Yohanna Madaki was appointed governor of old Gongola state (now Adamawa and Taraba states) in August 1985 by General Ibrahim Babangida. Being very principled, he took the appointment with a goal to sanitise some practices that he felt were against development and progress. This included early marriages of female children.
His actions against existing systems caused a friction between him and some people including the Umaru Abba Tukur, Emir of Muri, and Chairman of the Muri Emirate Council.
The tension continued until it got to a head on August 12, 1986, when Madaki officially issued an order removing Emir Tukur.
Madaki accused the Emir of abūse of traditional authority,
misconduct in office,
and unfair confiscation of land belonging to local communities.
After the action, the government claimed that some lands seized under the emirate had been returned to their original owners by the administration.
The removal of the Emir became highly controversial because he was one of the most respected traditional rulers in Northern Nigeria. However, Madaki defended his decision by declaring that he had “dealt a blow to feudalism.”
To him, the removal of the Emir would put a stop to the excesses of the traditional ruler and his likes.
Umaru Abba Tukur challenged the action in court. Then, the government banished him to Mubi in present-day Adamawa State.
The case became one of the notable clashes between military governments and traditional institutions in Nigeria during the 1980s.
In a bid to pacify the traditional forces, who were seen as untouchables at the time, President Ibrahim Babangida, in a soft-landing tactic, removed Madaki as governor of Gongola State in August 1986, just about a year after he took office.
Babangida redeployed him to Benue State. But after just a month in office, Madaki was dropped from the cabinet of the President in September 1986.
Seeing what could be the handwriting on the wall, Madaki, he retired from the military a few months after. Then, with his Law degree, he set up a law firm in Kaduna, where he began his private legal practice.
Records show that he used his law firm to offer pro-bono services to indigent people as well as military officers who suffered any form of maltrætment in service. He fought for the helpless and those in the minority.
Madaki, born on 31 December 1941 August in Zangon Kataf, passed away on 20 May 2006. He lived on earth for 64 years.
Culled from Ethnic African Stories
