Bashir Mohammed
At the time the late emir of Kano Alhaji Sir Muhammadu Sanusi, the grand father of the newly appointed emir of Kano, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido was deposed in 1962 by the then northern Nigeria regional government led by the late Sarduana of Sokoto Sr, Ahamdu Bello, Sanusi was asked by Scott Lippman o the Washington post on what he though was responsible for his deposition.
The fire brand Monarch told the Washington post that, as far as he was concerned, he had not done anything to snub the ruling oligarchs’ only that he could be victimized for his recalcitrant ideological view which had made him to be hated by those who saw him as a threat.
Emir Sanusi told his interviewer that, he considered his travails as an act of providence, as he had faith in God which he believed is the only one to effect his dethronement.
Sanusi was said to have ruled with iron fist and become highly revered for his charisma and immense knowledge of Islam which had made him to detest persecution and injustice in whatever form, using his swagger stick to fight oppression and tyranny to the last drop of his blood.
When he was ousted and forced into exile to Azare in the present Bauchi State, emir Sanusi kept a low profile and became absolutely devoted to the worship of ALLAH up till the time he departed to the great beyond at his Wudil residence after spending few years there.
He was succeed by his brother, emir Muhammadu Inuwa whose tenure only lasted for six month paving the way for the late Ado Bayero to succeed him.
After 51 yr eventful tenure on the exalted throne which he inherited at the age of 33, Bayero enjoyed the trappings of power without hiccups, making him to be one of the most adored traditional rulers in contemporary history.
The news about his death has opened the floodgate to seekers of the throne who intensified effort towards clinching the coveted throne, knowing that ruling kano is undoubtedly something to be proud of.
With the succession battle assuming a controversial dimension with the exit of emir Bayero, governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso saw the compelling need to dispel the uncertainty created by the hot craze for the seat by announcing the person to succeed emir Bayero in the person of Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido just two days after Bayero’s exit.
The succession saga took another dimension when irate youth opposed to the appointment of Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido took to the streets in protest, with the expression of their anger snowballing into a violent one, which had never done anything to effect a reversal of the governor’s decision.
Knowing the inescapable fact that, people would be curious to know why he had effected such a decision, the governor was bold to tell the people of Kano that he had taken the decision to appoint Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido as the new emir of Kano on merit, because he had posses the competence and the exposure to propel Kano emirate to greater height.
Emir Sanusi himself had told anyone who cared to listen that, the kano royal family is strongly united and cohesive only that, agents of anarchy take solace in causing disaffection within the parlance of the royalty.
According to emir Sanusi, he was almost brought up in the hands of the Late emir of kano Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero and got married to his daughter and are blessed with seven children which are the grandsons of the late emir.
Sanusi’s grand father, according to historians of kano emirate was deposed in 1962 on political ground pointing out that history is repeating itself and that his grandson, Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido has inherited the throne, thus reincarnating the Sanusi’s dynasty which had ruled Kano.
Historians of contemporary monarchy are propounding the notion that, emirs who had reigned in the pre and post colonial times were known for their servile obedience to those in the position of authority always succumbing to executive fiat.
What would be of immense benefit to their subjects could only be listened and taken into cognizance, if it had not gone contrary to the whims and caprices of the government.
Emir Sanusi, the grand father of Emir Lamido Sanusi Lamido according to historians had refused to be cowed into total submission and become too aristocratic to the point that, whenever he took a decision it was final, as he always told his subjects that as a true and devoted Muslim the Glorious Quran was his guide.
According to the historians, he rose and fell because he was not in the good books of the Northern Nigeria Regional Government and had not been subservient to those who believed that the destiny of the north and its ruling monarchs was in their pockets.
With the advent of modern political dispensation, the historians noted, those in government could only be checked by new blood in the saddle of monarchical authority who could rise and speak against the excesses of the political class, since they have possessed the much needed gut to counter any perceived injustice.
Lamido Sanusi Lamido according to historians is academically polished, exposed and also blessed with the knowledge of Islam in addition to being affluent enough not to go cap in hand begging from those who believed that, they have the favours they could offer to make one a pawn to be manipulated.
Pundits are also of the opinion that, since Lamido Sanusi Lamido is part of the Fulani ruling dynasty, there is no reason for one to be petty. In the face of the fact that he had all the most needed qualities to sustain the legacies of the late emir Bayero by transforming the Kano Emirate into a bastion of pride and honour.
It was however the pundits contention that those who are fanning the embers of animosity are not in any way related to the throne only that they are being used by a cabal of deceit to cause confusion.
Their action the pundits concurred would not in anyway force governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwas to back down on the final decision he had taken to appoint the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the 14th emir of Kano.
The crux of the matter is that with the deposition of the late sir Muhammadu Sanusi as the 11th emir of Kano by the defunct northern Nigeria regional government, the famous dynasty has been reincarnated with his grandson appointed to succeed the late emir Bayero.
