The dethronement of the 15th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, and the subsequent reinstatement of his cousin brother, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano has thrown the royal families of Sanusi and Bayero into serious internal acrimony, findings by The Point have revealed.
Few hours after his sudden sack, Bayero reportedly stormed the state and settled in a mini-palace and was given military protection.
The situation has heightened tension in the state as indigenes have been divided over the development. While some are showing solidarity for Bayero and condemning his removal, others have been hailing the state governor, Abba Yusuf for reinstating Sanusi. However, some indigenes have expressed concern over what they termed the emergence of two kings in the Kano Emirate.
They said the continuous stay of Bayero at the heavily protected mini-palace is a pointer that two kings might be ruling the ancient state.
Investigation by The Point revealed that the reinstatement of Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was due to the strained relationship between former governors of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
One of the indigenes of Kano State, Yinusa Tanko, lamented that the situation has created bad blood among the two royal personalities, warning politicians to desist from using traditional rulers to score political points.
Speaking in an interview, Tanko, the chief spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, said, “The initial support being given to His Excellency, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido II came with a lot of challenges. If you could remember, he was actually crowned in the Government House in Kano when Ganduje was the Deputy Governor to Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. And at the same time, it was Ganduje who actually crowned him (Sanusi) at the directive of the substantive governor.
“So, that came with a lot of political undertones. He wasn’t actually crowned at the palace. But, later on, the political turmoil crystallized in such a way that Ganduje ended up not being too comfortable with His Royal Highness, Sanusi II, coupled with his reform agenda. Unfortunately, the emirate council was balkanized into five and Sanusi was dethroned.
“Now, the issue is that after that dethronement, there was litigation for the reinstatement and further removal of that particular clause that balkanized the emirate council. Interestingly, as the political turmoil twisted, now we have Abba Yusuf as the governor of Kano State, which of course is being supported heavily by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The return of Kwankwaso from Yusuf Abba now brought back the emirate council into status quo, now dethroning Aminu Bayero who is also a cousin and a brother of Sanusi Lamido. This is one family, a very large one, united in the area of rulership and kingship of Kano.”
On the level of acrimony and damage the dethronement and reinstatement would cause, Tanko explained that, “Unfortunately for us, this particular reinstatement and dethronement and all, may lead to some kind of internal bad blood between the families, which we do not want. What we want is one stable family house that has a process of enthronement and dethronement within the cultural purview of the Kano Emirate so that there will not be acrimony within the family.”
He lamented that political interest has crippled into the selection process of kings in the state, warning that such development has been debasing the traditional institution and making it a mockery before the public.
According to him, “Elections and political interests have now crept into the Emirate Council which may cause a lot of disharmony now and in the nearest future and in which such particular dethronement and enthronement would be averted in order to have a stable emirate council in Kano.”
On why Sanusi was dethroned by Ganduje and the balkanization of the Kano Emirate, the public affairs analyst said, “It was Ganduje that actually enthroned Sanusi Lamido vis a vis the interest that he showed. So, he felt Sanusi Lamido owed him some major support politically. To him, he sees Sanusi as antagonistic to his government, antagonistic to some of his own policies, and the interference that he allegedly put on Sanusi Lamido, that was the reason he dethroned him and at the same time balkanized the emirate council.
“So, somehow, it was done in a bad taste, no matter what it is, we should have been able to deal with the matter internally, not creating disharmony within the emirate council.”
“Those who felt aggrieved were able to win elections and return everything to status quo. Don’t also forget that Aminu is a bona fide son of Bayero who is also a direct cousin of Sanusi Lamido. In fact, there are internal marriages that took place within this particular group. Recently, I was in Kano at the palace where the son of His Royal Highness, Aminu Ado Bayero, who was also interestingly named after Sanusi Lamido because the first Emir, the grandfather of Sanusi Lamido II. So, the name Sanusi is highly revered among the family.
“As you can see, even the name resonated with the children of Aminu Ado Bayero. So, this is a very strong family bond and we don’t want to see it being affected because of political interest.”
Tanko and other public affairs analysts including Bamigbola Gbolagunte and Fatai Tijani accused state governors and other politicians of putting the traditional institution into disrepute.
“Governors and other political office holders should try as much as possible to detach political interest from the emirate because it will crush the cultural strong bond we share. The Emir is supposed to be the father of all, it is not the person on the seat, it is the seat itself because it represents our heritage, our strong belief and our leadership. If the king speaks, even though the constitution has put the king under local government chairman, funny as it sounds, but then, the king is supposed to be seen as the father of all in respect of where or what position you hold.
“So, the interference of the king in any political matter, any dispute within the Kano Emirate Council is like a law, is like a stand position of our parenthood. When the king speaks, he speaks the words of the overall gathering of the Kano people. Their continuous interference in rulership and kingship of Emirate Council will be inimical to that particular strong cultural heritage and belief which should not be condoned in any way at all,” Tanko stated.
Advising Kano Emirs against unnecessary interference in politics, he noted that, “Some of these intrigues in the emirate must be re-fashioned to ensure that emirate council doesn’t interfere in political interest, even if they are going to interfere, it must be seen to be a reconciliatory one and then they can talk to anybody for he or she to toe the line of peaceful resolution and amicable solution to either internal or external matter for the glory of Kano or any other emirate as the case maybe. So, the position of the king is highly revered and it shouldn’t be seen to be political or taking sides, but rather, for the interest of the common good.”
For Gbolagunte, “Kings will end up being subservient to government house rather than being seen as an interface for anybody in their domains including the governor the moment the right selective process is allowed. Sadly, our traditional history is being weakened by vendettas being embarked upon by governors.”
