The storm of royal objection brewing across Nigeria’s traditional landscape as the proposed National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, currently before the National Assembly, continues to face growing backlash over the controversial provision that seeks to make the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife permanent co-chairmen of the Council.<\/p>\n
In a strong-worded statement issued on Wednesday, Ambassador Ali Ocheni, Director of Communications for the Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC), denounced the move as \u201cdemeaning, flawed and historically inaccurate,\u201d urging lawmakers to retract the clause, which he claims threatens Nigeria\u2019s cultural plurality and federal equilibrium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of legislation that seeks to elevate one traditional institution above others \u2014 especially the Attah Igala \u2014 based on flawed historical narratives and religious affiliations, is deeply troubling,\u201d Ocheni stated.<\/p>\n
The Igala Kingdom, with its capital in Idah, Kogi State, is one of Nigeria’s most ancient and uninterrupted monarchies, dating back to the 9th century. Ocheni emphasized the kingdom\u2019s pivotal role in Nigeria\u2019s formation, citing a historic 1841 Deed of Cession between the Attah Igala and Queen Victoria, which granted the British a foothold in the Niger-Benue confluence \u2014 a key legal and diplomatic artifact presented at the Berlin Conference of 1884\u20131885.<\/p>\n
Ocheni warned that the bill, if passed in its current form, would erase centuries of traditional sovereignty and provoke tension among ethnic groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ignore such monumental history and treat the Ata\u2019s throne as peripheral is to re-write the story of Nigeria in favour of selective remembrance,\u201d he said, adding that even Sultan Muhammad Bello, the first Sultan of Sokoto, had acknowledged the independence and power of the Igala throne in his 19th-century writings.<\/p>\n
The Igala Kingdom\u2019s rejection joins a growing chorus of traditional voices wary of a national council that institutionalizes hierarchy among monarchs without consensus.<\/p>\n
Call to Action for Lawmakers<\/strong><\/p>\n The statement called on the\u00a0National Assembly\u00a0to:<\/p>\n \u2022 Amend the bill\u00a0to remove any clause assigning permanent leadership to any monarch;<\/p>\n \u2022 Recognise the Attah Igala as a principal royal authority with historical legitimacy;<\/p>\n \u2022 Uphold the\u00a0co-equal sovereignty\u00a0of Nigeria\u2019s traditional institutions.<\/p>\n \u201cNigeria is a Republic founded on Federalism, equality and mutual respect. Legislation must not sow discord among royal thrones that have always co-existed in dignity,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n The full statement reads:<\/strong><\/p>\n THE POSITION OF THE KOGI EAST ELDER\u2019S COUNCIL (KEEC) ON THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR TRADITIONAL RULERS OF NIGERIA AS CONTAINED IN THE BILL BEFORE THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY<\/p>\n We wish to express our objection and rebuttal to a provision in the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill 2024, before the National Assembly proposing to make the Sultan of Sokoto and Ooni of Ife the permanent Co-Chairman of the Council.<\/p>\n As bizarre as it sounds, we insist categorically on the imperatives for the preservation of our cultural underpinnings by upholding historical truths and the traditional sacredness of Nigeria\u2019s indigenous traditional institutions. This is essentially necessary to crystallize the ancient cultural heritage and historical significance of monarchies like the Attah Igala, which predates both the Sokoto caliphate, and the Nigeria Federation.<\/p>\n Suffice it to mention that the stool of the Attah Igala, ruler of one of the foremost traditional kingdoms in today\u2019s Nigeria has maintained its sovereignty and distinct identity for centuries. Thus, the idea of a legislation that seeks to elevate one traditional institution above others, (nay, the Igala traditional Monarch) based on flawed historical narratives and religious affiliations is demeaning to the great thriving traditional institutions and cultures that have flourished for ages on the country\u2019s political landscapes.<\/p>\n The Igala Kingdom with its roots tracing back to the 9th Century stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of its forebears who stood gallantly for its preservation and continuance through the turbulence of the past ages. While we applaud the objective of institutionalising the place of Traditional institutions in the governance architecture of Nigeria, we state categorically that it should not aim at capsizing the prevailing position and reality of the status-quo and hierarchy of these sacred ancient traditional institutions and the reverence that naturally attach thereto. The attempt at imposing a permanent leadership hierarchy over substantive royal thrones, such as the Attah Igala which flourished for centuries ever before Nigeria emerged is both historically inaccurate and conceptually flawed. It fails to take into account the diverse historical and cultural contexts of Nigeria\u2019s traditional institutions, and imposes a hierarchical structure that is unsupported by the country\u2019s constitutional principles of equality and justice. It also undermines the pluralism of the state structure and the principles of federalism that Nigeria is built upon, potentially creating tensions and conflicts between different cultures and traditional institutions. By creating a hierarchical structure that favors one institution over others, the bill is legally seen as a threat to the delicate balance of power and representation in the country\u2019s federal system.<\/p>\n Let it be placed on record that the Igala Kingdom is not a footnote in Nigeria\u2019s royal history, but a foundational pillar. The Ata Igala is a title steeped in antiquity, spiritual depth and geopolitical relevance.<\/p>\n Without mincing words, we state that the Igala throne has presided over one of the largest pre-colonial Kingdoms on the continent. It must be noted, (and this is a matter of documented imperial history), that in 1841 over half a century before the British formally began colonial administration in what became Nigeria, the Attah Igala in a Deed of Cession with Queen Victoria of England ceded control of territories around the Niger-Benue Confluence. This singular act provided the first formal basis for British colonialism as evidential proof of possession at the Otto Von Bismarck\u2019s Conference in Berlin 1884 to 1885 culminating to the concession of all other contrary claims by the contesting European powers on the territory. It equally provided the latitude for the presence of the British in the interior territories of West Africa thereby laying the foundation for the future amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria. It was this deed, lawfully executed and diplomatically significant, that gave Great Britain its earliest foothold in the vast region that would later become Nigeria at the aftermath of the Berlin conference.<\/p>\n To ignore such monumental history and treat the Ata\u2019s throne as peripheral, is to re-write the story of Nigeria in favor of selective remembrance. Further, history records that Sultan Muhammad Bello, the First Sultan of Sokoto and son of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio, in his correspondence and writings (Wathiqat ahlal-Sudan), acknowledged the power and autonomy of the Ata Igala, describing the Igala Kingdom as \u201ca people governed by a king of great authority and influence,\u201d in his description of unconquerable kingdoms.<\/p>\n The Sultan made no attempt to subordinate the Attah\u2019s throne to the caliphate recognizing the independent and sovereign nature of Igala Kingship even in his great writings in Usul al-Siyasa on the principles of government and dominions.<\/p>\n This historical recognition from the very foundational figure of the Sokoto Caliphate underscores the mutual respect that existed among the great traditional thrones and contradicts any modern attempts to impose a unilateral hierarchy that erases the principles of traditional sovereignty, inter-cultural co-existence and historical hegemony of pre-existing institutions.<\/p>\n Nigeria is a Republic founded on Federalism, equality and mutual respect. To legislate a traditional hierarchy that elevates certain monarchs above others by fiat, without the benefits of consensus or historical justification, is to provide disharmony, disrespect the cultural plurality of Nigeria, and sow seeds of discord among royal stools that have always co-existed in dignity.<\/p>\n Therefore, we call on the National Assembly in the interest of historical justice and national Unity to:<\/p>\n \u25aa\ufe0eRetract or revise any clause in the proposed bill that seeks to assign permanent leadership of the Council to any throne, unless by rotational consensus of all member monarchs;<\/p>\n \u25aa\ufe0eecognizse the Attah Igala as a principal royal authority whose contributions to the formation of Nigeria are legally, diplomatically and historically incontestable;<\/p>\n \u25aa\ufe0eRespect the principle of co-equal sovereignty among Nigeria\u2019s major traditional institutions.<\/p>\n We make this communication in defense of entrenched history, and honour. Suffice it to mention that the Attah Igala shall not be drawn into petty rivalries nor accept the revision of history by legislative fiat, but shall continually stand on the anchor of historical accuracy, cultural Justice and the dignity of the Igala Kingdom.<\/p>\n May wisdom guide our lawmakers, and may unity flourish through Justice.<\/p>\n Signed: The storm of royal objection brewing across Nigeria’s traditional landscape as the proposed National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, currently before the National Assembly, continues to face growing backlash over the controversial provision that seeks to make the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife permanent co-chairmen of the Council. 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\nIt is one of the most ancient, sovereign and uninterrupted traditional monarchies on the African continent that stood against time vagaries.<\/p>\n
\nAmb. Ali Ocheni, Director Communications, Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"