The emerging issues surrounding the succession procedures of the revered stool of Attah Igala has become proper and ideal for mention considering the imperatives for a well established procedure in accordance with the age old and consistent traditional norms.
This write-up is essentially meant to iron out the creases, as much as it can possibly be done, in the face of the existing conflicts between the extant laws and supposed regulations on the one hand, and age old procedures on the other. This is with particular reference to the validity or otherwise of the Kogi State Legal Notice no. 2 of 2015 as contained in volume 1 of the state official Gazette, and the extent or otherwise of how the Gazette can apply for the filling of the palpable gaps and inadequacies in the pre-existing enactments on the stool with particular reference to the sustenance of the traditional rotational principle amongst the ruling houses, descendants of Ayegba the Great.
Here, the law is referred.
The Gazette published by the authority of the Government of Kogi State is defined as the Igala Area Traditional Council (Modification of Native Law and Custom) Order, 2015; Procedure and Regulation for the Selection and Ascension to the Stool of Attah Igala; and made under the hand of the Governor, on the 27th day of April, 2015. It is a subsidiary legislation amending and/or reviewing the Igala Native Authority (Modification of Native Law and Custom) Order, 1961, and made pursuant to Section 8 of the Chiefs (Appointment, Deposition and Establishment of Traditional Council in Kogi State) law no. 23 of 2006 – hereinafter referred to as the Chiefs Law, 2006.
It must be stated right away, that drafters of the Gazette have very noble intentions, and which, as disclosed in its provisions is for the maintenance of the bonds of unity and fraternity amongst the ruling houses of the Attah Igala dynasty. It aims essentially to reverse the exclusion of the ruling houses where direct sons of Attahs no longer exist as a criterion for aspiration, and include grandsons and great grandsons of Attahs and other members of the houses in lined with the principles of Equity and Justice.
But inspite of all its noble goals and tenets, aimed at addressing the inherent shortcomings and loopholes militating against the implementation of the pre-existing laws and traditions specifically on the issue of the rotational principle upon which the stool was founded, it has virtually no legal or traditional value in the determination of the selection and ascension to the stool of the Attah Igala.
The reasons are not far-fetched.
Firstly, the Gazette affirms its own status as a subsidiary legislation, (which is what it is meant to be, but unfortunately is not) and by its Explanatory Note sought to amend the Native Authority (Modification of Native Law and Custom) Order 1961. Secondly, it is not a subsidiary legislation properly so called, and thirdly, a subsidiary legislation cannot amend, review or modify an existing law. In other words, a subsidiary legislation, which is an inferior form of enactment not coming directly from a legislative act, derives its authority and validity from the parent legislation, and cannot therefore overturn or supercede the parent law as to seek to amend, modify or review it. This is tantamount to a son circumcising his father.
Fourthly, the executive powers of the Governor do not extend to the realm of making legislations of any kind, including subsidiary legislations. The Governor can only make executive orders pursuant to the Constitution, just as the President would. On no account, and for no justification whatsoever, can a Governor appropriate legislative functions to himself in a constitutional democracy going by BARON MONTEQUIEU’S time tested theory of separation of powers. To this effect, the legislature cannot validly delegate its law-making powers to the Governor.
Fifthly, the Igala Native Authority (Modification of Native Law and Custom) Order 1961 which the subsidiary law seeks to amend, is no longer an existing law within the ramification of the laws made by the House of Assembly of Kogi State. The said enactment, having not been validated or recognized under the Kogi State Chiefs Law, 2006 cannot be said to be existing within the body of the laws of Kogi state for it to apply for review or amendment under the Gazette. The Chief’s law, 2006 here is the parent law, which in its Section 37 (1) replaced the Kogi Chiefs Law no. 7 of 1992, and at the same time in the sub-paragraph 2 of the same section saved the provisions purporting that they shall continue to have effect as if same were made under the Chiefs Law, 2006. I think this is absurd – you cannot kill a bird and expect that it can take off and fly at the same time.
Sixtly, the Gazette purports to have been made pursuant to Section 8 of the Kogi State Chiefs Law, 2006. I find it difficult to align myself with this assertion in the Explanatory Note. Indeed, for me, it’s a resounding and unequivocal NO!
This is so because the provisions of Section 8 of the Chief’s Law 2006, are quite crisp and unambiguous, and I don’t see how the Gazette of 2015 derives from its provisions. Agreed, that the provision empowers the Governor to constitute a committee, the purpose of the committee is to make a Chieftaincy Declaration through traditional procedures pertaining to the stool to be submitted to the Governor for approval. The chieftaincy declaration is to state in writing the customary law which regulates the selection of a person to a recognized stool. The Gazette of 2015 is not a Chieftaincy Declaration, and it does not in any way evince any thought that its provisions emanate from a Chieftaincy Declaration. The Governor cannot on the purport of Section 8, constitute a committee, and usurp the functions of the Committee to state, the customary rule touching on a stool, via a Chieftaincy declaration, and have same published in a Gazette made under his hand, and expect same to be binding both on the stool and the subjects. That apparently, is not within the contemplation of the mandate or delegated authority given by the legislature, under Section 8 of the Kogi State Chief’s Law 2006
Section 8(6) of the Chieftaincy law, only states that such Chieftaincy Declaration shall have effect subject to the approval of the Governor in-council and be registered with the state government and the Department of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and nothing more. It is incontrovertible, that if the Gazette, purports to have been made pursuant to the Chieftaincy Law 2006, it is an obvious pointer to the fact that the Governor acted in excess of legislation which rather renders the Gazette complete nullity. Indeed, there is no nexus whatsoever between the Gazette and the law. Again, the Gazette is not a subsidiary, legislation, it is not even law at all. It cannot also be categorized as an executive Order, as executive orders are specific in their terms and must relate to the execution of valid legislations. It is not an order of the legislature, or a court of competence, or an official directive, instruction or mandate. It is, by all its intents and purposes, a worthless piece of document.
But, we must not discard the clear prescriptions of the Gazette and the imperatives embedded in its letters and spirit in terms of its purport to preserve the sacred rights of aspirants from the ruling houses on the basis of the rotational principle in tandem with principles of Equity and Justice. The quiet and peaceful emergence of Gaabaidu, through a credible process each time there is a vacuum is central to the existence and preservation of Igala land through the ages. We cannot fail to acknowledge this fact. The rotational praxis upon which the office rotates amongst the four ruling houses is also at the roots of its preservation and sanctity, and this, we must also acknowledge. The impediments or clogs which the Gazette aims at addressing are real, and they can be removed traditionally, and not by virtue of any impotent official document under the hand of the Governor. The sacred ingredients with which the Attah Igala is seen as Dominion and Principality of Africa’s Peoples and territories by Europe as far back as the late 17th Century must not be lost on mundane and parochial aspirations to the stool, as the long term implications are manifold.
The members of the royal houses understand this fact and the tragic end that awaits any usurper or desperado to the throne. My grandfather told me that much and I know it is true. By consensus, the traditional impediments against the rotation of the stool amongst the royal houses of the Ayegba Om’Idoko dynasty must be removed, and it can be done traditionally in a matter of days. The time is now. The Gazette and whatever is its purport should be kept in abeyance for now to be taken care of later and as soon as possible to forestall unnecessary and frivolous litigations on the stool. When all issues are settled and Gaabaidu returns from the hunt, efforts need to be garnered towards the evolvement of a valid and acceptable Chieftaincy Declaration on the procedure for the selection and ascension to the stool of the Attah Igala in the sacrosanct form and respectable manner it has been done for which it is known for centuries.
CHIEF FESTUS OGWUCHE.