• Reveals how Ganduje bastardised Kano traditional heritage
The 14th and 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, has opened up on the crisis bedevilling the Kano traditional stool since his appointment as the 16th Emir of Kano.
Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while speaking with Saturday Sun, said the immediate past Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, bastardised the Kano traditional institution against the wish of the Kano people.
Sanusi said: “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 had everything under Zaria. But you had huge Christian minorities, different ethnic groups, and chiefdoms were created for them. 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 own personal money and rebuilt the church.
“So, we are one people. Nobody asked for new emirates. 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.”
Sanusi however assured that drawing from his experience in the public service, he was going to collaborate with other eminent traditional rulers across the country to move the nation forward.
He expressed gratitude to God that the traditional institution in Nigeria has a very rich representation of people with experience from diverse backgrounds.
“I know that many people outside just look at us as some relics of the past culture. But look at it, Sultan of Sokoto was a General in the Nigerian Army. The Shehu of Borno was a permanent secretary. The Etsu Nupe, an Army General; Emir of Zuru was also an Army General, Emir of Zazzau was an ambassador. I was Governor of Central Bank. Emir of Fika was a DSS. Oba of Lagos, AIG of Police. Oba of Benin, an ambassador. Obi of Onitsha, a banker. The reality is that wherever you look, whether it’s security or academia, we have that wealth of experience and knowledge. That also goes into the quality of advice that we offer. So, we see ourselves as partners to the government. We often say to ourselves, how do we give the best advice based on our experience and how to manage things?” Sanusi added.
Asked why he did not challenge his removal by the Ganduje-led administration in court, Sanusi explained that a number of reasons necessitated his decision.
“I have told you that I don’t have a fundamental right to be an Emir. I am one of hundreds of princes. God chose me. And if God says I should leave, for me, I take it that God knows better than me why I had to leave. Okay, let’s say I go to court. Let me even say this; I just got a letter that said I had been dethroned for insubordination. I had never been queried for insubordination. The details of the insubordination were not given. I had not been given any chance to defend myself. So, it was clear that the state and the federal governments had both decided that it was time for me to go,” Sanusi stated.
He also informed that he had obtained a doctoral degree in the period he was off the Kano throne.
•Please read the full interview here