Prominent Traditional Leader, Wazirin Katsina, Resigns After Queried For Saying Buhari’s Home State Is In A State Of War, Others

Professor Sani Abubakar Lugga, the Wazirin Katsina, has resigned from the emirate council for making comments on insecurity without permission from the emirate, according to Daily Trust.

His resignation came after a query was issued to him by the Council. He was said to have discussed issues of insecurity at a strategic management retreat organised by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), last week.

In the interview, he was reported to have said banditry and insurgency have led to the closure of all schools and other institutions in eight local government areas of Katsina State.

He was also reported to have said that all the district heads from the eight frontline local government areas in Katsina had relocated to the state capital, adding that there was no single day in the last one and a half years that somebody would not be killed or abducted in the state.

“We are really in a state of war. It is more than conflict and the situation is more than you think. Forget about what you read in the media, I am there and I know the reality,” Lugga was reported to have said.

However, this did not go down well with the emirate council, which issued him a query.

In a copy of his response obtained by Daily Trust, the Professor replied to the three issues raised by the council and thereafter tendered his resignation.

“Yes, it is true that His Highness, the Wazirin Katsina, has tendered his resignation, but I want to you to know that the issues that led to his resignation were far beyond the recent happenings as a result of his talks in Ilorin.

“Waziri is a kind of man that would tell the truth to power, no matter how tough it is, and this is not the first time he would be making comments with the intent of letting the world know the true situation, but you know it is not everyone that wants to hear the truth and Waziri would sacrifice anything to protect his dignity,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

Speaking on behalf of the emirate council, Kauran Katsina, Alh. Nuhu Abdulkadir Rimi, confirmed the development, saying the resignation letter was received.

He added that the council would deliberate on it and make a decision on the matter.

Luga had said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration failed to curb insecurity in the country because he refused to use the strategy employed in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to him, Jonathan’s administration used mercenaries to fight Boko haram leaders like Abubakar Shekau, which recorded some success for the country in the war against terrorism. 

“There is no single day in the last two and half years that somebody will not be killed or abducted in the state. It is really a state of war; more than conflict,” he had said.