The royal battle between Muhammadu Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero over right to the emir stool is a matter before the court, but with almost daily rumbles in the large city and its peace, MURTALA ADEWALE reports.
Controversies over who is the authentic Emir of the historic city of Kano further took a disturbing turn last Friday when armed security agents, allegedly acting on the directives of the Federal Government, cordoned the entrance of Kofar Kudu palace.
Before now, court rulings, counter judgments, and series of conflicting orders in favour and against the two contenders have complicated the royal rumble.
The overriding interest of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)-led Kano State and the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled Federal Government is obvious even in the contents of court rulings, judgments and orders that had so far emanated from both federal and state courts.
Incidentally, the judgments of the courts, whether in favour of Sanusi or Aminu Ado Bayero, have created an unpleasant impression in the minds of the public, who believe the judiciary is not helping matters.
The crux of the matter was the sack of the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf in May 2024. The governor had dissolved the five emirate councils established by the immediate past administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Governor Yusuf subsequently reinstated Muhammadu Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to replace Bayero as the 16th emir of Kano, apparently to settle the prolonged political discord between his benefactor and presidential candidate of NNPP in the last general elections, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and the incumbent national chairman of APC, Ganduje.
Dissatisfied with his removal, Bayero returned to Kano ostensibly to reclaim his stool with heavily armed military and mobile police officials. The forceful attempt to gain access into the Kofar Kudu Palace was, however, foiled by the state government, which moved Sanusi back to the palace midnight before Bayero’s arrival.
After the aborted plan, Bayero was relocated and subsequently settled at Nasarawa mini palace, a resting destination for emirs during traditional festivals, which also houses the graves of some late emirs.
In the last seven months, Bayero has been residing at the Nasarawa Palace where he has assumed full royal compliments and is holding traditional court sessions while Sanusi presides at the Kofar Kudu ancestral palace.
The state government has continued to avail Sanusi with the full paraphernalia of office and recognition as rightful owner of the stool, despite pressures from the Federal Government to oust him and recognise Ado Bayero.
The huge crowd at the recent wedding ceremony of Kwankwaso’s daughter held at Kofar Kudu Palace, which attracted top political figures that cut across opposition parties, was another veritable opportunity to validate Sanusi as the Emir of Kano, recognised by the state government.
Among the personalities that were in Kano for Kwankwaso daughter’s marriage are former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who appeared in the red cap symbol of the Kwankwasiyya movement; former Vice President and presidential candidate for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
Others include serving governors, 22 former governors; serving and former ministers; serving and former lawmakers; business tycoons; captains of Industry, friends and associates of Kwankwaso from abroad and within the country.
Prominent among the high profile political gladiators at the Kofar Kudu Palace was Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who in his address referred to Sanusi as “Emir of Kano”.
It was an unprecedented moment that generated reactions. Although there was no counter reaction from the presidency to clear any doubt, Shettima’s perceived validation of Sanusi further triggered the controversy.
But another proposed royal marriage scheduled to hold between the son of the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and Nasiru Ado Bayero, a younger brother to the deposed emir, Aminu Ado Bayero, on December 13, 2024, The Guardian gathered, was being primed to outplay the one held at the Kudu Palace.
In what appeared like a push to whittle down the weight of personalities that attended Kwankwaso’s daughter’s wedding, the deputy Senate President, who is also a strong pillar behind Aminu Ado Bayero, had concluded arrangements to attract the presence of President Bola Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and bigwigs to the wedding.
Besides the traditional pomp, the impending politics of royal marriage at the Nasarawa Palace, was intended to equally bring in dignitaries and a sizable crowd with a view to making a statement that Aminu Ado Bayero is indeed the authentic Emir of Kano.
However, the plan to host President Tinubu in Kano for the royal wedding has now been aborted with the announcement of the relocation of the event to Abuja.
A statement on Monday, December 2, 2024 by the chairman of the organising committee of the bride’s families, Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, said the reason for the relocation of the wedding was for convenient movement of personalities, who have indicated interest to attend the wedding from across the country and abroad.
Nevertheless, observers believe the relocation of the wedding to Abuja was necessitated mainly for security purposes considering the public revolts that greeted the position of the Deputy Senate President, on the controversial tax reform bills, which scaled the second reading at the floor of the Senate.
But, Dan Agundi has described as falsehood and misleading the assumption that the shift in the location of the wedding to Abuja was due to security threat. He equally claimed that the decision had nothing to do with the agitation on the tax reform bills at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
Analysts said that although the relocation of the royal wedding might have doused the tension and potential unrest in Kano, the plan of exploring the high profile occasion to recognise the 15th emir, Aminu Ado Bayero as the authentic emir, is still intact.
But while the issues surrounding the wedding is yet to settle, last Friday, the entrance of the Kofar Kudu Palace of Sanusi, was blocked by armed security men and armoured tanks, which prevented vehicular movement in and out of the palace.
Similar deployment was also witnessed at the palace of the district head of Bichi, in the Bichi Local Government area of the state, a development that triggered apprehension in the ancient city.
The ugly development further pointed at the Federal Government’s interference in the traditional affairs in Kano, which prevented the installation of a new district head of Bichi.
Emir Sanusi II had appointed his Chief of Staff and the traditional title holder of Wambe of Kano, Alhaji Munir Sanusi, as the new district head of Bichi after the removal of Nasiru Ado Bayero, the junior brother to the deposed emir.
Bichi has been another hotbed in the emirship battle since the dissolution of the five emirates established by the immediate past governor, Ganduje. Nasiru alongside his elder brother, Ado Bayero were removed by Governor Yusuf in May.
In a reaction, the Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, condemned the barricade of the palace, insisting that the government would not tolerate any intrusion from the Federal Government into the emirship affairs. Besides, the SSG claimed that certain individuals in Abuja were supporting those attempting to disrupt the peace in Kano.
To corroborate this, Kwankwaso few weeks ago had alleged that Lagos would not allow Kano to appoint its emir. Underneath the whole royal drama is the resurgence of the supremacy battle between Kwankwaso and Ganduje over who controls the seat of power in Kano in 2027.
Ganduje, the incumbent National Chairman of the ruling APC is enjoying the backing of the Federal Government to suppress the dominance of the ruling NNPP in Kano State. It is believed that the agenda is allegedly aimed at broadening APC’s chances in Kano State ahead of 2027 general elections.
A professor of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, Kamilu Sani Fagge, said the relocation of the deputy senate president’s son’s wedding to Abuja was a welcome decision to ease needless tension in Kano.
He said: “The tussle surrounding the Emir’s stool in Kano is a mere reflection of the interest of the elite and political class in the state. The marriage is a way of showing up and solidifying their support for a preferred emir.
“Already, the NNPP government is behind Sanusi while the APC Federal Government is supporting Aminu, and so with the marriages of Kwankwaso and Bayero, each of them is simply trying to show strength. It is a lot of politics.”
But a Kano-based civil society activist, Ibrahim Waiya, said the Federal Government seemed to have taken position in the lingering issue of emirship tussle in Kano, which clearly negates the principles of democracy.
He said: “The experience in Kano State at present is that of institutionalised culture, where federal might is being used to intimidate and suppress the opposition states.”
But the Publicity Secretary of APC in Kano, Zakari Sarina disagreed with the alleged interference of the Federal Government in the Emir crisis in Kano. Sarina, instead, accused the state government of abusing court orders. The APC chieftain believes that the outcry of the state government against the security agencies was because of the inability of the NNPP-led administration to compromise the security agencies.
(Guardian)
