HRH Sanusi, Kano’s 14th Fulani emir

Aliyu Musa


Last week the emir of Kano HRH Alhaji Ado Bayero passed on, vacating the throne he occupied for 51 years. May Allah forgive his shortcomings, accept his good deeds and give the people of Kano and Nigeria the courage to accept his loss as Allah’s will. His demise, not unexpectedly though, resulted in a fierce succession battle, out of which the former CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi emerged triumphant. HRH Sanusi’s emergence as the new emir of Kano has also left in its trail a bitter battle between the two main political parties in the country.

The ruling PDP evidently fired the first salvo when it prematurely congratulated one of the contenders to the throne, the son of the late emir, Alhaji Sanusi Ado Bayero even when the outcome was yet to be announced. The party, in a statement signed by its spokesman Olisa Metuh, glowingly paid tribute to the new emir and unreservedly hailed the kingmakers and the selection process. Although it later backtracked and blamed the embarrassing goof on an aide of the spokesman it still foot-dragged before grudgingly congratulating the actual winner.

Following pockets of protests after the Kano State government officially announced HRH Sanusi as the new emir, the opposition APC insisted the error was a ploy by the PDP to destabilise Kano, a charge the ruling party immediately denied.

As politicians trade accusations over the contest and its aftermath one question that appositely needs to be asked is: of what political benefit would the choice of the emir, a position based on the traditional and religious practices of the people of Kano, be to the parties?

A few hours before the new emir was announced I had a telephone coversation with a friend, an astute political analyst, who, although like me preferred Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, argued the most likely name was Alhaji Abbas Sanusi’s. Alhaji Sanusi is the Wamban Kano, Malam Sanusi’s uncle, and obviously the most experienced, although not the most qualified of the three that made the final list. So, as much as we wanted Malam Sanusi in, we resigned to the reality that he would be regarded as a ‘political loose cannon’ that must be kept as safely away from the revered throne as possible.

Unknown to us some forms of powerful political horse-trading were already taking place. The PDP, I later heard, had approached some powerful northern elites including monarchs to prevail on Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to ensure that the former CBN governor was not named the new emir. And the APC cashed in on the ruling party’s desperation to parachute some of its chieftains to Kano to pressure the governor into not submitting to PDP’s pressure. That, perhaps, changed the entire game plan, affected the outcome and inflicted a massive wound on the ego of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party.

The trouble with both parties is that they have taken the selection process too far and made the outcome more important that it ordinarily is. Otherwise why would anyone, but the Kanawa themselves, worry so much about who became the emir of Kano? But it was also a big shame that, like it was during the 2011 presidential election, the ordinary Nigerians were again pointlessly polarised along religious and tribal divides even though all the contestants are from the same religion, region and family.

A more dangerous trend is the president’s overbearing interest in the matter even afterwards; the shameless and irresponsible closure of Kano’s airport to prevent APC’s chieftains from leaving or the new emir from receiving guests; the callous use of the police to prevent the emir from entering the palace and fully resume duty as the custodian of the tradition of the people of Kano; and the nonsensical orders, if it is true, to the police to arrest HRH Sanusi for fraud and much else, are features of this imperious posture of Mr President. Perhaps, the president and his advisers are oblivious of the ominous consequences, especially if the emir is arrested.

The office of the president is far more exalted than what it has been reduced to under the presidency of Mr Jonathan. And this disgraceful political ping-pong, which has elevated a traditional office contest to a national bickering, is clearly a failure of the president to act to sanctify his office. He, therefore, needs to get back to the business of running the country and leave the Kano emirate to manage its affairs.

And HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the 14th Fulani and 57th emir of Kano, needs now to put contest behind him and mend fences, home and abroad. Now is the time to pull all resources together to bring back Kano on the positive map of the world. This is a new phase that requires innovation, which he, fortunately, does not lack. Kano’s pyramids need to be reinvigorated in line with the modernity that technology has armed our generation with. Under your reign, His Majesty let Kano recapture its days of economic boom and communal lucidity. May your reign be long and prosperous.