THE UNENDING KANO EMIRATE CRISIS
The influence of the emirate is gradually being eroded
Tension rose again recently in the Kano Emirate following a clash between supporters of the 15th Emir, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and those loyal to the 16th Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II. In the unfortunate incident, which occurred at the Kofar Kudu area of the metropolis, some police vehicles were smashed while the palace main gate was damaged. Some of the guards and other innocent people were also injured. According to many reports, the situation could have been worse in one of the country’s most fragile cities but for the prompt intervention of security personnel who dispersed the hoodlums with tear gas. The Kano State Police Command has set up a panel to investigate the altercation.
While we wait for the outcome of the investigation, the ugly incident has again reawakened the protracted crisis in an institution that has for centuries remained the beacon of tradition and pride, following the decision to reinstate Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano in May 2024. He had been deposed four years earlier by then Governor Abdullahi Ganduje who created four additional emirates from the Kano Emirate, and appointed Bayero as Emir of Kano. However, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf returned Sanusi as the emir, following a repeal of the law that created additional emirates by the State House of Assembly. Although the move was challenged by some Kano stakeholders, Sanusi holds court in the main palace while Bayero has continued to occupy the Nassarawa Palace under a heavy security presence from federal authorities.
Many analysts have narrowed the dispute over the Emirship of Kano largely to politics. But that has always been the case. Kano State has premium political value because of its huge population. The Emir of Kano wields enormous influence on the people of the cosmopolitan city, the state and indeed beyond. The death of 13th Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero, who ruled from 1963 to 2014, was said to have opened the emirate to a complex power game. The late Bayero himself was a subject of such political intrigue during the Second Republic when he was suspended by Governor Abubakar Rimi who also divided the emirate before his successor, Sabo Bakin Zuwo restored him to his original position.
At the centre of the current crisis are two political gladiators in the state who were once together. Former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his erstwhile deputy and successor, Ganduje, who was until recently the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). While the appointment of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2014 was at a period Kwankwaso and Ganduje were together, events took a different turn when they fell apart. After removing Sanusi, Ganduje appointed Bayero as successor, although it was not for long. In what was interpreted as a retaliatory measure, Governor Yusuf, an ally of Kwankwaso, deposed Bayero and reappointed Sanusi as the 16th Emir.
Evidently backed by some forces in Abuja, Bayero has refused to quit, with the battles now being fought in several courts. In the process, the influence of the once powerful and respected emirate is increasingly being eroded while the combatants have been reduced to pawns in the hands of powerful politicians. Now Kano has become a city with two emirs, both laying claim to the revered title and both using the courts to fight their battles. While we hope that critical stakeholders in Kano will come together to resolve the impasse, the survival of the traditional institution in the country depends largely on the ability to shield the occupants from partisan interests.
