Between SOKAPU And SKLC: The Power Struggle Behind SKFEST

By: Luka Binniyat

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: SKFEST (Southern Kaduna Festival) is a creation of the Southern Kaduna Leadership Council (SKLC). It has announced it would host its 2026 show at the end of May, 2026, sparking a very strong protest from the President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU).

Let start by saying that the SKLC was formed by highly respected and notable elites of Southern Kaduna, with elder Ishaku Dare serving as its pioneer Chairman and the late erudite Mr. Timothy Gandu as its founding Secretary.

Chairmen and secretaries of Southern Kaduna ethnic communities development associations (CDAs) alongside notable Southern Kaduna groups including SOKAPU, were brought under its umbrella, some, without their approval.

It should therefore not shock anyone that the SKLC was in direct conflict with the Central Executive Council (CEC) of SOKAPU at its creation in September 2022, when Hon. Jonathan Asake was President of SOKAPU and I served as its Spokesman

The SKLC unilaterally announced itself as the “coordinating body” of all Southern Kaduna groups, with SOKAPU supposedly operating beneath it.

Naturally, we rejected that assertion because we viewed it as an elite coup against SOKAPU.

In truth, we had no issue with the formation of the SKLC itself. Our objection was to the organogram which placed SOKAPU under the authority of the SKLC Chairman. That arrangement was unacceptable to us, and we vehemently rejected it.

Our position was simple: SOKAPU remained the apex socio-cultural body representing the ethnic nationalities of Southern Kaduna spread across the 12 local government areas of Kaduna State.

We were elected through representatives of every ethnic group in Southern Kaduna. Therefore, we argued that a group of elites could not simply come together, form a powerful body, and place SOKAPU under its control.

We insisted that if the SKLC intended to subsume SOKAPU, such a move must come through a constitutional amendment of SOKAPU endorsed by all interests that originally ratified its constitution and structure.

However, we NEVER, NEVER!!! opposed the formation of the SKLC. In fact, we applauded its emergence because it brought together influential elders and highly placed elites of Southern Kaduna under one platform.

Our CEC agreed that if properly aligned with the ideals of SOKAPU, SLKC could only strengthen Southern Kaduna.

At that time, the Asake leadership was widely perceived as combative and strongly opposed to the governments of Nasir el-Rufai and Muhammadu Buhari because it believed that they were superidenting over a genocide against our people.

We therefore saw the SKLC as a possible moderating wing that could help provide balance, bridge-building, and strategic engagement with those uncomfortable with our style of engagement.

We also acknowledged that the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of association.

Therefore, the SKLC had every legal and moral right to exist.

Nevertheless, SOKAPU could not simply allow itself to be buried under another body because, unlike the SKLC, we were elected representatives and not merely self-constituted privileged persons.
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Let me digress briefly to explain another challenge we inherited during the Asake era: One of the perennial problems facing SOKAPU was its failure to secure registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) since its inception. Despite several efforts, we could not also get SOKAPU formally registered for reasons I would rather not go into here.

As a solution, we established and registered a separate body known as the Southern Kaduna People’s Economic Endowment Foundation (SOKAPEF), which was successfully incorporated with the CAC in 2021.

Unlike SOKAPU, which was not a corporate entity, SOKAPEF could legally own property, attract donor agencies, invest, sue, and be sued, etc.

The Board Chairman of SOKAPEF was Apostle Emmanuel Kure, an internationally renowned evangelist deeply committed to the welfare and advancement of Southern Kaduna. The Board also comprised eminent sons and daughters of Southern Kaduna who had demonstrated commitment to the wellbeing of our people.

The major aim of SOKAPEF was to mobilise resources for SOKAPU, facilitate interventions, and build bridges for the organisation through the influence, networks, and resources of its members.

True to its purpose, Apostle Emmanuel Kure personally furnished the new office we acquired in 2020 — a six-bedroom duplex complete with a boardroom and meeting hall located at 1 Ghana Close, Barnawa, Kaduna.

SOKAPEF also helped secure relief materials for displaced persons, where Engr. Andrew Yakubu, as a Board of Trustees member, made substantial contributions toward humanitarian support.

I mention this background to explain the dilemma we faced when the SKLC emerged. It became a moral and strategic problem because many members of the SOKAPEF Board were also prominent members of the newly formed SKLC.

Despite this overlap, we stood firmly on our position that while our respected elders and elites were free to form their own association, SOKAPU remained an independent body representing all Southern Kaduna people, irrespective of class or status.

Unfortunately, after Hon. Jonathan Asake left office for politics, his deputy, Mr. Dio Maisamari, assumed leadership and effectively submitted SOKAPU to the authority of the SKLC against the overwhelming position of the majority of the Central Executive Council (CEC) our time.

I was then left with the difficult responsibility of publicly distancing SOKAPU from the SKLC through an official press statement.

That disagreement marked the beginning of the internal crisis that later engulfed SOKAPU.

At one point, the CEC even suspended Dio Maisamari for attending SKLC meetings agreeing to be Deputy Chairman of the SKLC while simultaneously serving as SOKAPU president.

As far as other members of the CEC were concerned, that was a humiliation to SOKAPU and a betrayal of those who voted us into office.

To cut a long story short, the CEC under Dio Maisamari was eventually suspended controvesly, and a Caretaker Committee was constituted.

Following the expiration of our tenure in November 2023, fresh elections were conducted, leading to the emergence of Engr. Samuel Tabara as the current President of SOKAPU.

It is therefore important to state clearly that the disagreement between SOKAPU and the SKLC — owners of SK’FEST — did not begin under the Tabara administration.

Let me conclude with the following observations:
First, SKFEST is already an incorporated body established by the SKLC, which was a smart move. As such, it cannot be controlled by SOKAPU.

Second, I do not see anything wrong with the hosting of SKFEST because, as a corporate entity, it is operating within its lawful aims and objectives.

Third, I see more advantages than disadvantages in the existence and the hosting of SKFEST.

Fourth, SOKAPU is equally free to be creative and establish programmes or activities that can attract even greater national and international attention than SKFEST.

Fifth, the SKLC, on its part, must not seek to undermine or eclipse the supremacy and sovereignty of SOKAPU as the only body collectively endorsed by the ethnic groups of Southern Kaduna under the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association.

Sixth, SOKAPU must also abandon its current combative posture against Southern Kaduna individuals and groups because Southern Kaduna cannot afford such distractions at this time.

Too much energy and resources are being expended on internal conflicts instead of confronting the evil forces and injustices still working against our people.

Finally, Southern Kaduna leaders and opinion moulders must come together urgently to salvage the situation and restore unity, purpose, and strategic direction for the collective good of our people.

Ngwai 🙏

Luka Binniyat is veteran reporter and currently the spokesman of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF)