Ganduje, Sanusi in Renewed Battle

Ganduje, Sanusi in Renewed Battle

The public beef between the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II and the reelected governor of Kano State Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has taken another interesting turn. In a bold move allegedly designed to whittle down his nemesis’ power to the point of insignificance, the governor has signed a proposal to carve out four smaller emirates out of the Emirate of Kano.

In a two-pronged move calculated to cut the Emir down to size, the governor allegedly approved the reopening of the probe into how the State Emirate Council headed by Sanusi spent the allocate expenditures since the latter’s ascension to power. While the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was still scrambling to counter that card with a move of his own, the governor showed he is an old dog who has learned new tricks.

Few days back the Kano State House of Assembly began deliberations in a petition to create four brand new emirates out of four current districts of Sanusi’s royal domain. If successful, the district heads of Karaye, Bichi, Rano and Gaya will be elevated into first class Emirs.

The calculations are that Sanusi’s power will be reduced and his influence will wane, giving the governor four new royal canes with which to beat him into submission. Some people close to the matter squealed that it is another move to force Sanusi to retire. The Kano Emirate hierarchy will be given a choice between ousting the Emir or seeing their territory carved up.

The bone of contention between the two stalwarts of Kano politics relates to Sanusi’s loud proclamations against some of the governor’s actions as well as his continued closeness to former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the incumbent’s former godfather before the fell out. Sanusi’s pre-election stance of free and fair elections was construed as an affront to Ganduje’s bid to win at all costs. Moreover, during the violence-marred governorship elections, the governor lost Sanusi’s stronghold of Kano Municipality by an embarrassing margin, further incurring the governor’s ire.

However, if recent developments are anything to go buy, Ganduje won’t have it all his way in his bid to depose Sanusi. Prominent Kano politicians have risen up against the move to split up a cultural institution for political gains. Moreover, Sanusi enjoys the support of the masses and sits atop an entrenched support base not easy to uproot. Watchers are now waiting with bated breaths to see how Sanusi responds moves.

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