Going by the ‘hard tackles’ from the sitting governor of Kano State, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to Emir Sarkin Sanusi, it wouldn’t be difficult for any discerning observer and political watcher of the unfolding rift to conclude that the present royal battle being presently fiercely fought by Sanusi is a fall out of the result of politics of succession that played out shortly after the demise of Ado Bayero, the immediate past emir of Kano.
From all indications, the Kano battle Royale is one of salient facts which Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is leveraging on to dismantle the historic Kano Emirate. Going by the type of ‘weapons’ being deployed into this battle, there are strong fears that except well-meaning personalities, both home and abroad urgently intervene, it might degenerate into such an ugly fight, the scope of which will threatens to consume both the victor and the expected vanquish.
This fear, of course, is further heightened by the colour of bad blood, mixed into the royal blood,
which has recently expanded and given birth to the decision of the governor to create four new
emirates out of the original one inherited by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, now christened Muhammadu
Sansui.
From the outset, the emergence of Sanusi as the 56th Emir of Kano, did not come without a lot of controversies, by the then government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, on one hand, and that of the Ado Bayero family, on the other.
Such was the controversy that most members of the Ado Bayero family have yet to forgive both
Sanusi for ‘usurping’ the throne of their late father, the highly respected and revered monarch, also on one hand and the then governor of Kano, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, who gave his full weight to the enthronement of Sanusi as the emir of the state and successor to Bayero.
Interestingly, both the Sanusi and Ado Bayero royal families are cousins; they are of the Berber
stock, who have been ruling Kano for centuries, after the overthrow of the indigenous Habe –Hausa ruling families, under the Othman Danfodio Jihad.
The bitterness which ensued has remained since then, particularly, among the senior children of late Ado Bayero, who before the emergence of Sanusi have positioned themselves, as heir apparent to the throne.
The core of the bitterness became manifest, when immediate past Governor Kwankaso, allegedly schemed and overturned a well perfected arrangement of the Kano Kingmakers to ensure the ascension of one of Ado Bayero`s sons to the throne, in favour of Sanusi, who was originally not on the list of the Princes, who were earlier vying for the position.
Sanusi was therefore believed to have been surreptitiously brought in by Kwankwaso to usurp that which rightly belongs to the Ado Bayero family. Chiroma Ado Bayero, and Sanusi Ado Bayero, the two eldest sons of the late Ado Bayero, were the top contenders for the position, before Lamido Sanusi’s emergence.
Although, since the installation of Sanusi of Sanusi, had been a deafening silence which permeated the emirate. Matters, however, began to rear its ugly head following the unfolding rancour between Ganduje and Sanusi Lamido, which manifested as a proxy war, being
wage by the Ado Bayero family to reclaim the throne they lost, or at least get a cut of their share out of the Kano royal patrimony.
It is therefore believed that the on-going dismantling of the emirate, as well as the State Anti-Graft Agency investigation sent to go after Sanusi`s management of the emirate`s finances, is more of an attempt by the Ado Bayero family to reclaim the throne at all cost, again on one hand, just as it serves as an opportunity for Ganduje to eke his pound of flesh from Sanusi who was opposed to Ganduje’s governorship ambition during his first attempt to the state’s plum job and also during his second term bid.
Already, the Ado Bayero family has achieved one aim in the Bichi Emirate created for them, and if Sanusi is eventually indicted by the state Anti-Graft Agency, the family might be on the way to also reclaim the prestigious stool of Kano.
As the battle rages, the Kano State chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is seen as the leading member of the Kano royal family coordinating the action for the dismantling of the emirate, as well as the bid to remove Sanusi. The interesting aspect is that the warring parties are all, members of the ruling APC One of the most decisive actions towards dismantling the Kano Emirate by Governor Ganduje was his assent of a bill passed recently by the Kano State House of Assembly entitled “the Kano State Emir & 39 Appointment and Deposition, 2019”, sponsored by one barrister Ibrahim Salisu, allegedly fronting for the Ado Bayero family.
The most pronounced feature of the bill is the legislative backing to the creation of another four more Emirate Councils in the state, increasing the emirates in the state to five, a
development that is aimed at reducing the influence of Sanusi Lamido.
The bill was initiated and ratified by the State Assembly, in what is regarded by most people as ‘a lightning strike’ that lasted only two days, and resulted in the creation of an additional four new Emirates out of the single Kano Emirate which before now, be-straddled and presided over all 44 Local Government Councils.
Riding the same Emirate creation bandwagon was a highly contentious and controversial bill
providing stupendous sums of money and huge perks for life, to Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Kano House of Assembly, which a segment of the residents of the state, view as a thank you reward for him and his deputy, for the hatchet man’s job done.
The swamp of celebrants who trooped out to welcome the creation of the four new Emirates of Gaya, Rano, Karaye and Bichi, was an indication that the decision seems to enjoy some measure of support in some quarters in the state.
As a way of mobilising support for the decision, the Kano Government House has intensified a
subtle media campaign for the action, backed up by several press statements and briefings, held, to explain the state government`s position on the matter.
For instance, a press statement issued and signed by Abba Anwar, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor read as follows: “The long awaited and popular Kano State Emir' Appointment and Deposition Amendment Law, 2019, has been assented by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Governor signed the Bill at the 136th State Executive meeting of the Ganduje Government this afternoon, 8th June 2019, at Kano Government House. Governor Ganduje wishes to state that all the necessary arrangements needed for the immediate take-off of the new Councils would be concluded with dispatch.
‘King Makers will be known very soon. So also, all other processes and procedures will be completed for appointing respective Emirs, issuing them with appointment letters up to the Coronation stage’, the statement said.
At the historic signing of the bill by Governor Ganduje, was Speaker Kabiru Alhassan Rurum and other Principal Officers of the State Assembly.
The assent, signaled the consummation of the governor’s plan to whittle down the influence of the Kano Emirate, a one-time Emir Council presided over by colourful Sarkin Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II. Sarkin Kano Malam Muhammadu Sanusi, an internationally acclaimed economist and former CBN Governor has been at loggerheads with the Ganduje Government over his outspoken public criticism of many of the Ganduje Government’s initiatives, notably the N1 trillion Naira inner city rail network.
Signing the bill was therefore, seen as retaliation against Sanusi’s believed sympathy for PDP, the bitterest foe of the Ganduje Government, even Ganduje continues to preen and bask in the glory of the moment said: ‘Traditional institutions will now go closer to the people in all nooks and crannies of the state. We are about to make history today, and in the Holy Month of Ramadan’.
Without doubt, creation of new emirates has always been a political tool used to hit at the foremost Emirs in the Sokoto Caliphate and Sarkin Kano since the days of Late Governor Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi who first established new emirates to settle scores with the late Emir Ado Bayero who was not on the same page with his Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
The emirates created by Rimi were later dismantled by another PRP Government under late Sabo Bakin Zuwo to gain favour with the powerful monarch Ado Bayero in a bid to buy acceptability over the controversial win of the PRP in 1983.
The dismantling of the Rimi emirates happened despite the acceptance by the people
of the areas granted the elevated status. Most were to be re-elevated later, including Dutse, which was to later become a state capital, thus earning the automatic emirate status under the Ibrahim Babangida administration in 1991.
The yearning for a return to the emirate status by Gaya since 1983 has only seen the light of day by the Ganduje design.
Ancient powerful Kingdoms subsumed under Kano for hundreds of years, Karaye and Rano
have now attained the dream status they had always yearned for as a fall out of the crises between the Palace of Sarkin Kano under Muhammadu Sanusi II and the Government House of Ganduje.
Bichi, the newest surprise Emirate has joined the royal status of a first class chief from its history of being the usual stepping stone of a favoured Kano Prince on his way to inheriting the throne of his ancestors as Emir.
With the creation of the new emirates, what remains to be seen is how the Emir of Kano will manage the new emirates and vice versa.
Tijjani Naniya, a Professor of History, Bayero University, Kano (BUK) says the unfolding development in the state is askance, noting that the creation of emirates can only be done on account of a battle, such as the Jihad that produced the Kano emirate and other emirates in the country. (Inside Business Online)
