarawa state. We salute all those who have carried the touch of this dynasty as emirs and palace chiefs and have provided such exemplary and acceptable leadership among the people that Nasarawa emirate has now grown to become one of the major centers of socio-economic and political activities in Nasarawa State.

It is in this perspective of a rich cultural and historical heritage that I congratulate the 11th Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed II, on his successful accession to the throne of his fathers. The unity and consensus which attended your selection is an indication of your popular acceptability among the college of king makers and I am sure, is an indication of the breadth of your popularity among the people of Nasarawa emirate. Considering your sterling and excellent public service career, I am in no doubt that you are consummately prepared and suited for this lifetime service to the people of Nasarawa emirate and Nasarawa state as a whole. Permit me therefore to offer the best wishes of the government and people of Nasarawa state as you officially begin your reign as the Emir of Nasarawa.

The throne which you ascend to this day has a long history of service and contributions to the life of the ordinary people of Nasarawa emirate. These are the challenges which will occupy your time hereafter. The people will look to you to move the economy and politics of Nasarawa town forward. I am sure you understand that service to the people is a primary responsibility of leaders and that you will contribute your own quota to this most legitimate need of the people whom you have been selected to lead.

Nasarawa emirate used to cover a much wider land mass than it is today. Due to various administrative decisions, the emirate now covers a reduced land mass. However, the truth of the matter is that the strength and influence of the emirate has not diminished as these administrative restructurings have been implemented. Indeed the influence of the emirate has continued to grow in greater proportion as the land mass has become more compact. Those old alliances, which were part of the emirate, are still strong today as they were when they were entered into. We are assured that your tenure will bring innovations that will further consolidate the influence of the emirate in the state.

At this point, permit me to pay tribute to the immediate past emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Ramalan Abubakar for his enormous contributions to the growth of the emirate. Under his reign, Nasarawa became a haven of peace and tranquility. Economic and educational activities blossomed and the town grew in leaps and bounds. We salute his contributions and pray that Almighty Allah will grant him eternal rest, (Amin).

Traditional rulers have been and will continue to be an important component of our government. They are enduring custodians of our peoples’ history and culture. The institution which they represent is highly respected and revered by our people. No government can afford to ignore their relevance in administrative policies because they are needed to reach the grassroots. They have, in the historical development of Nigeria, weathered through the storm, in a manner of saying. Our administration, by the special grace of God, has continued to accord the traditional institution its due respect since we assumed office. We have consulted and included them in all our programmes and policies. They have offered us their time-tested wisdom. We thank them for their continued support.

We are however perturbed that the present Nigerian constitution makes no provision for our traditional rulers to bring their wealth of experience into modern government. Incidentally, when there are hiccups in the political system, traditional rulers are the ones who are invited to mitigate the crises. While we admit that the hierarchical command structure of defunct military administrations in Nigeria could not accommodate external structures, political administrations cannot afford to ignore the relevance of the traditional institution, especially that every community holds dearly to them. It is in this respect that I wish to make a clarion call for the present attempts to modify some sections of the 1999 constitution to make deliberate and concerted efforts to include a specific constitutional role for our traditional rulers. Our call is not new. You will recall that in the first republic, the constitution made specific provision for the existence of a house of chiefs. We would all do well to revert to this kind of traditional parliament where our traditional rulers would be able to advise government on important national matters.

In order to enhance the profile and relevance of the traditional institution in the state, our administration has listened to the requests of our people and upgraded and/or created chiefdoms. Our action was a deliberate attempt by this administration to give every community the needed environment to protect and preserve their cultures, norms and traditions with a view to placing them on a pedestal to articulate their development needs. Similarly, we have commended the process of providing matching grants to the various traditional councils. The one hundred percent matching grants and the taking over of the payment of salaries of first class traditional rulers in the State was done to ameliorate the hardships hitherto encountered by traditional rulers with a view to further enhance their status. Our actions in this respect have received tremendous applause, and as we traverse the state presenting these chiefs with their official staffs of office, the people have continued to show their gratitude for our actions. Indeed the problem we now have is the number of additional requests for chiefdoms which keep flooding our office. Government is aware of a few areas where these needs are legitimate and will address them in due course. Government therefore wishes to place on record the noble contributions of our royal fathers in the maintenance of peace and propagation of social development and other policies of government.

On the occasion of your installation as the 11th emir of Nasarawa, I call on you and indeed all the traditional rulers in Nasarawa state to join us in propagating two programmes of our administration. The first one is our policy on education. At the center of our policies since inception is to provide enlightenment for our people. Education is the greatest asset we can bequeath for our youth and generations yet unborn. The value of education in the national and international community cannot be quantified. It is for this reason that we have spent and continue to spend over 28% of our annual budgets on education. We desire that no legacy of our years of service to the people of Nasarawa state be as enduring as our educational polices. We have refurbished and reinvigorated every level of our educational system. E have made the first nine years of the school system free and compulsory. School enrollment at the primary level has almost tripled in our five years of office. We are cooperating with various international agencies to ensure that our children’s numerical and linguistic capabilities are enhanced at a very tender age. At the secondary school level, our students are passing their secondary school certificate examinations with flying colours. We have moved from a situation in which we could not find students to fill our quota in various tertiary institutions, to one in which the available spaces are not enough for qualified candidates. We have consequently expanded the breadth of available opportunities for our young secondary school graduates by improving facilities in existing tertiary institutions and establishing new ones where necessary. This necessity is the reason behind the establishment of our world acclaimed Nasarawa State University. Today, the requests for admission into the university more than double the number of available spaces. We therefore urge our traditional rulers to mobilize their citizens towards taking advantage of the opportunities that this administration has created for our people.

Secondly, we have introduced a policy that requires our adult population to be partners in the development of the state through the payment of poll taxes. We are overwhelmed by the open support and understanding shown by our people towards this policy shift. They payment of these taxes have begun in many communities around the state. While we have not experienced any problems in this area, we feel duty bound to call on our traditional rulers to assist us in enlightening our people on the fact that we introduced this policy as a way of given our people the opportunity to be joint stakeholders in the development of the state. We expect our people to understand that if they contribute to the public treasury, then they will have two advantages – one, they will have a legitimate stake in every project that is undertaken by the government, and two, they will be able to hold their elected leaders accountable for their period in office. It is for these reasons that we urge our traditional rulers to encourage their people to pay the prescribed taxes. We repeat, as before, that there will be prices for the best performing community in this area.

The rising incidents of communal upheavals in the country have recently shown their faces in the towns and cities of our neigbouring state of Plateau. The situation there is most unfortunate and a matter for deep concern and reflection. Our shores have become a haven for many internally displaced persons in recent days. We make a call on all residents of Nasarawa state to open their homes for these brothers and sisters of ours who have fled their homes with virtually nothing more than the cloths on their backs. We must show them that we can adequately come to their aid in their days of trouble. We must never turn our backs on them. I urge you all to provide succour to them as they flee their age-long habitations.

In accommodating them however, we must sound a clear note of warning that we will not tolerate any act that will disturb the peace and tranquility that has made our state their place of refuge. We cannot afford any act that will disquiet our towns and cities. We call on all our traditional rulers and local government officials to undertake a daily census of the displaced persons arriving their areas with a view containing any breach of the peace. Additionally, all local government chairmen are hereby ordered to hold twice-weekly security meetings in the areas of jurisdiction to enable them make adequate security arrangements to ensure that the prevailing peace is maintained. Any act by these internally displaced persons suspected to be capable of causing a breach of the peace or by people using our shores as hiding places to launch attacks on others should be reported immediately to my office.

I have listened attentively to the legitimate requests put forward by the Executive Chairman of Nasarawa local government with regards to the provision of social amenities to the people and wish to assure that this administration will address every request within the limits of its treasury. However, government is determined to solve the water problem in Nasarawa town and is in deep discussions with the Federal Government towards constructing an entirely new water supply system for Nasarawa town. Similarly, Government has made provision for tractors and farming implements to be distributed to as many communities as possible to enhance agricultural activities during the 2004 farming season.

I wish in conclusion to once more congratulate the people of Nasarawa emirate and in particular, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Hassan Ahmed II, the 11th Emir of Nasarawa on this memorable occasion. It is our prayer that your reign on the throne will bring peace, economic and social prosperity to the people of your domain. May God give you abundant wisdom as you now formally ascend the throne of your fathers.

Thank you and May God continue to bless our efforts.