EMIR'S DETHRONEMENT: GANDUJE APPOINTS ADO BAYERO'S SON NEW EMIR

Deposed Emir Banished to Nasarawa

The Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, on Monday, dethroned the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II.

The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, in a statement in Kano on Monday, stated that the removal of Sanusi, whose grandfather, Muhammadu Sanusi I, was deposed in 1963, was unanimously approved by the state executive council.

Prior to Sanusi’s dethronement at 11am on Monday, there were signs that a major decision was in the offing as heavily armed security agents were drafted to the major parts of the city, including the palace of the monarch.

About six hours after Sanusi was deposed, the state government announced Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, a son of the 13th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who died in 2014, as the successor to the dethroned monarch.

The state government as early as 8am had invited journalists to the Government House for what a top officer said was “an important state matter.”

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The secretary to the state government stated that the emir was dethroned for “total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state governor and other lawful authorities, including his persistent refusal to attend official meetings and programmes organised by the government without any lawful justification which amount to total insubordination.”

He further alleged that Sanusi breached part 3 section 13 (a-e) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019, adding that if left unchecked the deposed monarch would “destroy the good and established image of the Kano Emirate.

“This removal is made after due consultation with the relevant stakeholders and in compliance with part 3 section 13 of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and other reasons stated above. It was reached in order to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano Emirate built over thousand years.”

The state governor, through the secretary to the state government, approved the appointment of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, as the 15th Emir of Kano in the ruling Fulani dynasty.

The SSG, Usman Alhaji, at the press conference, said “In my capacity as the secretary to the state government, I have been directed by His Excellency, Governor Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, based on Sections 11 Subsection 1 of Kano State Emirate Council law 2019 to announce the appointment of Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the former Emir of Bichi as the 15th Emir of Kano in the ruling Fulani dynasty.”

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The Emir has since been banished to Nasarawa State. Since his ascension to the throne, Sanusi, who is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been an advocate of reforms in the largely conservative North.

In addition to condemning the Almajiri system, he has been critical of the northern elite. Recently in Kaduna, he warned that the North was destroying itself by not embracing education. The crisis between him and the Kano State government worsened last year when the state anti-graft agency probed him for corruption.