The Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero (MFR) last Monday, in his palace, sacked seven self acclaimed Yoruba Obas in seven local government areas of the state by ordering their immediate de-turbanning.
This followed the meeting of the illegal obas with the emir in his palace in which the traditional heads had accused the Oba Yoruba of Kano State, His Highness Engineer (Dr) Murtala Alimi Otisese of various misdemeanors.
The seven had approached the emir, Sarki Kano with a multiple page petition against Oba Otisese, accusing him of high handedness, and causing disaffection and disharmony among the Yoruba people of the state.
But in a twist of fate, the emir, in his reaction, expressed disappointment over the conduct of the seven Yoruba leaders, saying that at no time did he, as the head of Kano Emirate Council, appoint them as obas of the seven local government areas and declared that the petitioners, by parading themselves as Obas in their various local government areas, had violated the laws of the land.
He noted that since there is an Oba of Yoruba in the state, the other traditional heads in the various local government areas are Baales (district heads) and, therefore, subjects of Oba Otisese.
The first class monarch frowned on the petitioners’ action, recalling that in a meeting he had with them sometimes in the past, he had directed them to follow due process by presenting themselves to the Oba Yoruba of Kano State whose responsibility it is to install them as Baales after which he would lead them to his palace for royal blessings.
He noted that the state traditional institution recognizes only one Oba, adding that other leaders of the Yoruba Community are under Oba Otisese and, therefore, cannot be addressed as Oba.
The sacked obas are Alhaji Segun Oni, Kumbotso Local Government Area; Alhaji Olayinka Dagunduro, Nassarawa Local Government Area; Alhaji Lukman Abdulkareem, Dala Local Government Area; Alhaji Mustapha Abdullahi, Kano Municipal Local Government Area; Alhaji Muhammed Roji, Gwale Local Government Area; Alhaji Kassim Olokuta, Tarauni Local Government Area and Alhaji Abdulrazak Alfa (Haske) Ungogo Local Government Area.
