SOME CAUSES OF KANO RIOTS AND SOLUTIONS BASED ON STIMULATING ECONOMIC GROWTH
Being a paper prepared for Inuwar Jama’ar Kano
by
Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa B. Sc (HONS) M. Sc Zoology (Applied Entomology)
Director Research, Institute for Contemporary Research
(ICR) Kano
and General Editor Weekly Pyramid The Magazine
(ibrahimado@hotmail.com)
http://www.kanoonline.com/ibrahimado/
Kano, Nigeria
© 2001
INTRODUCTION
Since May 1953 there have been many riots in Kano.
The ferocity of these uprisings and the human and
material cost has always increased. The nature of
state and elite responses has also been consistent.
The state always sets up a commission of inquiry with
a promise that it will never allow such a thing to
occur again. Whereas the elites always condemn with a
call for the government to take decisive action
against the culprits and sometimes the perpetrators
were punished. But why have these riots continue to
occur despite previous lessons and their threat to the
survival of the society?
Inuwar Jama’ar Kano (Kano Forum), which is part of the
civil society should as a matter of public
responsibility try to find out the reasons for the
persistent occurrence of riots in Kano. Since it is an
independent organization it is expected to analyze
issues objectively and advice the state and the
society without fear or favor. Anything short of this
will be violation of Divine injunction. To achieve
this noble objective the organization will have to
commission researchers to investigate the causes of
these riots. The research will involve both library
and field work. This short piece is just a preliminary
survey of some of the causes with a few suggestions
that may help in reducing social tensions.
SOME OF THE CAUSES OF KANO RIOTS
The following could be identified as some of the
numerous causes of Kano riots over in the last half a
century:
History
Kano and other parts of the Sokoto Caliphate were
defeated in a military encounter with the British
imperialists and were subsequently incorporated into
the British Empire. Colonial rule was a Western
Christian innovation of dominating other peoples. The
intention of the colonialists was primarily to exploit
the resources of the colonized people without any
regard to human sufferings based on their
epistemological vision. Part of that scheme was the
imposition of European culture as a facilitator of the
economic exploitation. Naturally all the peoples
resisted colonialism more especially Muslims. But the
Europeans were skillful. They made compromises as long
as their economic interests were not threatened. In
northern Nigeria they introduced indirect rule for
practical reasons. It was convenient for them as well
as for the native ruling class. The radicals viewed
this as the Anglo-Fulani alliance.
After establishing themselves as new masters the
British colonialists then began to demolish all the
existing institutions some of which were replaced with
European inspired ones while others were not replaced
at all. One of the first casualties was the social
welfare institution. Both Clapperton and Bourdon have
noted the operation of the poor rate system in the
Sokoto Caliphate under which the destitute and
students were taken care of by the state. The
colonialists abolished this system without any
replacement despite resistance from the emirate
authorities.
Another casualty was the Shari’ah legal system. It was
bastardized and reduced to the levels acceptable to
the British. That was not all the British tried to
encourage the Emirs to use siyasa (politics) as a
means of independent judgment so that Shari'ah could
be abrogated but to his eternal credit Sarkin Kano
Abbas resisted. The British made the introduction of
the penal code a condition for granting independence.
The penal code is a syncretization of Shari'ah and
English law because it accepted some of the crimes
recognized by the Shari'ah but adopted different
procedures and punishments. Sardauna has documented in
his autobiography that the British made it clear that
there will be no foreign investments unless this
"reform" was made. Forty years after independence and
the penal code in the north, foreign investments have
not been forthcoming and the states and federal
government are still soliciting for such investments.
And up to 1970, ten years after independence Muslims
were humiliated with a Supreme Court judgment, which
quashed a High Court judgment based on Islamic
personal law because it was incompatible with the
English Wills Act of 1870.
Meanwhile with the global resurgence of Islam and
expansion of Muslim awareness through community based
Islamic education provided by Islamiyya schools,
Muslims intensified their demand for Shari'ah and
restoration of their dignity. Most scholars have
agreed that it is only Islam that could mobilize
Muslims. Then came Ahmed Sani Yariman Bakura who
mobilized the Muslims and expanded the scope of the
Shari'ah by incorporating its criminal code as a
positive law of the state. All over Northern Nigeria
Muslims began to agitate for the restoration of
Shari'ah as was done in Zamfara State. Most of the
governors of the predominantly Muslim states had no
option but succumb to the pressure and with reluctance
restored the Shari'ah in theory.
As usual those who are against the Shari'ah had to
device the means of domesticating it as they did to
all other Islamic revival movements. Several
strategies were adopted. The most apparent is
propaganda especially against Ahmed Sani. They
capitalized on his weaknesses by downplaying his
egalitarian successes. When that failed they resorted
to political thuggery and intimidation. During one of
those encounters the beneficiaries of Zamfara loan
scheme came to his rescue especially those who were
given credit to purchase donkeys.
It has been alleged that Kano State government made
several attempts to break the solidarity among the
Ulama, which was one of the dividends of Shari'ah
agitation. This was achieved by exploiting the Sufi
and anti-Sufi differences. The community-based hisba
(vigilant group) was truncated. Had this system been
empowered the 'yan daba (hooligans) may not have
unleashed mayhem after the genuine peaceful protests
have ended quietly. For as long as the state wants to
domesticate the Shari'ah through manipulation of
differences of groups along with refusal to empower
the community based hisba, there will always be room
for the break down of law and order.
The other area that suffered the colonial onslaught
was the educational sector. The colonialist introduced
secular education and made every attempt to obliterate
the Islamic education that was in place before their
advent. Products of traditional Islamic schools
(madrasah) who became Ulama (scholars) were not
accorded respect. At first they were employed as local
judges (alkalai) and district heads (hakimai). They
distinguished themselves as able administrators during
the reign of Sarkin Kano Abdullahi Bayero who listened
to their counsel. Later they were dropped. And things
changed to worse whereby a partially western educated
man could become a permanent secretary while an alim
(Islamic scholar) could only be a local judge or
district head.
The western educated elites ('yan boko) who received
secular training are largely responsible for the
present state of the society. They are totally
alienated from the people. They have even destroyed
the system that produced them. None of them take their
children or wards to public schools even those
involved in the management of such schools have no
confidence in what they manage. This can only happen
in society that is heading towards total collapse. The
schools have become breeding grounds of 'yan daba. The
products of such schools hardly pass qualifying
examinations. Western educated elites have betrayed
the trust of the people, but they always complain and
blame others. They think the solution is blind
imitation of the west.
Politics
Kano was the home of NEPU, the grass-root political
party that challenged the ruling class during the
colonial period and the first republic. It used Islam
to mobilize the talakawa (commoners) against the
ruling class. The colonial rulers used the native
authority for their indirect rule system. The talakawa
were oppressed through taxation, forced labor and
extortion. NEPU campaigned vigorously against
oppression by the ruling class, the talakawa listened
thus the legitimacy of the traditional rulers was
eroded.
PRP was the successor of the NEPU and it actualized
NEPU's dream by capturing power in the second
republic. It continued with the campaign against
traditional authority even though the later had lost
most of its power. The Emir maintained his dignity by
assuming community leadership.
Later the PRP was fractionalized because of internal
contradictions. Kano politics became tripartite. The
conservative faction made up of mostly those who were
in NPC, NPN, NRC and ANC. The second group, are the
successors of Mallam Aminu Kano also known as ta~~o.
The third group, are the followers of Rimi who broke
away from the PRP leadership and they are also known
as the santsi. The Maitatsine uprising of 1980 made
the menace of 'yan daba who are mostly armed with
traditional weapons more pronounced as each of these
groups maintained its 'yan banga (body guards) who were
recruited from the 'yan daba. Violence between these
groups remained more rampant during civilian regimes.
And recently some politicians resisted the attempt by
hisba groups to contain the 'yan banga.
Politics in Kano eroded the authority of traditional
rulers at the grass root level or ward level (mai
unguwa-ward head and dagachi-village head) especially
in the urban areas. There is yet to emerge any
alternative to this leadership because elected
officials are always alienated from the people
immediately after election therefore they cannot
provide effective community leadership.
Economics
Nigerian economy since the colonial times has been
largely driven by export of raw materials this was one
of the aims of colonialism and even subsequent western
strategies of neo-colonialism and globalization. The
north especially Kano was a major producer of
groundnuts. In fact Kano produced half of Nigeria's
groundnut which was about half million tons during
peak periods.
Oil replaced agricultural commodities as the main
source of foreign exchange and government revenue.
The oil boom of the 1970's made the government to
neglect agriculture. Many of the rural dwellers rushed
to the cities in search of “greener” pastures.
Government at the federal and state levels formulated
policies for the revival of agricultural productivity
and poverty alleviation because the survival of the
society was threatened, as Nigeria became an importer
of food. Among these policies were the operation feed
the nation, green revolution, better life for rural
women and family economic advancement programme. The
present administration has launched its poverty
alleviation programme. Agricultural practitioners have
complained that they have not benefited from previous
programmes hence the present state of poverty
especially in northern Nigeria.
The federal government made attempts to encourage
industrialization in Nigeria through several
programmes and institutions such as NIDB (Nigeria
Industrial Development Bank), NBCI (Nigeria Bank for
Commerce and Industry) and NERFUND (National Economic
Recovery Fund), which was privileged to have a Kano
indigene as chairman. There is need to conduct
thorough research to know whether Kano has adequately
benefited from these programmes and institutions.
The people of Kano have been known for the “extensive
initiative and perseverance” hence they pioneered the
first textile industry in Nigeria. It should be noted
that even in the pre-colonial period Kano “was
probably Nigeria’s most celebrated textile exporting
centre”. Kano’s products were in high demand even in
North Africa and it was rightly observed that:
Almost as far as the Nile, and certainly in Southern
Morocco, the blue haiques and burnouse of semi-Arab
and Moorish tribes are the products of craftsmen in
Kano and Sokoto, and this ‘country cloth’, as, it is
called, is worth much more along the coast than any
turned out in Manchester.
The task before us now is that even if we cannot
produce better than imported items we should at least
be able to revive the spirit of hard work and
enterprise.
Private investors established most of the industries
in Kano. The regional government during the second
republic established no industry in Kano as it did in
Kaduna and Sokoto, which hosted the textile and cement
industries respectively. The Federal Government
established only one industry in Kano, the National
Truck Manufacturers (NTM), a commercial vehicle
assembly plant that was never viable because of its
dubious foundation and it has since closed down. But
in Kaduna, the federal government established a
fertilizer plant, a motor assembly plant and a
refinery. The last two are all functioning and the
refinery is perhaps the most important industry in
northern Nigeria.
Most of the industries established in Nigeria during
the oil boom era were import substitution based and
with the fall in oil prices, the value of naira
crashed, most of them collapsed because they relied on
imported raw materials. The worst affected were those
in the north especially Kano. This is because the
transportation cost from Lagos to Kano skyrocketed,
they could not compete with those in Lagos or Otta.
Since there is no railway, it will be difficult to
restore such establishments. Energy supply to Kano has
also remained epileptic. The cost of diesel, which is
used by generators, has also skyrocketed especially in
Kano, because the area is always deprived of
petroleum products. These and other reasons made many
factories to close and render their workers
unemployed. These people have migrated to the cities
from the rural areas during the good days. They have
given birth to many children. Who will feed the
children who went to neglected schools and passed out
without any qualification to proceed further or get
any job? It is in this light that we should appreciate
the ferocity of riots in settlements of factory
laborers such as Brigade, Rimin Kebe and
Kurna-Bachirawa. The state government has not yet
implemented some of the key recommendations of the
committee on resuscitation of industries for example
the state industries revitalization forum has not yet
met as recommended by the committee and accepted by
the state government since one and half years ago.
Most previous administrations in Kano have not
successfully initiated programmes that will revive
agriculture. For example there was a time KNARDA (Kano
Agricultural and Rural Development Authority) received
loan and purchased motor vehicles for use in offices
to convey children of the top management to private
schools. Nobody cared to question this flagrant abuse
of public trust. The money should have been used to
purchase agricultural equipment such as tractors. Many
local government councils do not have tractors and
those that have such tractors they have been
commandeered by the top officials. Many villagers do
not even have donkeys this has caused hardship to most
of them. In this era when one-piston tractor cost just
about $1000, farmers are still engaged in primitive
techniques. A man who cannot afford a donkey of _6000
will certainly send his child to beg because he cannot
feed him.
Even commercial activity in Kano has not received
significant encouragement from the government despite
the rhetoric of center of commerce. Commercial
activity in Kano received its first encouragement with
the establishment of Kurmi Market by Sarkin Kano
Muhammad Rumfa in the 16th century CE. Subsequent
leaders made contributions to the emergence of Kano as
a leading commercial center in the Sudan. For example
Sarkin Kano Ibrahim Dabo in the 19th century
encouraged traders to move from Katsina because of
Maradi raid. This was one of major contributing
factors that made Kano the richest province in the
Sokoto Caliphate.
With the abolishing of marketing boards no effort was
made by the Kano State government to ensure that the
farmers get a better bargain for their produce. Yet
Kano has the largest agricultural commodities market
(Dawanau) in West Africa largely built without
government assistance. There is no telephone in that
market and it is the responsibility of the state
government to present the case to the federal
authorities. Electricity is also not sufficient in the
market. Based on common sense these two services are
viable in the market. Lack of telephone has hindered
the provision of banking services, which is a serious
threat to security of life and property. The
flourishing of commerce will stimulate economic
activity thereby generating employment for people. It
is therefore the responsibility of the government to
encourage commercial activity. The integration of
commerce and craft industry during the pre-colonial
Kano contributed to the prosperity of the province.
Kano was producing 10 million pairs of sandals during
that period because of economic harmony. In this
modern era we should do better but we are receding
because of lack of ideas.
The problem of unemployment must be tackled or else
there will always be recruits for public unrest.
Leadership
The nature of Kano society, which is influenced by the
conditions enumerated above, produced the present crop
of Kano leadership. Who could be categorized into
traditional, religious, political, business and
retired bureaucrats (from civil, military and
organized private sector). All of them in one way
other have contributed to development of Kano and
their complacency has contributed to social unrest.
As stated earlier traditional rulers have been
traumatized because of their historical role during
the colonial rule with the subsequent emergence of
their radical adversaries as political leaders. They
seem to be happier under military rule. But they were
betrayed by the last military administration, which
refused to give them constitutional recognition. The
military ruling clique did this with the hope that it
will contribute to the return of the military since
the traditional rulers are important segment of the
elite. The traditional rulers have been cautious
because of the antagonism of the politicians. This has
not been in the over all interest of the society since
they cannot use their wisdom and wealth of experience
to criticize erring politicians and other leaders. A
society that is denied such criticism cannot be inward
looking and progressive. And despite the closeness of
the lower segment of the traditional leaders to the
grass roots with a potential for community
mobilization they are not empowered, because they lack
sustainable wage.
Religious leaders are the most respected by their
followers because Islam is the most potent tool of
social mobilization in any Muslim country. The
greatest weakness of the religious leadership is
sectarianism, which could easily be exploited by a
bankrupt political leadership. This exploitation could
lead to social unrest. Unless there is religious
harmony peace will never reign in the society.
Political leaders are the most powerful segment of the
society because they control the state and it has the
monopoly of the means of coercion used by its military
and police agents. They also control the economy
because the state has more resource than the rest of
the society. The nature of the society has made it
possible for bankrupt political leadership to emerge
like the executive of the third republic who got
elected because of fractionalization of the political
class that was unable to arrive at a consensus in the
SDP. It is not possible to comment on the present
political leadership because they still have a chance
to do better. More especially if the other leaders
pressurize them for the overall interest of the
society. Incompetent political leaders at the national
level could also cause disaster and social unrest at
the state level as observed by Alhaji Muhammadu
Abubakar Rimi in the New Nigerian of Friday 19th
October 2001.
The lifeline of Kano for the last five hundred years
has been its commerce, which reached its peak with the
madugu (merchant class) of the 19th century. The
greatest of all Kano business leaders was Alhassan
Dantata who had a taste of the madugu era and the
colonial period. He was a culmination of a successful
Muslim merchant who was not greedy; his major
contribution was the interest free credit he gave to
other merchants. He was closely associated with
religious and traditional leaders. This is the kind of
solidarity that is needed to revive Kano prominence
and not crude cutthroat competition that has almost
paralyzed domestic airline business in Kano and Hajj
operations. With the guidance and counseling of other
leaders (traditional, religious and political) the
business class could be made more responsible as was
the case in the past when the traditional leadership
and the Ulama guided the merchant class thereby
ensuring the prosperity of Kano. If the business
class takes the right decisions there will be
prosperity and more jobs and therefore less social
tensions.
As products of western secularist education the
retired bureaucrats also have their own peculiarity.
As people alienated from the society they always view
its problems from alien perspective therefore most of
the time the solutions they offer lead to failures.
They were the closest to the military ruling class who
patronized their services because of their wealth of
experience in public service. Some of their advices
contributed to the present state of affairs. The
politicians marginalized them since they have a social
base unlike the military. This has also not been in
the overall interest of the society because there are
many of them who are gentlemen of impeccable integrity
for example the promoters of Inuwar Kano. There is
great hope in members of this class if only they could
sacrifice and promote the truth through the
sensitization of the society since its civil organ is
not very active.
SOME SOLUTIONS
Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have agreed that
no society will succeed if it adopts another culture.
This ideology is called Kemalism after Kemal Attaturk
who tried to Westernize Turkey. The ideology failed
and Turkey became a torn country. Europe has refused
to accept Turkey since it is not Christian. The
Turkish leadership has remained humiliated as beggars
instead of assuming a more dignified and impressive
role as the leaders of the Muslim world based on their
history, geography, human and material resources.
Kano as a Muslim society must be inward looking. It
should be aware of its adversaries. But it must not
blame them for all its problems because that may lead
to total failure since without internal problems
adversaries may never succeed. In other words the
society must search within itself for its problems
some of which have been enumerated above. More
importantly it should learn from others because
"wisdom is an attribute of the believers they take
from whoever".
It must also be emphasized that relaying on only
“normative incentives for economic” development cannot
solve all economic problems. There must be “emphasis
on routine bureaucratic authority, merit,
specialization, material incentives for economic
effort and responsible leadership”.
This writer believes that the primary reason for the
existence of 'yan daba in as much as it has its roots
in the culture of the society it is essentially
sustained by material poverty. In this society
“poverty presents itself on a substantial scale”.
Therefore the “appropriate approach would be to begin
with institutional reforms accompanied by a basic need
strategy, followed by intensive employment promotion
and human resources development policies which could
then lead to economic growth and greater total welfare
without sacrificing anyone’s welfare in the process”.
It is not possible to totally eradicate poverty in the
society in the shortest time but it could be reduced.
This may be achieved by refocusing the development
strategy to include the small entrepreneurs because
one of the reasons for the failure of most development
plans is the “thinking big” syndrome. And it has been
correctly observed that:
In the process of thinking big, anything small was
bound to be forgotten. Similarly, most of the efforts
of the World Bank to reach the small farmers
(especially after the famous speech of McNamara in the
World/IMF meeting in Nairobi in 1974), did not result
in anything substantial. Aid agencies and more
recently the “Ngos” were unable to reach the small
farmer and, therefore, found themselves operating and
wasting resources in an environment, which they could
not comprehend.
It is a fact that the state government has no control
over macro-economic policies, which generally
determine the level of economic activity in the whole
country. But it could invest wisely, reduce
consumption and it could also provide incentives for
investments. These will stimulate economic activity
and in the long run raise the standard of living of
most of the people of the state since production will
be increased.
Poverty Alleviation
Several poverty alleviation programs have been
initiated in Nigeria by successive administrations. It
is the task of the government and relevant sections of
the civil society to find the reasons for the failure
of such programs.
For any poverty alleviation program to succeed it must
be comprehensive in approach this will mean “having a
program of well targeted transfers and safety nets for
those poor who are unable to work or suffer
deprivation due to some reason”. The strategy should
include promoting “the productive use of the poor’s
most abundant asset-labor. This requires economic
policies, market incentives, sociopolitical structure,
infrastructure and technology that are geared toward
those ends”.
Rural Kano is largely agrarian. Therefore a successful
poverty alleviation programme must be agriculturally
based. Experts have treated the problems of
agricultural underdevelopment. Those concerned must
digest such problems. But for the benefit of this
paper some of the problems must be identified. Some of
these are lack of inputs and poor linkage between
research institutes and the farmer because of
inadequate extension services.
Only about 1% of agriculture in Nigeria is mechanized
it is indeed a disgrace that forty years after the
Sardauna made the statement below no change has yet
occurred:
There is so much to be done to develop this country
that sometimes it leaves me quite dismayed. As I drive
along the roads and see the simple villagers in their
farms, I see what a lot there is to be done to raise
the standard of these good people to what it should
be. I see the men working in their farms with the same
kind of hoe that their fathers and their grandfathers
used before them. They are bent double over their work
in the blazing sunshine and their wives and children
come and help them. What can we do to make things
easier?
There are cheap Chinese tractors that could be
imported. The governments at state and local levels
have sufficient funds for that purpose as long as
there is proper co-ordination and vigilance by the
civil society to avoid over-invoicing. This was very
rampant during the military era when some tractors
were purchased for some urban local governments at the
cost of _7million for refuse disposal. And even now
some local governments are involved in over invoicing.
A conventional tractor is less than $15000 up to Lagos
port but it is sold to some state and local
governments at about and over _4million. A Chinese
one-piston tractor is about $1000 up to Lagos port. It
is a convenient machine for Nigeria because at least
it is more powerful than the Ox drawn plough. The
importation of Chinese tractors should be properly
backed with training of maintenance technicians.
Training their members and providing them with credit
facilities through the poverty alleviation programme
and other schemes will encourage co-operative
societies. Co-operative farming "is an application of
ideal brotherhood" and if properly coordinated it
could be "an efficient arrangement for agricultural
production".
There is much the state could learn from successful
credit schemes of Bangladesh and Sudan. In Bangladesh
the poorest people were targeted in one of such
schemes. It is the responsibility of the government
to study this scheme with the view of learning from
its successes and failures. Also in the Sudan one of
the Islamic financial institutions was very successful
in its credit scheme, thus there is the need to study
that programme so that the best strategies could be
adopted. Even here in Kano one of the organizations
from the Gulf granted loans to farmers. Both parties
implemented the agreements reached before the loans
were given. The debtors paid back the loan and the
creditors gave other farmers in other words it was
successfully revolved in the area. Therefore the
government and interested segments of the civil
society should study these projects and improve upon
them for the long-term interest of the people.
The government could also improve the animal husbandry
techniques in the rural areas because most of the
people keep livestock. It has been demonstrated in
some African countries that the income of poor rural
women was increased by teaching them basic techniques
along with the provision of hybrid livestock at
subsidized rate. An example is the operation cockerel
in Senegal. Even in Greece, which is a developed
country, the government has initiated a national goat
policy, to improve their stock and provide sufficient
cheese. In Nigeria NAPRI (National Animal Production
Research Institute) and other institutions have
conducted studies on livestock. It is the
responsibility of the government to link these studies
with the society for the sake of poverty alleviation.
This could be achieved by paying more to attention to
agricultural extension.
There is great potential for plantation agriculture in
Nigeria. Apart from the large number of trees of
commercial value that exist in the wild without being
exploited the government could also encourage the
planting economically viable trees under the tree
planting campaign. When Nigeria entered the world shea
nut business the market for the commodity crashed
because of abundant supply from this blessed country.
There is no commercial shea nut plantation in Nigeria
as in other countries. Most of it was collected from
uncultivated areas and from a few farms that have few
trees.
There are many trees and shrubs of economic value,
which are wasting away in the wild. A good example is
Ricinus communis Castor Bean (Hausa: Zurman). This
shrub is native to tropical Africa where it grows to
120m (40ft) or more. It is widely planted in temperate
areas as annual ornamental shrub for its large lobed
fan like leaves. In Nigeria it grows in the wild or in
farmlands but as a weed and not as a crop, most of the
rural farmers are unaware of its commercial potential.
Brazil, India and Thailand are the major producers of
castor beans. The global trade in this product is
about $5 billion. The United States alone imports over
$500 million worth of castor beans. This fruit
contains 45-55% castor oil, which is indispensable in
tanning of skins, production of cosmetics,
pharmaceutics and insecticides. In Nigeria no
commercial castor oil is produced and the industries
that need it relay on imported oil, which is very
expensive. The need to promote the production of
castor beans is beyond any emphasis.
Jatropa curcas (physic nut tree) known as Babulu in
Hausa is a potential source of income for rural people
if its production is encouraged. This tree is very
viable in afforestation because it grows on poor
soils. It could also be used in fencing to prevent
encroachment of animals because of its repellent
effect. However, its most important use is that its
nuts contain fuel oil. The energy value of the fuel is
only 3% less than diesel and it was used in Europe
during World War II but it was abandoned during the
subsequent euphoria of cheap oil. The cost of its fuel
used in motor vehicles was 163.4 FCFA (_7) per liter
as at 1993 compared to 300 FCFA (_13) per liter of
petroleum diesel in Mali, where they encourage its
production.
It may be wise to promote the extraction of diesel
from the physic nut because of the ecology of Kano and
the fact that for the last ten years the supply of
petroleum products has never been stable. In the rural
areas and poor sections of the urban areas most people
use firewood since kerosene has remained scarce and
risky because of adulteration. Felling of trees for
firewood is a major cause of desertification in arid
zones. Kano is very vulnerable to this environmental
hazard. The earlier the authorities realize this the
better.
The government could encourage export of these
commodities by training the entrepreneurs involved in
the business and also by establishing joint ventures
with them through the state investment company so that
they could have enough leverage to export. This is
necessary since most of them lack capital to export
thousands of tons of the commodities without which no
company outside Nigeria could open letter of credit.
Many of the traders involved in the business have
collapsed because they had to sell to middlemen in
Lagos who made more profit because of their capital
base.
Poor price for produce is one of the major problems of
farmers in many societies hence in most of those
countries agriculture is subsidized. But according to
critics of this policy the subsidies never reach those
who deserve them. Therefore it is the task of the
government to ensure that subsidies go directly to the
farmers this could only be guaranteed through a
radical institutional reform such as the ward
committees (or boards) suggested below.
The government through its investment company could
engage in joint ventures with agricultural
co-operatives, local governments and ward development
committees (or boards) for the establishment of key
agro-based industries. For several years Kano has not
fulfilled the dream of establishing a tomato factory.
Something should be done as matter of urgency. Canned
tomato is imported all the way from Italy and Israel
and it is one of the most profitable imported items.
It is the task of the government agencies responsible
to find out and make useful suggestions. There is also
the need to establish a pharmaceutical starch industry
through joint venture with any foreign company. This
is important for domestic consumption and security. It
will also utilize the abundant starch produced by the
peasant farmers in the state.
Social Mobilization
MAMSER failed because it was not rooted in the
cultural heritage of the people. It was a state organ
designed to perpetuate the domination of people by the
ruling class. Islam is the only ideology that could
mobilize Muslims hence the failure of other ideologies
in Muslim societies. Muslims in Nigeria will not forgo
Islam for any other ideology. Therefore the elites
most utilize Islamic values and institutions for the
benefit of the Muslims in this world and ultimately in
the hereafter.
It has been empirically proven that even in the US,
physical factors contribute just over half of all
output growth and one scholar "calls the unexplained
part the measure of our ignorance". The unexplained
part is the moral factor. It has been shown that
Muslims could "accelerate the role of economic growth
by greater use of moral factors". Economic development
could be reduced to "engendering internal change".
This is because the desire to grow is deeply rooted in
the human spirit hence Islam emphasizes spiritual
training, which "should be the highest goal of every
Muslim individual and society". The Muslim
intellectual Malik Bennabi stressed this when he
observed that the important economic issue in the
Muslim world "is that of harnessing the social force-
humanity, land, and time-in a project propelled by a
cultural will undeterred by any difficulties". Tahawi
has also shown that "invoking Islamic injunctions in
the context of development efforts will release
powerful forces from the masses". While Chapra
believes "that Islam envisages an economic system that
promotes human well-being and a good life (hayah
tayyibah) by giving the utmost importance to
brotherhood and socio-economic justice, and requiring
a balanced satisfaction as regards humanity's material
and spiritual needs". It has also been observed, "that
within an Islamic framework of work ethics, economic
accomplishment turns into spiritual achievement, for
the bounty of God is earned by seeking His
acceptance". From the forgoing there is enough
evidence to show that Islam "provides a strong
motivation of economic growth". It is therefore the
responsibility of the Muslim elites "to encourage
Muslims to regain their past glory, for when they
become aware of this, they will make concerted efforts
to achieve rapid economic growth".
The motivating factors for economic growth in a Muslim
society are established by Divine injunctions in the
Qur'an and Sunnah. Islam as the final message that
balances between the spiritual and profane "induces
growth promoting tendencies by encouraging the human
instincts of acquisition, provision, and enterprising
behavior". Islam "discourages such growth-inhibiting
tendencies as begging, sloth, the waste of time and
resources, and extravagance by invoking tendencies
favorable to economic growth". The injunction against
begging is contained in this Hadith transmitted in
Musnad of Imam Ahmad, which enjoined the believers
thus: "Beg not anything from people". The injunction
against extravagance is contained in the Qur'an (17:
26): "But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of
a spendthrift" and in this Hadith transmitted by
Bukhari: “Verily Allah likes three things for you and
dislikes three things for you. He is pleased with you
that you worship Him and associate not anything with
Him, that you hold fast to the rope of Allah and be
not scattered; and [He disapproves for you irrelevant
talk, persistent questioning and wasting of wealth]”.
Islam favors and encourages “growth-promoting
tendencies” with injunctions in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
For example in the Qur’an Allah enjoins the faithful:
“And when the prayer is finished, then disperse in the
land and seek Allah’s bounty”. And in the Sunnah it is
reported that: “Allah desires that whenever anyone of
you performs a job, he/she does it perfectly”; “To
earn an honest livelihood is a duty (ranking) next to
the chief duty (of offering prayers)”.
Muslims are encouraged to utilize natural resources
for the benefit of their societies in ways “that are
economically efficient and ecologically sound”. These
resources are available for the faithful and others as
contained in this verse: “And He made in it (the
earth) mountains above its surface, blessed it, and
placed therein provisions in due proportion, in four
days, alike for all seekers”. (34: 9). Muslims are
especially enjoined to utilize these resources for
improving their life as contained in Qur’an 7: 32.
Economic growth is essential for acquiring “the
material strength for the defense of Islam” as implied
in this verse: “Make ready for them what thou canst of
(armed) force and of horses tethered that thereby ye
dismay the enemy of Allah” (8: 60).
Islam encourages Muslims to trust each other and above
all to have good opinion of their Creator. This is in
the mutual interest of all Muslims, which is an
important means of achieving social justice. Therefore
“as a general rule, a transaction is forbidden if it
means gain for one individual but loss for another”.
Some non-Muslims scholars have even asserted that the
future belongs to those societies in which the people
trust each other and their institutions. Business
flourishes when partners trust each other. The
Northern Nigerian Muslim was trusted in all parts of
Nigeria because of his honesty. This was our greatest
asset in our relationship other peoples. It must be
revived if we are our to regain our lost glory.
The most important institution available to Muslims
for social mobilization is the mosque. This is because
among its many attributes the mosque commands a
position of high respect and love, for it signifies
the house of God on earth. “All able bodied Muslims
are expected to say their five daily prayers in the
mosque” within which “a divine atmosphere prevails”
because “people are worshiping, reciting the Qur’an,
remembering God, as well as learning, teaching and
propagating Islam”. These breed the impetus for
“change in the outlook, taste, and aspirations of
Muslims and make them more God-conscious” which is the
source of strength. If the Muslims are lucky to gain
Taqwa or God-consciousness then they have succeeded
because “it embodies the effects of many values, among
them trust (tawakkul), patience (sabr) and
thankfulness (shukr), all of which are important” for
moral regeneration. It was trust and patience that
ensured the success of all previous Muslim generations
of the Prophet (SAW), his rightly guided Caliphs and
even our predecessors who established Sokoto
Caliphate, the largest, most complexly organized and
most prosperous state in pre-colonial tropical Africa.
The mosque as an institution also provides an
excellent framework for achieving Islamic social
cohesion in terms of brotherhood and cooperation. This
is because in the mosque every Muslim “is a humble
servant of God and tries to respect all others”. In
the mosque the faithful “mix freely and enquire about
each other’s welfare”. This “produces a feeling of
love and cooperation, for the assembly is like a
single family: “And the believers, men and women, are
protecting friends of one another” (71: 9). The
faithful will ripe the fruit of this moral investment
and there will be social harmony and genuine affection
for each other as in the time of the Prophet (SAW) the
Qur’an has documented that: “And (moreover) He hath
put affection between their hearts: not if thou hadst
spent all that is on the earth, couldst thou have
produced that affection, but Allah hath done it: For
He is exalted in Might, Wise (8: 63)”.
From the foregoing it is clear that there are
sufficient provisions for mobilizing Muslims to ensure
socio-economic justice if only the leaders will
properly use the mosque by showing good example as the
past successful Muslim leaders did. This goes beyond
material decorations, what is required is attendance
and interaction.
Economic Development and Security at the Ward Level
The ward is the basic political unity in the state and
it is the closest to the people. For the society to be
successful it must utilize all the available human
resources at its disposal. By ensuring economic
development at the ward level with broader
participation government will be brought nearer to the
people. This is necessary for social harmony because
of the level of poverty in the society. Security could
also be guaranteed if the institutions at the grass
root are empowered especially with the participation
of most of the sections of the dominant elites in
community development projects.
Framework for Economic Development
One of the ways of ensuring a harmonious and
egalitarian society is by stimulating economic growth
at the grass-root level with active participation of
most of the representatives of the dominant elite
groups. Politically this will be in the interest of
the present administration if it acts intelligently,
because it will serve as an opportunity to reach more
people than it could ever anticipate.
The structure for running this programme will be based
at the state, local government area and ward levels.
The state and local governments should fund the
programme. A modest _4million should be provided for
each ward with 50-50 contributions by the two tiers.
The state government should immediately institute a
committee or panel that will identify viable ventures
for each ward of the state. After the completion of
this study the funds should be made available. It
could be assumed that agriculture and plantation
forestry will be more viable in most of the rural
wards while commerce and industry may be more viable
in the urban wards. Therefore the state government
should explore the possibility of establishing with
some experts a tractor assembly plant using Chinese
technology with proper management, technical and
maintenance agreements.
Structure and Functions of Development Boards
As stated earlier the development boards should be at
three levels as follows:
Ward
The board/committee at the ward level should be made
up of the following people who are representative of
broad spectrum of the dominant elite groups:
1. Chairman appointed by the local government
chairman.
2. Elected councilor of the ward.
3. Mai-Unguwa or ward head and if they are more than
one they should rotate after every two years.
4. Imam of the ward and if they are more than one they
should rotate after every two years.
5. Two Representatives of community based
organizations (CBOs) to be nominated by them.
6. Representative of the business community to be
appointed by the chairman after due consultation with
the business class.
7. Administrative secretary to be deployed by the
local government service commission.
The functions of the board/committee should among
others include:
1. Establishing business ventures that will employ as
many people as possible in the ward based on
professional advice from the report of the committee
established for that purpose by the state government.
It could also hire/lease equipments such as tractors
to farmers.
2. Appointing and firing the managers and staff of its
business ventures based on merit after due
consultation with the local government board.
3. Appointing auditors for its business establishments
and ensuring that there is transparency in all
business transactions.
4. Distributing of all subsidies equitably in the ward
without fear or favor. These include scholarships and
agricultural subsidies as well as relief materials.
5. Mobilizing the people to ensure enrollment in
schools and active participation in economic
activities. This could be achieved by encouraging
congregational prayers in mosques at the ward level
with special wa’az (admonishing) sessions every
Thursday as reported in the Sunnah of our beloved
Prophet (SAW).
6. Running Qur’anic schools by allocating resources
from the profits of its businesses based on
professional advice.
7. Managing waste in their wards by ensuring cleaning
ness and proper disposal techniques using basic
technology. In Egypt in the 1980’s the people use
donkeys and mules to collect refuse from house to
house and dispose of it at the appropriate sites
outside the city. A similar framework could be
established with the help of the ward committee
instead of disposing refuse on the roads to be
collected by heavy equipment, which have never been
efficient especially during recessions.
8. Encouraging the establishment of co-operative
societies at the ward level.
9. The board/committee should meet regularly to review
the security situation and advice the appropriate
authorities.
10. Any other function that may be assigned to it by a
local government bye law or law of the state house of
assembly.
Local Government Level
The committee or board at the local government level
should be made up of the following people representing
most of the dominant elite groups:
1. Chairman appointed by the state governor.
2. Representative of the local government chairman.
3. The Hakimi (District Head).
4. The Imam of the Local Government and if there is
more than one they should alternate after every two
years.
5. Two representatives of NULGE and NUT nominated by
them.
6. Two representatives of CBOs nominated by them.
7. Representative of the business community appointed
by the chairman after due consultation with business
class.
8. Administrative secretary to be deployed by the
state local government service commission.
The functions of the board/committee should among
others include:
1. Establishing joint commercial and industrial
ventures for the benefit of the local government
especially produce marketing companies to ensure
better bargain for local producers.
2. Appointing and firing the managers and staff of its
business ventures based on merit after due
consultation with the state board.
3. Appointing auditors for its business establishments
and ensuring that there is transparency in all
business transactions.
4. Supervising and coordinating the activities of the
ward boards/committees.
5. Any other functions that may be assigned to it by a
local government bye law or law of the state house of
assembly.
State Level
The board at the state level should be made up of the
following people representing most of the dominant
elite groups:
1. Chairman appointed by the state governor.
2. Representative of the Emir of Kano.
3. Chief Imam of the state.
4. Three representatives of the Ulama who will
represent the major sects in the state.
5. Two representatives of NLC.
6. Representative of Chamber of Commerce, Mines,
Industry and Agriculture
7. Representative of MAN.
8. Two representatives of NGOs.
9. Two members appointed by the governor based on
merit.
10. Secretary deployed from the state civil service.
The functions of the board should among others
include:
1. Supervising and coordinating the ventures
established under this framework with the view of
ensuring harmony and accountability.
2. Exploring the possibility of establishing a produce
marketing company and agro-allied factories in the
state in collaboration with state investment company
and other government agencies.
3. Appointing and firing the management and staff of
its joint ventures or affiliates.
4. Actively involving the governor in mobilizing the
people in the state. By visiting all the wards and
meeting the people where they should be implored to
wake up. The first colonial resident Cargill visited
1100 villages and hamlets in less than one year to
prepare tax assessment report. Therefore there is no
reason why all the wards cannot be visited for the
benefit of the society considering the network of
communication in this period compared to the time of
Cargill. The visits should only involve the governor
at his convenience other government functionaries
should remain in their stations and perform their
duties.
5. Any other functions that may be assigned to it by
the law of the state.
Guaranteeing Security Through Community Vigilance
As noted earlier the colonial rulers understood their
weakness at the onset of their rule thus they co-opted
the native ruling class under the indirect rule
system. The contemporary structure of the society made
the traditional rulers and the Ulama to remain closer
to the people because they are community based. The
Ulama are respected because of their pious status.
They officiate marriages and funerals at the
grass-root level. They also reconcile disputing
parties because of their status. This social capital
should be utilized by the society for the sake
ensuring peaceful co-existence. The masu unguwani
(traditional ward heads) are aware of the good and the
bad eggs within their domains. They are also aware of
any new arrivals that could foment trouble. They are
able to gather information everyday, which they pass
on to their superiors.
If the idea of the ward committee is acceptable it
could ensure a framework for harmonious security
network. This is because most of the dominant sections
of the elites are involved in the committee. There
will be no fear of oppression since the Ulama,
politicians and the voluntary associations are active
participants in the committee. It will also be
possible to check the menace of 'yan banga because the
politicians could be pressurized by other sections of
the elites who are members of the committee. This
could only be achieved if the top echelon of the
political class summons the will to check the menace
of 'yan banga because every faction has its own group.
The hisba should be empowered to ensure security at
the ward levels.
At the highest level the government should empower and
implore the police to seize illegal weapons especially
guns from those who possess them this is because
during the last riots and many others some people used
guns. This is very dangerous militarization and unless
it is checked, defenseless people will forced to
employ other means of defending themselves.
The Role of Inuwar Kano
This could be divided into two: advocacy and
sensitization and direct participation. The
organization has experience in both strategies and it
should also learn from others.
Advocacy and Sensitization
Advocacy in this respect means visits and interaction
with target groups and individuals. The target groups
should be leaders and the other members of the
dominant elite groups. Inuwar Kano could:
1. Hand over specific suggestions to His Excellency
the Governor of Kano State on practical ways of
ensuring economic growth so that more jobs could be
created. If the suggestion on ward committees/boards
is acceptable to the organization it can present it to
His Excellency, which is also an opportunity for him
to get more support at the grass-root level. The
organization could also advice His Excellency to
implement the recommendations of the Committee on
Resuscitation of Industries in Kano, which were
accepted by the state government.
2. Submit to the State House of Assembly, specific
suggestions on method of achieving socio-economic
justice through legislations, which are relevant to
the society. There has been very little or no
encouragement on this arm of the government to be
alive to its responsibility of ensuring the
flourishing of democracy through egalitarian policies.
3. Host an interactive seminar with the Ulama with the
view of understanding their position on the solutions
to societal problems.
4. Visiting His Highness the Emir of Kano and seeking
his fatherly advice on how best the masu ungwani,
dagatai and hakimai could be incorporated in the
vanguard for moral regeneration of the society.
Sensitization in this respect means reaching out to
the larger segment of the society so that attitudinal
change could be achieved. The following are some of
the ways of achieving this goal:
1. Radio and television programmes by commissioned
experts especially the Ulama, retired public servants
and artists. The possibility of using the home video
industry should be critically explored because of its
seeming wide appeal amongst the youth and married
ladies.
2. Hosting of youth camps during long vacation for
leadership and citizenship training for students with
special emphasis on Islamic moral regeneration. The
Scout jamborees, Man’O War Bay camps and the MSS
institutions vacation programmes (IVC) achieved a lot
in the 1970’s which in turn helped in raising the
standard of education and morality in the case of MSS
during that period.
3. Sponsoring of public lectures in the mosques all
over the state because as stated earlier this
institution has the greatest potential of mobilizing
Muslims. The organization should seek the assistance
of His Highness the Emir in this regard because he has
the grass-root connection to the network of the
mosques.
4. Sponsoring of the publication of pamphlets that
have relevance to the society with hope of mobilizing
the elites and the masses.
Direct Participation
This could be achieved by harmonizing research and
development as in many other societies.
Research
Inuwar Kano has been involved in educational projects
this is commendable. And there is also the need to
extend its activities to other areas even within the
educational sector especially research. No society can
ever progress without research. The organization may
not have enough resources to conduct high tech
research but it should endeavor to explore the
possibility of collaborating with universities in that
area. But it has resources to conduct research on the
society. This is very crucial because it seems
outsiders know more about us than we know ourselves.
For example foreigners conducted the most
authoritative research works on Kano even though some
of them are biased. Most of them have been published
as books or papers in journals or chapters in books.
The following are some of the most influential books
written on Kano by outsiders:
Christelow, A. (ed) 1994. Thus Ruled Emir Abbas:
Selected Cases from the Records of the Emir of Kano's
Judicial Council. African Historical Sources, no.5
East Lansing.
Hill, P. 1977 Population Prosperity and Poverty. Rural
Kano 1900-1970 London.
Lubeck, P. 1986. Islam and Urban Labour in Northern
Nigeria. Cambridge.
Loimeier, R. 1997. Islamic Reform and Political Change
in Northern Nigeria. Evanston.
Paden, J. N., 1973. Religion and Political Culture in
Kano, Berkeley, Los Angeles.
Smith, M. G. 1997. Government in Kano 1350-1950.
Boulder.
There are happenings within the society, which we fail
to acknowledge by refusing to study them critically
for example the Hausa home video and the so-called
Kano Market Literature. Already there is a course unit
in the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London on Kano Market Literature but
there is no similar effort in Nigeria. There is an
urgent need to study these new trends because it is in
our own interest or else others may study them and use
the findings against us and since we do not have
knowledge of them we may not be able to respond
correctly. Already some outsiders are utilizing this
medium to spread fasad (corruption). For example none
of the Hausa video film producers ever produced a film
with “Allah”’s voice but one of the outsiders has
recently produced such a blasphemous film and it may
go into circulation.
There is also the need to understand how culture
promotes technology more especially because of the
global trends in this field. We are lagging behind in
this respect but concerned individuals could play a
significant role.
Development
This could be categorized into Education, Agriculture
and Commerce and industry.
Education:
It seems Inuwar Kano is more specialized in this area.
But it is a fact that it met a major set back with the
creation of CRC (Community Re-Orientation Committee)
at the local government area levels. This is because
the CRCs are more concerned with spending allocation
from the government while Inuwar Kano was more
involved in mobilizing the community to assume a
positive role in education as in other parts of
Nigeria. The people became less interested in the
Inuwar Kano programme because of the politicized CRC
projects.
Inuwar Kano should continue with its programmes for
mobilizing the communities but at the same it should
be more innovative by initiating other projects that
have not received adequate government attention. I
have enumerated some of possible areas for
consideration by the Inuwar Kano in an article I wrote
in The Triumph, which were not considered by the
organization. But it seems NNDC is executing similar
programmes.
Agriculture:
Some international voluntary organizations have made
contributions to the development of agriculture in
Kano, which is the occupation of the vast majority of
the people in the state. Sasakawa-Global 2000 and
Jam’at Khairiyyat Islamiyya are good examples of such
organizations. Inuwar Kano can study the possibility
of making contributions to agricultural research and
extension for the benefit of rural people or even
making the results of research conducted by others
known to the public. The contribution of _250000
credit facility made by Jam’at Khariyyat Islamiyya is
not much in terms of quantity but its impact in the
village was remarkable. This could be appreciated if
we reflect that many villagers in Kano State cannot
afford a donkey of _6000.
Commerce and Industry:
There are members of Inuwar Kano who are experienced
and successful businessmen especially in areas where
our people are not well-represented for example spare
parts and printing materials. The organization should
also study the possibility of participating or
encouraging the establishment of some of the factories
mentioned above. This participation does not mean
investing all the resources of the organization in
such ventures. The experienced technocrats in Inuwar
Kano know this better than I do. As a test case Inuwar
Kano can establish joint ventures with some of its
business minded members who are experienced in
spare-parts and printing materials business. Inuwar
Kano should have the courage to trust its members or
others who are trustworthy.
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