In Defence of Truth-Telling: Lessons from the Emir of Katsina’s Meeting With Yari

By: Ganiyu Olayinka

When the APC’s presidential campaign chief, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, visited the Emir of Katsina, HRH Alhaji Dr. Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, he asked for support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC. He received a reminder that traditional rulers must tell political leaders the truth.

That is worth defending. A campaign hears many things from people who want something from it. It rarely hears what voters in a farming community feel. The Emir, as reported, raised the very matters that decide whether people vote with hope or resentment: farmers kept from their land, factories not working, and a call to safeguard lives and property before seeking votes.

These are not partisan complaints. They concern food, jobs and safety. A government and a party that wants to renew its mandate should welcome them while there is still time to respond.

Nor was the Emir campaigning against anyone. According to the reports, he urged leaders to put people’s welfare first, and criticised politics reduced to a fight and leaders who flaunt their wealth. That is honest counsel, the kind an election cycle needs.

Democracy depends on feedback between elections. Courts, the press and civil society supply some of it. Respected community leaders supply another kind, because they carry the concerns of people who have no platform of their own.

There are fair objections. Traditional rulers serve people of every party, so critics say neutrality matters, and unelected leaders are not accountable to voters. Those concerns deserve a hearing, and rulers must be careful to stay on issues, not parties.

But on this evidence, the Emir stayed on issues. The right response from any campaign is to listen, and to answer with action in the places where he and his people are asking for help.