When it was reported last week that the Kano emirate crisis took a new turn with the16th Emir of Kano, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, accusing supporters of the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, of attacking his palace and removing one of the gates, the questions that came to mind was: What is the Supreme Court waiting to give the appeal on the dispute accelerated hearing? 

Does the court want the state to be set ablaze before it acts?

Tensions within the Kano Emirate have remained high following the state government’s reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.

The reinstatement came after the review of the emirate law, which had created four additional emirates. The move has been challenged in court, with Aminu Ado Bayero refusing to relinquish his claim to the throne. 

Since March when the Court of Appeal in Abuja directed all parties in the Emirship tussle, to exercise caution pending the hearing of their appeals at the Supreme Court, nothing has been heard about the matter.

It is surprising that the apex court is still delaying to hear appeals pending before it. 

It is also surprising that the suit filed by some governors on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to challenge the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State has still not been determined. 

Maybe by the time the appeal would be heard, Governor Sim Fubara would have been reinstated and the suit becomes a mere academic exercise.

In the United States where President Donald Trump is daily unleashing obnoxious policies on the people and institutions, the courts, from the High Court to the Supreme Court, are there to swiftly checkmate him swift rulings.

This is not the case with the Nigerian courts where cases are delayed till they lose relevance and the judgments become mere academic exercise.