Four years after he was deposed as the 14th Emir of Kano, controversial Muhammadu Sanusi II has now returned as the 16th Emir of Kano, thanks to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State who has reinstated him to the throne.
The reinstatement of Sanusi did not come as a surprise. In fact, all indications to this was fueled by the running war between Gov Yusuf, and his predecessor in office, Abdullahi Ganduje, now chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC).
Gov Yusuf, a protégé of former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, has since been at loggerheads with Ganduje, who was deputy to Kwankwaso as governor.
Sanusi was selected to succeed his granduncle, Ado Bayero, as the Emir of Kano on June 8, 2014. His appointment was controversial. Many expected Bayero’s son to succeed him as emir, and protested Sanusi’s appointment.
Kwankwaso, Ganduje and the political leaders in the north who were hell-bent on returning power to the region, hurriedly crowned Sanusi on June 9, 2014 as the 14th Emir of Kano as reward for his contribution to the plot to pull down a government he was part of and to spite then President Goodluck Jonathan, in a politically-motivated move to avoid his fraud charges during his tenure as governor of the Central Bank. Sanusi was forced to operate from the Government House for a while all in a bid to keep him away from Jonathan, whom they knew did not support his choice as Emir.
Yusuf, who has not pretended about his desire to erase the memory of Ganduje in the state, has now reinstated him right after signing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 into law, to finally conclude the plan by Kwankwaso and his party to reward Sanusi for his open support for the then PDP candidate, Yusuf in 2019.
Ganduje had split the Kano Emirate into five with the Kano State Emirates Council Law, 2019 and deposed Sanusi II, on March 9, 2020. The emirates created by the Ganduje administration were Karaye, Bichi, Rano, and Gaya, in addition to Kano.
Sanusi challenged the creation of the emirates in court, arguing that it was politically-motivated and designed to weaken his position as emir. However, in March 2020, a Kano State High Court ruled that the emirate councils were legally created.
Shortly after, in March of that year, Sanusi was removed by the Kano State government, citing insubordination and disrespect to the governor and other officials. He was also accused of corruption and investigated. He was replaced as Emir with Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of his predecessor, Emir Ado Bayero, who reigned as Emir of Kano from 1963 to 2014.
Recall that Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of the NNPP in the 2023 elections, had shortly after Yusuf’s victory, said that Yusuf’s administration will review the dethronement of Sanusi II.
That promise has now come full circle with the sack of Bayero and return of Sanusi, but the damage often caused by the frequent interference of political office holders with the traditional institutions is one whose blame would be placed squarely on both the political office holders and the monarchs themselves.
First, Sanusi became monarch against the expectations of the people, because he was politically favoured by Kwankwaso when all was rosy between him and Ganduje, and now when things went sour, he was removed by Ganduje because of his support for Kwankwaso and Yusuf. Now he is back, who says that the next governor after Yusuf, if he is also sympathetic with Ganduje cannot again sack Sanusi?
This is a lesson for the governors. They should try as much as possible to allow the will of the people at all times to be over and above their personal desires. This sad reality is everywhere around the country, where the choice of the kingmakers are often different from that of the governors.
As for the monarchs themselves, they must try as much as possible not to be seen to be taking sides in political contests, after all, they are supposed to be fathers of all. They should give their blessings to all and resist any open show of support for any particular candidate.
We saw this same sad experience play up in Lagos where a monarch was alleged to have refused to receive a candidate. Imagine what would have happened if that candidate had ended up becoming the governor of the state?
Yes, many may love him for his outspokenness and condemnation of activities of government, but he should also realise that always rushing to the press to make pronouncements on government policies will almost always attract the angst of those who appointed and can remove him. It is not that those comments are not true but because they make the governors insecure and anxious, they would always get at them.
For instance his criticism of the Kano state government of misplaced priorities, his call for population planning, and also that polygamy is increasing poverty in the region as well as his position against the almajiri issue, cannot be faulted by anyone who is sincere. His strong position against the state led to his investigation by the state anti-corruption agency and state assembly for corruption of the emirate council 2017.
He also courted religious controversies as he was seen as a strong advocate for the implementation of Sharia law in Nigeria, as well as accused of supporting the Hisbah, a group responsible for enforcing Sharia law in Kano.
Perhaps, one incident that would not be forgotten so easily was his seeming indifference in 2015 over the case of one Ese Oruru, a 14-year-old girl from the southern state of Bayelsa, who was taken from her home and forced into marriage with Yunusa Yellow, a 25-year-old man from Kano. Yellow was said to be living at that time within his palace.
The incident sparked outrage and allegations of kidnapping, forced marriage, and religious conversion.
Ese’s family claimed that she was abducted and taken to Kano, where she was forced to convert to Islam and marry Yunusa. However, Yunusa and his family claimed that Ese had willingly converted to Islam and married him.
The case drew national attention and raised concerns about child marriage, forced conversion, and cultural tensions between Nigeria’s north and south. Sanusi, as Emir of Kano, faced criticism for his handling of the case, with some accusing him of not doing enough to protect Ese’s rights.
That said, it is hoped that Sanusi who received his appointment letter, from the state government in spite of the court order, by a Federal High Court in Kano that issued an ex-parte order preventing the governor from reinstating him as Emir of Kano, would have learnt his lessons and be more circumspect and mature in his dealings.
Sanusi himself, who has repeated severally about the favours and warm receptions he had received either as a student in the west or among his friends down south, should not be seen, overtly or covertly, promoting religious intolerance or sectionalism. He should rise above tribal or primordial sentiments as a monarch in a cosmopolitan state like Kano or nation where the constitution of the country guarantees all the freedom of association, worship, and choice of a place of residence.
Finally, all gladiators, including Ganduje who is obviously pulling the strings from Abuja, Governor Yusuf and Kwankwaso who are calling the shots from Kano as well as the two emirs who are at the centre of it all, must not allow Kano to be engulfed in crisis.
