Somewhere in New York City upon a charming day in April 1967 a great man stood before a meeting of clergy and laymen to deliver a speech over a matter many insisted then is no business of his. This man we speak of is Dr. King, and he titled the speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. In that speech, Dr. King, a black American, spoke against the unjustness of the war in Vietnam; he elected to side with truth and justice against his own country. It was that speech that gifted us the now famous quote, “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Today, instead of a champion of black American Christians, Dr. King is remembered as a man who stood for all; who spoke for all: Christian, black, American or no.

The quarrel over the conviction and stand of Dr. King is only slightly dissimilar to the endless rants over the outspokenness of Sarki Muhammad Sanusi II even though the Emir has more right to his dissatisfaction over the state of Northern Nigeria than Dr. King over the unjustness of the Vietnamese war. And this is not only because Sarki Sanusi is one of the  leaders of the region, but also because, should things fall apart, it would consume him too.

But what have we seen today? People insisting that it is not his place; that, because he was bestowed with the royal cambu (a clothing that covers the mouth as a symbol of cessation of all unnecessary talks), the Amir should speak less; that it is not majestic for him to care about the future of his people; that his fear and anger should be unvoiced; that his attention has been misplaced; that the Emir should not be critical of socio-political mishaps in the country because the most cherished virtue of a King is docility!

And many even have gone ahead to accuse the Amir of nursing a political ambition. This position, to put it mildly, is painfully stupid.

Some years ago, before Sanusi became king, Adamu Adamu, the current Minister of Education, suggested to the Kano Prince to take a shot at politics that may see him become governor of Kano State, and one day, perhaps, the president of Nigeria. A very brilliant man, Adamu Adamu saw what his friend could offer towards the betterment of Nigeria, that was why Adamu was taken aback when the prince replied, “Ni dai Adamu, gidan Dabo.” Adamu tried again but the prince’s reply came again, with a slight impatience this time, “Adamu, na ce maka gidan Dabo.”

What this story demonstrates, I think, is that Muhammad Sanusi is at a place he always wanted to be and could not possibly want to be any place else. But even if, somehow, it is  true the Amir nurses such ambition, why not? Sarki Sanusi is certainly one of the most informed and experienced Nigerians and, in my opinion, would make a great president.

But all that aside. Let us not be unmindful of this painful truth: the North is, incontestably, the most backward region in Nigeria. It houses the highest number of poor illiterates, and is nursing the most number of out of school children. Plus, many of our women are crushed under injustice; injustice mostly encased in the institution of marriage. How can anyone with a grain of sense, King or not, turn away from this impending doom that looms large in the horizon? And what use is a King if he cannot offer his voice for the back-trodden, and point out religious misapplication and blatant stupidity where they gush out, even from lips of executive governors?

Dr. King was right: there comes a time when silence is betrayal, and for the North, her people and leaders, that time came yesterday. We are already late because ignorance, poverty, fanaticism and almajiranci are eating away our region!

So leave the  Amir alone. He is after all only conforming to the teachings of the holy Prophet of Islam who many years ago said that where a Muslim sees a wrong, he must correct with his hands, or mouth or loathe it in his heart. But the last option, according to the Prophet of God, is the weakest of faith.

Moving forward, we hope that more majestic Emirs will lower their royal cambu and, like Sarki Sanusi, inspire shiny hope in our hearts, and make us anticipate that from hence things would be done differently in the North and in Nigeria by extension.

(Please plant a tree today.)

The writer is on twitter @ngugievuti