Emir Sir Muhammadu Sanusi I, KBE was the Emir of Kano from
1954-1963. He was the eldest son of Emir Abdullahi Bayero. He was a powerful
Emir that had substantial influence in the colonial Northern Nigeria.
He hosted
the Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Kano in 1956. The power tussle between
him and his distant cousin Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto is believed
to have resulted in his dethronement and confinement in Azare 1963. His
grandson, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
was Emir of Kano from 2014-2020.
Emir Muhammadu Sanusi May Go The Way Of His Grandfather
Just As His Grandfather, Muhammadu Sanusi 1, Was Dethroned
As A Result Of Power Struggle (hidden Under The Cloak Of A Probe) Between Him
And Ahmadu Bello. The Current Emir Of Kano Is Also Under Political Persecution.
It was a dramatic denouement to a conflict that started
months earlier. The setting was Government House in Kaduna in 1963 and the two
characters that day were Sir Kashim Ibrahim, Governor of Northern Region and
Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 1, grandfather of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now
Muhammadu Sanusi 11), the current occupant of that throne.
The two men exchanged greetings by shaking hands stiffly.
Sir Kashim, with a probably shaky voice, delivered a bomb. Government had
accepted to implement the recommendation of the probe panel, set up by Sir
Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and the Premier of Northern Region, that
Sanusi should be removed from office.
“Do you have any response to this?” Sir Kashim asked,
without making eye contacts. Sanusi, with the gait of a stoic, answered with
philosophical equanimity: “Nothing”.
Sir Kashim, thereafter, fished out a prepared resignation
letter for Sanusi to sign. He did without shaking.
The Governor asked his guest further where he wanted to go
into exile. Sanusi senior chose Azare, a city in Bauchi State. Like King Jaja
of Opobo, Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi of Benin or Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru
Olagbegi who were banished outside their domains by the powers that be (the
first two by the British colonialists and the last, by Governor Adeyinka
Adebayo of Western Region), that was the beginning of Patriarch Sanusi’s
journey into exile in Azare where he spent 20 years and died.
What happened in 1963 as a result of power tussle between
him and Ahmadu Bello is repeating itself in 2017 between the northern political
establishment and the current Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11. He too is to
be probed, a situation of political deja vu. The Kano State House of Assembly
has set up an eight-man committee, headed by the Chief Whip of the House,
Alhaji Labaran Abdul, to probe Sanusi II. Just like such was directed at his
grandfather, questions were being raised on alleged misconduct and alleged
misappropriation of funds belonging to the Kano Emirate Council. The Speaker of
the state assembly, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum accused Sanusi of spreading rumour on
the trip of the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to China recently
to hold discussions on a light rail project in the state, arguing that it “was
capable of tarnishing the governor’s image, the state government and that of
the assembly.”
The speaker added: “The emir during his speech in Kaduna,
alleged that the Kano State governor and his entourage, including me as the
Chairman of the House Committee on Works, wasted one month in China seeking for
a loan to construct the light rail project. The emir’s statement was not true,
we spent only four days in China, and our visit was to find out the capacity of
the company to handle the rail project. His allegation has brought a lot of
insults to my person, the state government and the House of Assembly by the
general public in and outside the state.”
The speaker took a dig at Sanusi for acting against
tradition by sending his daughter who failed to wear the “full traditional
regalia”to represent him at a function organised by the Bring Back Our Girls
(BBOG) group in Abuja, saying, “There are many responsible Emirate Council
members who could have represented him at the programme. This is the first time
we are seeing such in the history of the traditional home.”
The speaker still had more bullets to fire at Sanusi’s
fragile frame, saying the traditional ruler had begun to introduce religious
views that are, as ThisDay put it, contrary to the teachings of Islam, saying
such things were capable of undermining the religion. Worse still, he charged
that Sanusi was “getting involved in political issues, the misappropriation of
the Emirate Council’s funds and making statements against President Muhammadu
Buhari.”
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