How selection of traditional ruler shattered peace in Gombe community - Mai Tangale

Perhaps, the race for a new Mai of Tangale (traditional ruler) started on November 7, 2020, when the now late Mai Tangale chiefdom of Gombe State and the then Chairman, Association of Northern Christian Traditional Rulers, Abdu Buba Maisheru II, announced the demise of his son, John, the Santurakin Tangale.

The development allegedly offered fresh angles into the selection process of a new Mai Tangale of Billiri in the Billiri Local Government Area of the state. A lawyer and an indigene of the state, Melah Ibrahim, said religion had never been an issue in the appointment of Mai of Tangale. Pointing out that Christians are in the majority, he added that out of the last15 Mais; 12 were traditionalists, two were Muslim and one a Christian being the late Maisheru.

He said, “Christians are the majority in Tangaleland. The percentage should be above 85 per cent Christians and less than 10 per cent Muslims. We also have people who are Tangale traditional worshippers. Being a Christian has never been a condition to be a Mai. The next Mai will be the 16th Mai Tangale. We have had two Muslim Mais, one Christian Mai and 12 were all traditionalists who practised the Tangale traditional religion.

“In the case of the late Abdu Buba Maisheru, nothing special actually happened except that the election was conducted twice. Mr Idris Maiyamba won the first election. Idris Maiyamba was the father of Dr Musa Idris Maiyamba. Shortly after he was declared the winner, Mr Alhassan Fawo went to court and urged it to inter alia declare him and other members of their family qualified to contest the position, claiming that their ancestor (Yila Asile) was once a Mai. The court ruled in favour of Fawo and another election was conducted. By this time, Idris had converted to Islam.”

Ibrahim added, “Some of the kingmakers felt offended by his conversion. Their displeasure was based on the fact that religion has never been a consideration in the process. His grandfather, Iliyasu, was elected by mostly Christian kingmakers but they never cared, same was done for Idris’ brother, Tafida. Consequently, the kingmakers voted for Mai Abdu Buba Maisheru II and that was how Maisheru II became the first Tangale Christian King.”

The Tangale tribe, stool

The language of the dwellers is Tangale but they also speak Hausa being the common language in northern Nigeria. It has 15 traditional rulers.

Ibrahim further said that upon the Mai’s death, the kingmakers who are members of the Tangale Traditional Council called on members of the royal family to indicate interest in contesting the position. According to him, after the expression of interest, an election was conducted by the kingmakers. He stated that the kingmakers were nine with seven representing the seven clans of Tangale including two other senior title holders.

In “Teach Yourself the Tangale Language,” by Rev. Samuila Kure, Tangale people are believed to have migrated from Yemen through what is today called Borno State. According to Ankalai Tiling, the Tangale people got their name from “Tangal,” a chief of Billiri. There are seven clans in Tangale namely Banganje, Kalmai, Nathe, Tal, Tanglang, Tangaltong, and Todi. Billiri is one of the clans in Tangaltong. The area called Tangaltong includes Billiri, Bare and Kantali.

The bloody protest

Our correspondent learnt that in the build-up to the process, Governor Inuwa Yahaya, supported a free, credible poll, and promised to support any eligible candidate. But the appointment of a new Mai Tangale led to a protest in the area by those who felt that the process was being manipulated. Women and youths blocked Gombe/Yola road crisscrossing Billiri council area and vehicles were forced to make hasty diversions or stay on the highway.

The protest last week reportedly led to the death of three, destruction of property and worship centres, thus forcing the government to impose a curfew in the area. The police also arrested some persons in connection with the incident.

A member representing Billiri East at the state Assembly, Rambi Ayala, said after the Mai’s burial, they hoped that the new Mai would emerge based on customs and traditions of the Tangale clan. Ayala who holds the title of Gamzakin of Tangale said he was surprised how things turned out.

He said, “But to my greatest dismay, things started taking an entirely different shape. As a representative of the people, we attempted to meet with the government to offer suggestions that may guide the process, especially when kingmakers started making distress calls to us about an attempt to induce them monetarily in favour of a purported government candidate. Historically, Tangale is a federated unit, with each kingmaker representing his people and holds their vote in trust. With the constant concern of the kingmakers over the attempt to induce them, we approached the chairperson of Billiri Local Government to convey their concern. She informed us that the governor assured her that the government had no interest in who emerges as the new Mai Tangale and that the choice of whosoever the people through their kingmakers elect would be respected.

“We were privy to correspondences between the traditional council and the government, where in keeping with laid-down traditions, it communicated the desire to elect the new Mai Tangale and went further to suggest a date but was told that the date chosen wasn’t convenient for the government. This development heightened anxiety in the land.”

Ayala further said that the governor earlier sent an Executive Bill to the house having taken into account the divergences in the state, noting that it was easy for the legislative arm to do the needful by passing it into law.

“Section 19 (1) of the law states that “Upon the death, resignation, removal or deposition of an emir or a chief, the governor shall approve the appointment of an emir or a chief on the recommendation of the Council of Traditional Kingmakers of the Emirate or the Chiefdom,” he stated.

Ayala said the election was conducted amid tight security, adding that “where even my humble self, a member of the House of Representatives, Victor Danzaria and some elders of Tangale of whom were Gen. S.A Audu (retd.), ex-deputy governor, Charles Iliya, Ambassador Salisu Ahmed, Gen. Nuhu Adeh (retd.) and many others were denied access to observe the exercise.’’

He added that they patiently waited outside for the outcome of the exercise, after which they were later informed that Dr Musa Maiyamba polled five votes out of nine, Alhaji Ahmed Magaji got two votes while Alhaji Danladi Sanusi clinched two votes in accordance with the customs and traditions of the Tangale.

He added, “The result was transmitted to the government, as expected, there was wild jubilation that a Mai has been elected. The mounting anxiety when the result was not officially announced eventually appeared to have caused the protest. On the second day of the protest, we were summoned to a security meeting at the instance of the deputy governor, Dr Manasseh Jatau.

“Far-reaching decisions were reached and it was our unanimous position (the delegation from Billiri) that the people were yearning for a declaration of the winner of the election and we pleaded with the government to consider it. It was also agreed that we return home and pacify the protesters. Our people called us names and labelled us sellouts. We were threatened with death. Indescribable anger was poured on us by women and youths and alas, our worst fears came upon us and things fell apart.”

Also speaking, a resident and public affairs analyst, Cliff Stanley, wondered why the governor gave residents the opportunity to suspect foul play by delaying announcement of the election result.

He said, “Embarking on a protest should not come up in the first place. Allowing people to read meanings into the delay gave room for unscrupulous elements to hijack the peaceful protest. Billiri has both Christians and Muslims who have been living peacefully as brothers and sisters. Recall that the election of 2019 brought about religious colouration. While I agree that the issue relates to politics, we cannot separate politics from ethnicity. The governor, those shortlisted and stakeholders in the chiefdom should all embrace peace. This is because the Mai Tangale is the custodian of his people and anyone who emerges will have to build the confidence of his people for peace to reign. You cannot hold on to the new without first letting go of the old.”

Ibrahim further said after two days of silence from the governor, women took to the streets of Billiri to express displeasure, calling on the governor to approve the appointment.

He noted, “After three days of peaceful protests, it became violent following an altercation between a group of women and some boys around the Galadima palace. I have strong feelings that the protest was infiltrated into and hijacked. The only reason anyone will hijack a peaceful protest is to defeat the purpose and give it a bad name. In every endeavour, there are people whose interest is to defeat a cause. Tangale people are accommodating and peaceful. I am sure that enemies used the opportunity of the protest to create problems for us.’’

On his part, Ayala appealed to the governor to save the town from what he termed ‘colossal embarrassment and a state of despair’ by doing the needful.

Also, the Executive Director of Pathfinder Peace Initiative, Mallam Ahmed Magem, who is Tangale, called on the Christian Association of Nigeria, Gombe State chapter, to support the rebuilding of a mosque which he said was destroyed during the protest.

Magem said, “For many years I have spoken long and hard about the dangers of people allowing religious sentiments to reign. The penchant for religious intolerance is rearing its head. Religious intolerance is expressed in discrimination, repression and religious rivalry. It leads to war and persistent hatred between nations and peoples.

“Events that took place in Billiri should be condemned by all sons and daughters of Tangaleland. It is an aberration and barbaric. Such should not have been allowed to happen.

“A delegation from Gombe South should visit all the affected people of Biliri and sympathise with them. There should be contributions from the people of Gombe South to support the affected persons irrespective of their status or religion.’’

On his part, the CAN Chairman, Billiri Local Government chapter, Rev. John Joseph, appealed for calm among the residents. He said the people of Tangale were not known to be violent.

Joseph said, “They should not take the law into their own hands as we would do all within our powers and the ambit of the law to ensure that the people’s choice is given to them. Government should do what is just, fair and right in the shortest time to douse tension and calm frayed nerves.”

His counterpart, the Chief Imam of Tangale, Ustaz Abubakar Abdullahi, said the Muslim community had always been at peace with their Christian neighbours.

Abdullahi stated, “When the late Abdu Maisheru became the Emir, nobody from the Muslim community protested. We supported him. Power comes from God. We will continue to support whosoever the governor appoints as the Mai. I want to appeal to the governor to compensate victims of the attack, many of which are Muslims and their shops and homes destroyed.”

Meanwhile, the state Commissioner of Police, Shehu Maikudi, said none of the candidates for Mai Tangale was from other tribes in the country, urging the residents to accept whoever the government chose as the Mai Tangale.

Maikudi said, “Efforts are being geared towards maintaining law and order. All we are trying to say is that we should give peace a chance. Everybody should endeavour to come to the dialogue table to see how the matter can be resolved because it is a simple matter. The Mai Tangale stool is not as if they are bringing an Igbo man or a Yoruba man to be a Mai Tangale. It’s someone from the locality, someone from the family. I agree that the scores showed one person had five and another got two but the prerogative is for the governor to make his selection.’’

The governor had said he would not be cowed into making mistakes.

Yahaya, while appealing for calm, said he had been involved in far- reaching consultations on the list presented to him.

He said, “I’m telling you in all honesty that I will not surrender my rights and privileges or power as a governor. As a governor, I have the sole authority to install, appoint, or depose any chief or emir in Gombe State. It is not my own making but it is God that made it possible for me with your support that whosoever becomes governor can do whatsoever. If he feels he has no conscience and will allow anything to happen fine and good. But for me, no way. I will do whatever it takes to give you protection, to ensure the spirit of the constitution is implemented to the letter.”