The 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was on Monday dethroned and exiled by the government of Kano State, the biggest economy in Nigeria’s northern region.
It looked like a military coup, though without bloodshed, as Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano State, not only dethroned the emir, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but also got him arrested and exiled him to Nasarawa State, where he is expected to spend the rest of his life in asylum. In his stead, Aminu Bayero, son of the late Emir Ado Bayero, was appointed as the new emir.
The Kano State government said it dethroned Sanusi because of insubordination.
The state government had earlier created four new emirates in Bichi, Rano, Karaye and Gaya, each with a first-class emir, in what many commentators saw as Ganduje’s attempt to whittle down Sanusi’s influence in the state for being “too vocal”, especially in his criticism of the governor. Until then, the Emir of Kano was the only first-class emir in the state.
Sanusi was appointed the 14th Emir of Kano in 2014 after his suspension from office as the governor of the CBN. He is the grandson of Muhammadu Sanusi I, the 11th emir of Kano, who was deposed in 1963 after a disagreement with Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and the then premier of Northern Region. Kano had maintained single rulership since the establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1804.
In 2017, the Kano State House of Assembly set up an eight-man ad-hoc committee to investigate an allegation of fraud levelled against Sanusi.
He was accused of mismanaging N4 billion of the emirate’s funds. The emir, however, denied the allegation.
The probe was suspended after Governor Ganduje forwarded a letter to the lawmakers.
Those who had followed the rancorous relationship between Ganduje and Sanusi said the development was not surprising.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the dethronement as “sad and good news”.
In a letter addressed to Sanusi as “Your Royal Highness and Brother”, Obasanjo said Sanusi’s removal was sad because it was undeserved, but good because the former emir had “paid the price”. He did not elaborate.
“My prayer is that God should give you the fortitude and courage to continue on the path that you have chosen for yourself in the best interest of our country and humanity,” Obasanjo wrote.
Balarabe Musa, a former Second Republic governor of the Old Kaduna State, told BusinessDay, “I am not surprised; I saw it coming. But I am indifferent about all that happened today (Monday). Personally, what I am after is that what has been done today by the governor should be within the law; it is the law that should be respected and not the governor of Kano State.” Sanni Yabagi, national chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), condemned the action, saying it was not done in the interest of the masses but to satisfy a few individuals.
He described Governor Ganduje’s action as authoritarian and undemocratic.
“I reject the decision personally and I would not support such action that is against the people. Such action is at the detriment of the people; it is a sign of the highhandedness of the APC government. It is a sad development for the country,” Yabagi said.
“Democracy is elastic and allows for dialogue; it must not be to upset the people’s will and affect social cohesion. We are not in a military regime,” he said.
Ayo Adebanjo, a leader of Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, described the action as dictatorial and undemocratic.
“Sanusi’s dethronement is dictatorial. We are not under military regime. What has he done? It further shows the dictatorial tendencies of this government and the APC,” Adebanjo said.
Guy Ikokwu, a Second Republic politician, said although Governor Ganduje had no moral high ground to dethrone Emir Sanusi, given swelling allegations against him (the governor), it was not the first time dethronement and banishment of an emir was taking place in the north.
“I do not need to comment so much on the drama in Kano. They know themselves so very much. What happened in Kano has happened before. What I think should bother us as Nigerians is that our beloved country is at the verge of sinking. Whether Christian or Moslem, we must wake up to the present realities,” said Ikokwu, who is also a member of the Ime-Obi (inner caucus) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group.
“Nigeria should return to good governance, security of lives and property, and again to the secularity of the nation. There is the urgent need to absolutely cancel the 1999 Constitution which has created a lot of problems for us,” he said.
Ebenezer Bapatope, a former minister of transport and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said he would not want to escalate the matter, but to rather advise that there should be an amicable settlement of the issue.
“I know there has been a crisis between Ganduje and Sanusi; I do not want to escalate this. What Ganduje has done is unnecessary. They have to give peace a chance,” Babatope said.
A prominent politician and former minister in from North East, who craved anonymity, said, “I come from Adamawa which is about 400 miles away from Kano. People in Kano know what they want. So, it is not good for me to begin to run commentary on the issue. If you talk too much or too fast, you could regret it later; so, it is better for me to exercise caution.”
ZEBULON AGOMUO, INIOBONG IWOK (Lagos) & ADEOLA AJAKAIYE (Kano)
