Emirship Tussle: We’ll Fight Federal Govt, Enemies Wanting To Take Over Kano – Kwankwaso
Former governor of Kano State and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has made it clear that the people of the State are ready to fight the Federal Government and enemies of the state desperately creating an avenue to take over the state by default.
He accused the government of Ahmed Bola Tinubu of compromising Kano security by their refusal to take away heavy operatives guarding the deposed Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero.
Kwankwaso also accused the Federal Government of attempting to create a new breed of terror group and insurgents in the Northern Nigeria.
The former governor, who was reacting to the ongoing situation in Kano where federal security agencies are allegedly backing the deposed Emir Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, said: “there are people from Kano, enemies of the state, who also suffer mental illness and are the ones advising the Federal Government on how to take over Kano through a State of Emergency.
“This is the madness of the highest order that the good, peace-loving and committed people of Kano will resist.”
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony for the construction of 82 kilometres of rural road networks at his hometown, Madobi, the former governor said that the people of Kano would resist any attempt to undermine the constituted authority in the state.
“We are open to dialogue, truce and reconciliation, but we will not accept intimidation and political harassment of any sort.
“We know how to play politics and we have all it takes to protect ourselves from any evil.
“We have mass followership because people believe in us; we are pro-people and the NNPP administration is determined to serve them anywhere they voted for it.”
He said that as politicians: “we will not fold our arms and watch enemies of the state destroy the peaceful co-existence of our dear state, as we shall do everything possible to support the governor to succeed.
“I am happy that he is not distracted and is focused on achieving his goals.
Senator Kwankwaso stressed: “in the build-ups to 2027, some desperate politicians are already on a mission of disruption, but we will rather prefer the two of us to lose than to allow them to crush us unnecessarily.
“We dare anybody, who thinks he can victimise us politically, to be rest assured that we are ready for the fight.
“We are not afraid to be out of power because we will remain politicians in or out of government, we cannot run away from our destiny, we are humans, we know what is good for us and we will pursue it vigorously.”
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) national leader said that the Federal Government is listening to some unpatriotic politicians from Kano who would only contribute to its failure.
He vowed that the people of Kano would resist any attempt to undermine the constitutional responsibility of the governor by any individual or group.
Stoning In Jamrah By Muslim Pilgrims, Is There Devil In It?
“Afe lo so’ko as-shaytani”, meaning “We are going to throw stones at the devil”, said some Yoruba-speaking pilgrims from southwest, Nigeria, as they picked 49 pebbles on the floor of Muzdalifah, where they had passed the night and headed to Al-Jamarat.
Jamrah, which starts on the 10th Day of Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, the first day of Eid-el-Adha, is the fourth rite of Hajj. The first is camping at Mina, the City of tents; from there, pilgrims would move to Arafat for the climax of Hajj exercise and return to pass night at Muzdalifah.
So, the pilgrims would continue to exchange words over how they will deal with the devil once they arrive in Al-Jamarat as they take buses to Mina and then walk to the wall (although some pilgrims board trains to Mina), while others retain the old tradition of walking from Muzdalifah to Al-Jamarat, a distance of about 4 km.
The erroneous belief about the devil being stationed at Al-Jamarat doesn’t, however, emanate from only the Yoruba-speaking Muslims; it’s an old distorted terminology celebrated by the media, which in most cases fail to convey what it really symbolises other than scary reports of tragedy of the past years of stampedes.
For instance, Voice of America (VOA) headline once read: “Muslims ‘Stone The Devil’ as Almost Million-Strong Hajj Winds Down.” Nigeria’s The Guardian also captioned it as “Muslims ‘stone the Devil’ as almost million-strong hajj winds down”, among others.
The Guardian headline immediately generated mixed reactions from Muslims who considered it blasphemous to call the Jamrah rite “stoning the devil”, while the hate and intolerant non-Muslims used different derogatory terms to describe it.
But what’s really the Jamrah? What does it symbolise?
Al-Jamarat is a concrete wall or pillar where pilgrims symbolically throw 49 pebbles of stones as part of the Hajj rituals, which is divided into the three parts, namely Jamrah Al-Ula (The first stone pillar], Al-Jamrah Al-Wusta The second (middle) stone pillar] and Jamrah Al-`Aqabah (The last and biggest stone pillar).
It’s a three-day exercise that see pilgrims pelting 7 stones each on the first day at Jamrat Al-Aqabah., the worshipers pelted another series of 7 stones on Jamrat Al-Sugra, then another 7 at Jamrat Al-Wusta, finally Jamrat Al-Aqaba.
Evidently, there is no physical devil at Jamrah. More than anything else, what the pilgrims do by pelting the symbols of shaytan, the accursed, is that in their individual lives, they are rejecting the way of the devil. The pilgrims stoned the wall as a way of reaffirming their commitment to Allah and to the ethos of Islam (its laws, discipline, way of life).
The pelting symbolises the casting of all devilish inclinations in one’s life. It means all pilgrims that participated in Jamrah are affirming their rejection of the evil ways of life and reaffirming their commitment to the way of moral rectitude. That is why, as they throw the stones, they seek Allah’s refuge from the handiwork of Shaytan. Jamrah is a way of rejecting direct or indirect devil’s worship. This is the essence of it.
The concrete walls about 30 metres long and 18 metres high are not the devil. And in fundamental ways, they do not represent the devil. They are symbols. It all dates back to the time of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). These are the points where shaytan tried to dissuade and create confusion in his heart. It was at those points the father of faith, Prophet Ibrahim (AS) rejected the whispering and suggestions of the devil.
Therefore, the pilgrims only visit Al-Jamarat to symbolically reject devilish inclinations and suggestions. This is essential for the understanding of the general public. Everything that is done is symbolic, just like some of the other activities in the course of the performance of Hajj.