My favourite blue blood has ascended the throne of his forefathers. Warm, forthright, charming and cerebral, His Royal Highness Emir Muhammadu Sanusi the 2nd has been turbaned since he was born; the grandson of the 11th Emir of Kano, royalty; and now his ever-present dream has come to pass. He has become the 14th Emir of Kano, regal, surefooted, a nobleman with intimidating credentials.
In this era of ambition to be all other things except oneself, His Royal Highness has kept to his dream; his only interest has always been to sit on the royal chair, become his grandfather, live through his forebears, and lead his people in the well-respected lineage of the Kano Emirate.
I salute my friend and brother. Many chats ago we would mull over life, humanity, justice and friendships. Witty, loyal, charitable, His Royal Highness, the Emir of Kano is an intellectual’s intellectual, a man whose interest in books and knowledge deepens his position on any issue and sets him apart from the crowd.
In 2013, he won for a record third time the Africa Banker of the Year award. In a letter I sent to him on this occasion, I explained that I was more than excited about his achievements which showed to the world that Nigeria can bring it, eliminating the idea of our nation as a broken place. Permit me to quote the first few lines of that letter in 2013:
My dear brother,
Please accept my hearty congratulations for being the man with the most validation as African Central Bank Governor of the Year 2013; a hat trick, a pride to your nation, your family, and your friends.
Born into a prominent family in Kano, to a diplomat father who rose to become permanent secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the 60s and a grandfather who was the 11th Fulani Emir of Kano and an Islamic scholar, he studied Economics in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, my alma mater.
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As a student at ABU Zaria, he never wavered from issues of justice and was erudite and brilliant as a student, scoring top marks in his field of study. His friendships were as deep as they were loyal. Ask Lamis Shehu Dikko and Nasir El-Rufai and a wealth of other friends from different parts of the country.
His Royal Highness, like his grandfather before him, is an Islamic scholar who studied Sharia law from the International University of Africa, Khartoum in Sudan, where he bagged a first class degree in 1997. He had previously taken a Master of Science degree in Economics, obtaining a distinction in monetary policy.
His career trajectory, which is no longer news, showed a man on the ascent for which we were all not surprised. HRH became the first Northerner in more than a century of the bank’s history to be appointed group managing director (GMD) of First Bank in 2009 after a stellar career in top-of-the-range banks spearheading the transformation of credit and risk management control mechanisms. Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was nominated by President Umaru Yar’Adua as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria 1st June, 2009 and his appointment was confirmed by the Senate on 3rd June, 2009.
His bridge-building antecedents have earned him friends across Nigeria. His attendance of a Catholic school, St. Anne’s Primary School, Kakuri, Kaduna, gave him a well-rounded education, which ensured that wherever he was he had a kinship with the Catholic Church donating, building, supporting and cementing his relationships.
A first class human being has ascended the throne of his forefathers succeeding his uncle, Alhaji Ado Bayero. All hail the 14th Emir of Kano. Rayin Ka ya dede. Allah ya ja zamanin ka.
My dearest brother, your Royal Highness, my thoughts are with you at this historic time in our lives. I was unable to make it to the coronation but your daughter who lives in my house describing herself haughtily as the right royal princess Sophia Ojoma Abu came to your coronation for the Abu autonomous community, to show our love, our kinship, our brotherhood. Don’t hold your breath, I will make my way to the palace soon to pay my respects. That is my duty.
As you make your way through the palace grounds every day dreaming the tall dreams of your forebears for the good people of Kano, know ye that a sister and friend exists in Abuja and her prayers and fond thoughts of you are relentless. As the Yoruba say, may your feet be long in your royal shoes and may your reign be peaceful, purposeful and successful, Amen.
Now I know that Kano has truly become my home. My brother is His Royal Majesty the 14th Emir of Kano. Long may he reign, Amen.
Eugenia Abu
