EMIRS in the Northern geopolitical zones are said to have been torn apart over the ambition of three prominent presidential hopefuls from the region on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The presidential hopefuls, including General Muhammadu Buhari, Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, are said to be creating confusion among the emirs with clashes already recorded between, at least, two serving governors and emirs.
Sources in the polity told Sunday Tribune that the monarchs are torn between their love for Buhari and the need to support the candidate favoured by the state governors.
While some of the monarchs are said to prefer to back the ambition of General Buhari, others are rebuffing the idea.
An emir in the North-West was said to have had a heated argument with his governor last week, following his decision to rally some other emirs in support of Buhari.
It was gathered that the traditional ruler held a meeting with a former minister who is a known ally of the former Head of State and told the former minister of his decision to back Buhari for 2015.
The traditional ruler was also said to have stated his readiness to rally more emirs to join the Buhari fray.
Sources said that not a few of the Northern governors have warned emirs in their domain to either back the ambition of their preferred choice in the presidential race or face the consequences.
An enraged governor was said to have sent emissaries to the traditional ruler, warning him of the consequences of his decision to back Buhari when signals are yet to come from the state government to that effect.
An ally of the North-West governor told Sunday Tribune that his governor was angry with a leading emir from the zone.
“He (the emir) thinks he is smart. We know he’s been hobnobbing with Buhari and his supporters, using a former minister who is the arrowhead of Buhari’s campaign as his link person.
“He has been sending disguised emissaries to the governor, pleading in some ways that the Governor of Kano State, especially, should stop his ambition in favour of General Buhari. Last week, two emmisaries were said to have visited the Kano governor, asking him to drop his ambition in favour of Buhari who is seen as the person that can fix Nigeria.
“He is biting the fingers that feed him. We installed him against all odds and we can remove him and nothing will happen. There must be a limit to how an emir can flaunt his influence,” he said.
In another state of the North-East, a similar scenario is said to be playing out as another newly-installed emir was said to have clashed with a state governor over the ambition of General Buhari and Alhaji Atiku.
As a result of the threats from some of the governors, the emirs were said to have resorted to visiting President Goodluck Jonathan so that he can act as buffer zone, in case the governors want to move against them.
“To play down the frosty relationships between them and the governors, the emirs are said to be organising frequent visits to Aso Rock. These moves are seen as fall-back position, in case the governors decide to strike, even if it is not an outright removal but suspension,” the source said.
