The news was received by the people in and out of Maiha, Madagali local governments and beyond with mixed feelings and as a surprise that Adamawa State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri was on Friday turbanned as the new Sarki Yaki of Mubi Emirate.
The fusion of a formal (elective) institutional structure (the executive) and the subjective, in the context, semi formal traditional institution in a personality has every reason to raise electorates’ doubtful concerns.
Every title has a history. Therefore, “Holding a high ranking (elective) executive position for which the traditional authority, whose functions, since the era of colonialism, is independent of government but answerable to the leadership, would in popular opinion amount to aberration in government and good governance?
“An elected executive of, turbaned for traditional responsibility in and to a particular Emirate in a state where there are monarchies of equal status and are solely independent of each other, raised the question as to what spectacular impact of the chief executive on the Emirate, that is so distinctive from the other monarchies to have warranted status of kingmaker status?” Yunusa Abubakar, a literary critic, would in more of an expostulation articulate.
Mubi Emirate is one of the Emirates and Chiefdoms in Adamawa state. For a chief executive of the state to identify self with an Emirate out of the traditional institutions in the state has the tendency to instigate a favouratist discomfort
Mubi Emirate covers the five local government areas occupying the northern senatorial district of Adamawa state referred to as the 5M, namely; Maiha, Madagali, Michika, Mubi North and Mubi South local governments.
The district head of Madagali, traditionally holds the title of Sarki Yaki Mubi as one of the core kingmakers.
There is a district head of Madagali, it is gathered, appointed by the former governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla, a.k.a Bindow, even though not yet turbaned.
What the people of and in Madagali would like to know is whether or not the appointment of the district head is withdrawn; whether or not the district head would no longer hold the title of the Sarki Yaki Mubi, derobbed of the monarchical vote.
The people of and in Jalingo-Maiha nurtured the feeling of being relegated. The seat of Ubandoma Mubi remains vacant over 8 years after death. The judiciary has been fair, in tune with the rule of law, equality before the law and fundamental human right, hence over four years ago when the case of the monarchy in Jalingo-Maiha was presented before the law, a High Court sitting in Yola ruled that the legitimate District Head, unlawfully denied, should be given the district headship as recommended by the Emirate Council.
Even though the judgement was without a stay of execution pending the determination of the Appeal Court, the governors did not respond positively to the court order by approving the appointment of the declared district head.
The governor has again not honoured the court order over two years after the Appeal Court determination, which reaffirmed the earlier High Court judgement.
The Jalingo-Maiha district head palace remains vacant for close to a year now in spite of the court’s mandatory injunction compelling the governor to approve the appointment of the district head.
It is worthy of note that the district head of Jalingo-Maiha is automatically the Ubandoma of the Mubi Emirate. Suffices to say that the Emirate has been without the Ubandoma even after the court judgments and the court orders.
Although the governor has recently approved the appointments of the district head of Pakka, Maiha local and other recently created districts in the state, the electorates in Mubi Emirate could not fathom the reason the governor would not abide by the court’s mandatory injunction compelling him to appoint the district head of Jalingo-Maiha, the Ubandoma Mubi.
Has the Emirate Council considered the stated scenarios while turbaning the governor as the SARKI YAKI?
This takes another story.
