Posted by One year after the death of Alhaji (Dr.)Muhammadu Kabir III, the Maigairi of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, the Lokoja Forum of Patriots has criticized Governor Yahaya Bello for failing to name a replacement Maigairi of Lokoja.
According to BANKPAWA, on September 28, 2022, the former Maigari of Lokoja passed away.
Alhaji Idris Babaango, the Forum’s chairman, and Alhaji Ali Danlami Ibrahim, its secretary, issued a joint statement expressing the group’s views.
Although the Lokoja Traditional Council has completed the procedure for appointing a new monarch in accordance with the existing regulations directing the nomination and appointment of a new Maigari, the statement claims that the government has failed to take any action on the matter.
The statement included the following passage: “This development is exceedingly foreign to the culture of the people of Lokoja.
This is unprecedented in Lokoja’s history, and the city’s culture and customs both hate empty spaces.
The people of Lokoja, Kogi State, and Nigeria as a whole would be negatively affected if the throne remained empty.
“Lokoja should be awarded its proper rights by having a traditional ruler sanctioned for it by Your Excellency Sir without further delay, as it is the capital of Kogi State and a historic town that originally served as the capital of the defunct Northern Protectorate until the amalgamation of 1914.
Since the death of our former Maigari, the people of Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, and the people who have lived there for generations have been like sheep without a shepherd.
We are very concerned, Your Excellency, because Lokoja is the capital of the state and the largest city in Northern Nigeria that does not have a traditional ruler.
“The town of Lokoja and its natives are already feeling the harmful repercussions of Maigari of Lokoja’s absence on their social and economic well-being.Like a building without a roof, we have no stability. For nearly a year, we have had no Islamic or conventional spiritual leader. This goes against everything that we hold dear as a civilization.
We have never been in a scenario like this before. The community has never gone a full year without a mayor before. It has been disappointing and upsetting for us at the Lokoja Forum of Patriots that the Kogi State government has rejected a new Maigari for Lokoja.
The organization claims that the locals have delayed this year’s Lokoja Boat Regatta Festival and the Lokoja Nupe Carnival/Festival as a result of the new situation.
Since the Kogi State government has taken no steps to fill the throne of the Maigari, we see no reason to celebrate.
For decades, the people of Lokoja and their annual festivals have been drawing visitors from all over the world to experience the city’s rich culture and traditional occupations.
Revenue loss for the state government and business owners, mainly hotels, cab operators, and other minor traders, will result from the postponement of the festivals caused by the non approval of a new Maigari for Lokoja, the statement continued.