The 16th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said he is not worried about the possibility of another governor dethroning him.
Speaking about the ongoing tussle between him and the 15th Emir, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the monarch insisted that his reinstatement was based on an amendment of the attack “on our collective history” by former governor of the state, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.
Speaking publicly about his reinstatement for the first time in an interview with journalists, Sanusi said it does not matter even if another governor removes him from office.
He added that his reinstatement was an amendment of the attack “on our collective history” by the former governor of the state, Ganduje.
Sanusi said the beneficiaries of the former system felt hurt because they had been removed.
He said Kano has existed for over 1,000 years, adding that “we are one people” and “nobody asked for new emirates”.
He said: “For me, even now that I am here, only God knows how long I will be here. I can die tomorrow. Another governor can come tomorrow and say that he has removed me, it doesn’t matter.
“But I am happy if he does not touch the emirate. I am happy that I will not leave a history that it was during my time that these 1,000 years of history were destroyed.
“So, I am grateful to this government, grateful to this Assembly that they have corrected that, that we have the emirate restored to what it was, and Insha’Allah that when I die or when I leave, the person who inherits will inherit what we had. It’s about the system, not about me or any individual,” he added.
On the lessons he learnt while away from the throne in the last four years, the Emir said: “Life is always a continuous process of learning and relearning. And for me, I had always believed, as they say, that we should not waste a crisis. So, anytime I have a crisis, it’s an opportunity to do something else.
“In the last four years, I have not been idle. I had just completed writing a PhD Thesis at the University of London, a week before I returned to Kano. I will be going back next month to conclude some things because I will be graduating in September.
“What we are dealing with is a situation where somebody divided us. And actually, when you create these things, some people get some privileges. They didn’t ask for it, but they’ve enjoyed it for four years.
“Now when they lose it, it’s a problem. But the problem is not what has happened today. It is what happened four years ago. If it had not been done, we would not be in this situation today. We are one family; we are one people. Somebody comes and divides us up. Even in this family, he takes one emirate and gives it to a part of the family. Now, when people enjoy it for four years and you take it away from them, it becomes a problem.
“When Ganduje wanted to create these Emirates, he could not find a law to amend. He started by amending the Emirates Appointment and Deposition Law, which the court struck down. So, he had to, de novo, ex nihilo, out of nothing create a law and create emirates, new emirates that never existed.
“Something called a Kano Emirate with eight local governments. That emirate with eight local governments had not existed in our 1,000 years of history. The same thing with the Bichi Emirate, Rano Emirate, and Gaya Emirate. None of them existed in one thousand years of history.
“So, they had the stools for four years and a new governor came on board and said we have to deal with this attack on our system, on our collective history. And he says we cannot in the interest of preserving something with a history of four years abolish a history of one thousand-plus years. He says let’s go back to the original order.
“That was all that happened. It was not targeted at any individual, at any family, at any person. But of course, the people who were beneficiaries of this would hurt. And we understand that. It is not their fault. But we cannot because we do not want to harm or hurt them and allow it to go on.
“So, managing the situation is for all of us as citizens of Kano. As members of the royal family, it is for all of us to look at the big picture and see that what has been done has been done to restore the glory of our emirate and to protect our own history and customs. For me, even now that I am here, only God knows how long I will be here. I can die tomorrow.
“You see; this was something created, manufactured by the previous government. The people of Kano never asked to be divided. In parts of this country, you have had emirates and kingdoms created, and you can understand that. If you go to Kaduna State, at one time, you have everything under Zaria. But you had huge Christian minorities, different ethnic groups and chiefdoms were created for them,” Sanusi explained.
“‘It makes sense if they felt that they did not want to be under the emirate system or under what they saw as a self-denial system. But Kano is a largely homogeneous society. If you see the Christians in Kano, they are part of us. They don’t say they want to leave us. They’re not asking for a different system. Nobody! If you go to Tudun Wada, we have Christians. You go to Rano; we have Christians. We had an issue in Rogo. You may remember that there was an issue. People went and burnt the church. I went there, took out my money, and rebuilt the church.
“So, we are one people. Nobody asked for new emirates. So, what we are dealing with is a situation where somebody divides us.
“But the truth is, when you take the larger picture, this is a kingdom that has existed for over 1,000 years. If you go to the king’s list in Kano, the king’s list from Baguada starts in 999 AD. We have a list of kings. From Baguada up to me in my first term, I was the 57th. If you add my cousin and myself, I’m 57th and 59th.
“The Kano Emirate was not created by the Nigerian Constitution. The Emirate existed before Nigeria. The Kano Emirate existed before the Sokoto Jihad. Even Uthman Danfodio did not create the Kano Emirate. The emirate was there. All that happened was that some of his disciples waged a Jihad and conquered Kano. But Kano existed. You will never find a law in the Nigerian Constitution or any law that created the Kano Emirate.
“So, how does a state House of Assembly get the constitutional right to amend something that was not created or amend something that was not created by the constitution, that does not even exist in the constitution?” he queried.
Ahmad Sorondinki
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