Protests
broke out in parts of Kano on Sunday shortly after a former Central
Bank of Nigeria Governor Lamido Sanusi was named the new Emir of Kano.
Sanusi, who by his appointment becomes the 14th Emir of Kano, takes over from Ado Ibrahim,who died on Friday.
Before the Secretary to the Kano State
Government, Dr. Rabiu Bichi, announced the decision on Sunday, the
Peoples Democratic Party and the Nothern States Governors’ Forum had
goofed by rushing to issue statements congratulating Sanusi Ado
Bayero, the son of late Ado Bayero, as the new Emir.
The PDP however withdrew the statement less than two hours when it became clear that it had erred.
The ex-CBN governor’s appointment
brought to an end, the succession battle which pitted the contenders and
their supporters against one another.
The Bayero ruling house has ruled Kano for a century out of which the late Bayero was on the throne for 51 years.
As with most contests of this nature,
Sanusi’s choice did not go down well with some Kano people, who
expected the late Emir’s first son to succeed his father.
There were reports of violence along the
British Council area of the city which shares a fence with the Emir’s
Palace and around the Lodge Road where the state Government House is
located.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, some residents of the neighbouring streets trooped out to the palace area in opposition to the choice.
They set tyres on fire and mounted road
blocks as they shouted, ‘‘Ba muso, ba muso’’, meaning, ‘‘we don’t want,
we don’t want’’ in apparent reference to the choice of Sanusi.
However, security officials who were prepared for any eventuality quelled it before it got out of hand.
Information earlier gathered from the
closed door sessions held before a list of the contenders was presented
to Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso, indicated that Sanusi was in a close race
with his uncle, the Wamban Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi.
Later, news filtered in that Bayero was
the choice. This made some on-line publications and a private
television station, to report that Bayero was the chosen one.
The SSG however told journalists at a
news conference, that Lamido, who is the grandson of the 11th Fulani
Emir of Kano and Islamic Scholar, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, had been
appointed to replace the late Emir.
He said, “I have the honour to
announce that after careful study of the kingmakers selection and
advise, we have chosen the former CBN governor and the Dan’Majen Kano,
Lamido Sanusi as the new emir.”
Bichi was flanked by the four Kano kingmakers – the Sarkin Bai, Sarki Dawaki Mai’Tuta, and the Madakin Kano.
The SSG explained that the former CBN governor was chosen after due consultations with stakeholders.
Apart from Bayero and Abass Sanusi, the other contender was Aminu Bayero.
The former CBN governor, prepared long
for the job. Those knowledgeable about his lifelong desire to ascend the
throne confided in one of our correspondents that he used his time as
CBN governor to endear himself to the people.
A source in the Kano Emirate said, “If
you can recall, he donated N100m to the state after the Boko Haram
attack which killed many people.He did so many things underground to
help his people.
“The way he was removed from office also contributed because some saw him as incorruptible and his removal unjust.
“He was also able to reconcile the
differences he had with Governor Kwakwanso after which both of them
found a common ‘enemy’ (I use this word with every sense of
responsibility) in President Goodluck Jonathan.
“None of the late Emir’s sons can match
the ex-CBN governor in terms of resources, local and international
connection which the appointing authority believes can be put to good
use for the people of Kano.
“There is also this interesting
political angle to the whole thing. Whosoever intends to contest for the
position of President in 2015 will have to pay the tradition al homage
to the royal father. It will be interesting to see how Jonathan will
handle this if he is to contest.”
A night before, a high-powered team of
the All Progressives Congress slept in Kano in a show of solidarity for
Sanusi. The team comprised of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bukola Saraki, Nuhu
Ribadu, Rotimi Amaechi, Aliyu Wamakko, among others.
Sanusi is the son of Muhammad Sanusi, a
technocrat and a career diplomat, who served as the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His father was also
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Belgium and China.
The PDP had , in a statement by
its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh , wrongly praised
the Kingmakers for their “wise decision in choosing Bayero.
It said the kingmakers had “in so doing,
preserved the sanctity of the throne and the confidence reposed in the
revered traditional institution.”
“Alhaji Bayero is a rare breed. A man of
exceptional wisdom and humility. We have a new Emir who, like his
father, remains a detrabilised Nigerians with an unshaken belief in the
unity and peaceful coexistence of our people as a nation,” the party
added.
The NSGF, through its Chairman,
Babangida Aliyu, also blundered like the PDP by rushing to congratulate
Bayero even before the state government’s announcement.
Aliyu, who is also the Niger State
Governor said in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Israel A.
Ebije, thanked Kwankwaso for playing the role of a good umpire during
the entire process.
He said, “Let me congratulate the new
Emir of Kano, Sanusi Ado Bayero over his ascension as Emir of Kano. God
has granted him the position and he must sustain his fathers legacies
especially in maintaining peace within Kano state, the North and Nigeria
as a whole.
“The Northern States Governors Forum is
indeed very happy for him and we congratulate him. It is however
instructive to intimate that his father had a vision of ensuring that
the North and Nigeria remain united and indivisible and that tenet he
must sustain.”
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