In what would amount to a sad day and a bitter pill to swallow, former governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, would be in pain as he watched incumbent Governor Abba Yusuf abolish the five Emirate councils he created, sacking the emirs, and reinstating his archenemy, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II, to the throne.
Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was reinstated as the 16th monarch while he was busy delivering a keynote address at a state-sponsored economic summit earlier in the day in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The former governor of Nigeria’s apex bank was the 14th monarch of the thousand-year-old Emirate, from where he was forced into banishment after dethronement for a member of another ruling house, the Ado-Bayeros; Aminu.
Left to lick the stick of regret was the same governor, who deposed Sanusi in the first place on March 9, 2020, now the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ganduje, currently having a running battle with the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) administration in the state, including anti-graft grilling.
As Kano Emir, Sanusi had fallen out with the Ganduje administration, which ordered his ouster, after a celebrated case with the former, over what was signposted in some quarters as his ‘outspoken nature’.
Justifying his beef with the ex-CBN governor then, the former Kano State governor said Sanusi was removed “to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano emirate.”
He also accused the Emir of ‘total disrespect’ for institutions and the governor’s office.
However, Sanusi’s supporters held on to the belief that the monarch had been sacked for opposing the governor’s re-election in 2019.
Upon Sanusi’s victory for a second term in office, one of his significant moves was to split the Kano emirate into five.
He also appointed four more emirs, ostensibly to weaken Sanusi’s influence in the bid to plot a comeback.
*Enter the new Emir
Yesterday represented the jubilant for a table-turning durbar-filled. Jubilant subjects spilled into the streets, jubilation, and quietude reigned as drummers and subjects milled to make a sense of the situation they had been thrown into.
Uncharacteristic of the historic city, there were no recorded cases of post-election violence.
Announcing Sanusi’s second coming to the throne, Governor Yusuf also issued a 48-hour ultimatum to four other former first-class chiefs, to vacate the palace and hand over all emirate property to the office of the deputy governor.
The spokesperson to the governor, Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, in a statement, said his principal made the declaration later in the day, and shortly after assenting the newly-passed Kano State Emirate (Repeal) Bill into law.
The new law passed yesterday by the Kano State House of Assembly has thus accomplished the onerous task of abolishing the five emirates established by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
The law provided a chance to reinstate the former 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, and remove the 15th, Aminu Ado Bayero, as well as the Emir of Bichi, Nasir Ado Bayero; Emir of Rano, Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa; Emir of Karaye, Ibrahim Abubakar II; and the Emir of Gaya, Aliyu Ibrahim Abdulkadir.
The signing of the bill into a law was perfected and witnessed by state deputy governor Aminu Abdulsalam; the Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Ismail Falgore, and other top government functionaries.
Signing into law, the governor expressed satisfaction that the new legislation will unify the people of Kano, and foster sustainable socio-economic development.
Yusuf further amplified his position, maintaining that the return of Sanusi to the throne would propel peace and prosperity in the emirate.
He added that the repeal of the council law was in realisation of his campaign commitments to restoring the lost glory of the state and its rich cultural heritage.
The governor emphasised that the signing of the bill symbolises the restoration of the revered legacy of the Kano emirate, which, he noted, has withstood the test of time of over a thousand years.
Yusuf urged the populace in the state to continue supporting his administration in delivering a multitude of infrastructural advancements to propel Kano to greater heights.
His words; “Everyone should go about his or her normal activities in the state. We have done what we believe is in the best interest of the state and its people.
“I want to inform the good people of Kano that, today, we reappointed Sanusi Lamido Aminu Sanusi, popularly known as Muhammadu Sanusi the II, as the 16th Emir of Kano, while the five former emirs are expected to vacate the palaces within 48 hours”.
The governor also directed the former emirs to effectively hand over all the properties in their possession to the state deputy governor, who holds a dual portfolio arrangement with the commissioner for local government (and chieftaincy).
*The repealed law
The new Kano Emirate Repeal Law 2024 consolidates Kano State as one emirate as before Sanusi was dethroned.
Earlier, the State House of Assembly had officially passed a bill dissolving all the five emirate councils in the state, a decision reached after following the deliberations on the floor of the House during a plenary session held yesterday.
The bill was also tried as the Kano State Emirate Council Amendment Bill was considered and passed after successfully scaling its second and third readings.
House Deputy Speaker, Muhammad Bello Butu Butu, articulated the rationale behind the dissolution.
Butu emphasised that repealing the law that divided the Kano Emirate into five separate entities would help in reviving the lost glory of Kano’.
According to him, “The division of the Kano Emirate into five (had) reduced the capacity and dignity of the state at the national level”.
This position was backed by the Assembly’s majority leader, Lawan Dala, whose message underscored the cultural implications of the previous division.
Dala said, “The Emirate Council served as a custodian of our culture, which was distorted by the creation of additional emirates.
Elaborating on the aim of the amendment, which, according to him, aims at restoring the traditional prestige and unity of the Kano Emirate.
Briefing journalists, the majority leader explained that, with the legal amendment, all the five emirate councils had now been abolished.
“The commissioner for local governments will serve as the overseer,” he stated, highlighting the transitional governance structure to be put in place.
Meanwhile, the House adopted a motion to create a new second-class emirate council in the state, a development which is thought to signal a restructuring of the traditional institutions to better align with the state’s cultural and administrative goals.
This turnaround occasioned by the new legal arrangement, experts say, marks a significant shift in the governance and cultural landscape of Kano State, ‘’aiming to restore the historical and cultural integrity of the region’s traditional institutions’’.
*Sanusi: The low points
Sanusi was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) before he was appointed the 14th Emir of Kano by the administration of former state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso. That was before the latter replaced Ganduje as the state deputy governor, and eventually bagged the governorship of the nation’s apex bank in May 2015.
The new emir had been suspended as the apex bank governor by former President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2014. That came barely two months after Sanusi, in a leaked letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, revealed that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit US$48.9bn of government oil revenue to the apex bank.
He, however, got a reprieve after a series of public investigations and raising the alarm on the US$20bn NNPC scandal.
He was later replaced with one of his subordinates, a deputy governor, Sarah Alade, who oversaw the affairs of the apex bank before the appointment of Godwin Emefiele in a substantive position.
However, in April 2014, he won a court case against the Federal Government, after he was detained and his international passport confiscated by the Department of State Services (DSS).
*Congratulatory messages pour in
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has congratulated His Royal Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II on his reinstatement as the 16th Emir of Kano.
Fubara said that he received the news of the reinstatement of the former Governor of CBN, with great excitement, particularly coming at a time Khalifa Sanusi II was in the State to add impetus to his administration’s initiative to reshape the economic trajectory of the State.
He also urged the spiritual leader of the Tijanniyah Sufi order of Nigeria, Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, to lead the over 50 million adherents of the Sufi order in Nigeria with love, wisdom and courage while bringing lasting peace, justice, equity and fairness to all in the city of Kano.
He wished the 16th Emir of Kano a successful and fruitful reign that will bring progress and prosperity to the people of the State.
*Ancient city calm, reinstated monarch back in Palace today
Kano city and its environs remained calm and peaceful yesterday evening following the dethronement of Ado Bayero, and the subsequent reinstatement of Lamido Sanusi II by Governor Yusuf.
People were seen going about their normal businesses peacefully without any signs of disturbance.
In several areas visited, including streets, markets, and food joints, people were seen discussing the development in groups as they awaited the arrival of the new Emir.
In other areas, particularly in the main city, supporters of the new Emir greeted the announcement with wild celebrations, thanking Allah and the Governor for “reinstating our Emir who had suffered persecution and injustices under the last administration.”
