Trouble is brewing for the Emir of Kano as the state government has rolled out grand plans to whittle down his control of the emirate. The once-jealous but revered emirate is denigrated and boiling at the same time. The occupant of the throne appears to be agitated. Yet, the governor rocking the boat is adamant on the curious development.
The main sin of the reigning Emir of Kano, HRH Sanusi II hangs over his alleged meddling in the concluded governorship election and his call for free and fair elections in the state.
After the general elections, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje sent a bill on amendment of the local government and chieftaincy affairs to the House of Assembly for the creation of four additional first class Emirates.
During their sitting on Wednesday, May 8, the lawmakers passed the bill into law to pave way for the decentralisation of the Kano Emirate council, thereby reducing the number of the emirates under the influence of the sitting Emir of Kano.
Abdullahi Ganduje, the state governor had assented to the bill splitting Kano emirate into five and appointed four new emirs in the state 48 hours after. The new emirs are Aminu Ado Bayero (Bichi), Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Gaya), Tafida Abubakar (Rano), and Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar 11 (Karaye).
Until his appointment as emir, Bayero was the Wamban Kano, a position given to him by the present emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II after promoting the former Wambai, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi to the rank of Galadima following the death of late Galadiman Kano Tijjani Hashim.
Kabiru Alhassan, the speaker of the Kano house of assembly, is now a kingmaker in Rano emirate. Rurum, who holds the traditional title of Turakin Rano, made the list of four kingmakers in the emirate.
Confirming the incident, Malam Muhammad Garba, the State’s Commissioner of Information, said the new emirs had received their letters of appointment on Saturday at Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium.
The governor had informed the appointed emirs of their elevation Friday night and directed them to begin preparations for their new assignment.
However, a Kano State High Court presided over by Justice Nasiru Saminu has restrained Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from appointing four new emirs for the newly created emirates in the state.
The court also ordered Kano state government to suspend any move for demarcating the Kano emirate pending the determination of the case filed before it by the minority leader of the Kano State House of Assembly.
The Minority Leader and Minority Whip of the House, Rabi’u Saleh Gwarzo and Babangida Yusuf Sulaiman had challenged the procedures followed in creating the four emirates.
Confirming the development to our reporter, Gwarzo said, “We challenged the creation of the new emirates in court because the procedures followed by the House was illegal.
The days and times and entire processes did not conform with ethics of the House, hence our decision to challenge it in court. “We have secured a court order in that respect and it will soon be made public.
“We won’t allow this matter to die just like that. Due process must be followed in all undertakings of the House. “We have rules and regulations governing the conduct of any activity by the House and we will not allow anybody to deviate from the rules of the House.”
But, Kano Government said on Saturday it did not receive any court order restraining Gov. Ganduje from further action concerning the newly appointed First Class Emirs of Rano, Karaye, Gaya and Bichi Emirates. This is contained in a statement signed by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Ganduje and made available to newsmen in Kano.
According to the statement, the court order was reportedly issued around 5 p.m on Friday, May 10, 2019, long after the new emirs had formally accepted the appointment.
“Letters of the Notification of Appointment were written from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, since Thursday, May 9, 2019 and were despatched to the concerned Emirs the following day Friday, May 10, 2019, in the very early hours of the day.”
It added that the the letters dated May 9, 2019, had reference number SSG/REPA/5/A/86/T and were addressed to the newly appointed Emirs.
The statement said each letter states that: “In accordance with the power conferred on the Governor by the Kano State Emirs (Appointment and Deposition) Amended Law 2019 (1440 AH) which provides the creation of more Emirates.
“I wish to convey the approval of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR for your appointment as First Class Emir of (Bichi) (Karaye) (Rano) (Gaya) Emirate.”
According to the statement, all the four new emirs had formally accepted the appointment. It explained that the new Emir of Karaye, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar II forwarded his acceptance letter at about 12 noon on Friday, May 10, that of Rano, Alhaji Tafida Abubakar Il around 10:15 a.m. while the Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and the Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkadir, forwarded theirs at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. respectively.
The statement, therefore, said the ceremony expected to hold at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium, Kofar Mata, this Saturday was merely for the new emirs to thank the Governor for appointing them.
Reacting in an Instagram post on Saturday, May 11, Adam Lamido Sanusi (Ashraf), a son of Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has said the creation of four new emirates by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje will only stand if the governor was on the right path.
Though the governor had explained that the creation of the new Emirates was not a vendetta against Emir Sanusi, Adam said that his father was being attacked because of his blunt stance on issues.
“Between the Emir and the Governor, whoever is right, we pray succeeds.
“My father speaks what is on his mind when he believes he should and I don’t believe he is wrong for this.
“If he is dethroned or reduced in status then, I still wish for my people to get a right and just leader like him. If he is increased, I still wish that he continues to be just,” he said.
He urged Nigerians not to insult anyone or make a rash decision over the activities of the governor.
“I am not an expert in politics or personal relations. In all honesty, I thank those of you that supported my dad but try not to insult anyone when you speak your opinions.
“Try not to make rash decisions without fully understanding the situation. Do not hate anyone because they favour the other as they may not fully comprehend what is happening,” he said.
The Kano Emirate formed in 1805 during the Fulani jihad was a religious state in Northern Nigeria, when the old Hausa Sultanate of Kano was subjected to the Sokoto Caliphate.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Fulani Islamic leader Usman dan Fodio led a jihad affecting much of northern Nigeria, leading to the emergence of the Sokoto Caliphate. Kano became the largest and most prosperous province of the empire.
