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E mir of Kano dethroned by Kano Government for insubordination. The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, the second most influential traditional ruler in Northern Nigeria, has been dethroned and removed from the throne.
The Emir was alleged to have shown insubordination to the authorities of the Kano State Government and has been exiled to Nasarawa State, where he is expected to live out the rest of his life.
The supporters of the Emir believed that his dethronement was as a result of his opposition to the re-election of the current Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Ganduje OFR in 2019.
Both Dr Ganduje and the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi have been at loggerheads since 2017.
Mallam Sanusi (II) is widely seen as a reformist and critic of several Northern government thereby pitching him against powerful politicians form the Northern part of the country who prefers the status quo.
Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of Mr Sanusi’s predecessor who ruled Kano for more than half a century until his death in 2014, has been chosen as the new emir by the local authorities.
What led to the Dethronement?
The position of the Kano State Government is that Mallam Muhammad Sanusi (II) was dethroned “in order to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano emirate”. The State Executive Council accused the emir of “total disrespect” for institutions and the governor’s office.
The Emir and the Governor have been at loggerheads since 2017, and the Emir has not attended state functions and official meetings, which the government said amounted to “total insubordination”.
The refusal of the emir to appear before a panel investigating allegations of corruption against him was considered a spite by the government.
He is accused of selling property and mismanaging emirati funds, but he secured a court order stopping the probe.
Mallam Sanusi (II) is known for voicing out his opinions on socio-economic issues and would not mind breaking ranks with the Northern elites. For instance, he once said that “fathers who sent their children out to beg for alms should be arrested.”
More so, it doesn’t subscribe to the idea of emirs being seen but not heard.
He has also criticized what he termed the “ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam” in some parts of northern Nigeria which has discouraged the education of girls, family planning and other progressive policies.
Following the re-election of Dr Ganduje last year, the Kano emirate was split into five and four more emirs were appointed in a move to weaken the influence of Mr Sanusi.
Kano State Government: Why We Dethroned Emir of Kano
https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/emir-sanusi-arrested-after-being-dethroned/39rgvk7
Abridged Profile of Mallam Muhammad Sanusi (II)
Mallam Lamido Muhammad Sanusi (II) was born into a royal Fulani family (Fulani Sullubawa Clan) on the 31st of July 1961.
Mallam Muhammad Sanusi (II) was educated at King’s College, Lagos, where he graduated in 1977. He then proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1981. He later received a master’s degree in economics two years later from the university and lectured at the faculty.
In 2009, he became the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was sacked in 2014 by the then President Goodluck Jonathan after revealing that $20bn in oil revenue were missing from the records.
In 2013, he was awarded a special award at the Global Islamic Finance Awards for his role in promoting Islamic banking and finance in Nigeria.
He ascended the throne and became the 14th Emir of Kano in 2014, following the death of his granduncle Ado Bayero.
He described the post, which carries enormous weight among Nigeria’s northern Muslims, as a life-long ambition.
He is also a lifelong Arabic and Islamic Scholar and Learner as he left a well-paid job as a banking risk manager in the 1990s to pursue an Islamic Study in Sudan.
To his critics, he has a holier-than-thou attitude and have wondered why he refused to appear before the panel investigating corruption allegations against him.
However, he has been receiving messages of support from prominent Nigerians with the likes of General Olusegun Obasanjo and Nasir El-Rufai encouraging the deposed monarch.
