By Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. It is a beehive of political tension in Kano State as the state government under governor Abba Yusuf has reinstate the deposed Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and scrap the other four Emirate Councils initiated by the former Kano State governor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who is the present ruling APC National Chairman.
The state House of Assembly has recently proposed a bill to review the law that established the new Emirates with Emirs in Gaya, K’araye, Rano, and Bichi.
Subsequently the on Thursday 23 of May 2024 the Assembly passed a law which dissolved the 4 Emirates.
The Kano Emirates Council Repeal Law 2024
The Kano State House of Assembly has passed into law, the Kano State Emirates Council Law (Repeal Bill) 2024 after its third reading.
This new legislation effectively nullifies the establishment of five new Emirates in the state.
With its passage, all officers created under the repealed law have been set aside, and district heads elevated or appointed under the former law are to revert to their previous positions. The Kano State Emirate Council (Amendment Number 2) Law,2024, was sponsored by the majority leader of the house Lawan Hisaini Cheddar Yan Gurasa who is the member representing the Dala state Constituency.
The initial law, which created the five new Emirates of Kano, Bichi R ano, Gaya, and K’araye was first signed by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on 5th December 2019.
Subsequently, amendments were made on October 14th, 2020, and on 11th April 2023.
Under Section 3 (1) of the Emirates original law, Kano and K’araye Emirates had jurisdiction over eight local government areas each, Bichi and Gaya Emirates over nine local government areas each, and Rano Emirates over ten local government areas out of the state’s 44 local councils.
The deposition of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Kano Emir
Following the deposition of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi on March 9th, 2020, the law was further amended
“There shall be the chairman of the council who shall be the Emir of Kano Emirate,” the law said.
Additionally, section 12 provided that the governor could grade the office of an Emir as first, second, or third class, subject to the approval of the House of Assembly.
By law Sanusi is back as the Emir of Kano
Sequel to the content of the repeal Kano Emirate Council Bill which was assented to by Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has automatically been reinstated as Kano Emir and now no other Emirs in Kano State.
By extension, all the district heads appointed by the Emirs abolished are no more but those under the Kano Emirate Council are to return to their former districts that existed before Ganduje created the new Emirates in 2020.
This drama is coming at a time when Governor Abba Yusuf has less than one week to mark his first one year anniversary in office.
Yusuf took drastic action in the state when he signed a law passed by the state house of assembly that repealed the former law enacted by the government of his predecessor Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and the ark political rival of his godfather Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The governor had after assenting to the new law at government house Kano he announced the reappointment of Sanusi as the new emir of Kano.
He said the state would go back to its former status with only one first-class emir.
Removing and reinstating Emirs in Kano:The repeat of a history
Kano, a city steeped in history and tradition, has witnessed a turbulent past marked by the frequent depositions and removal of its traditional rulers(Emirs).
Adnan Bawa Bello is an author and analyst with an interest in historical matters. He described the deposition of the Emirs of Kano as a part of the history of the Emirate. It was first recorded as far back as 1247 when Guguwa Dan Gijimasu was removed from his throne.
The author stated this in a post on his X page on Thursday 23 May 2024.
Bawa added that over the centuries, numerous Emirs have faced similar fates, some ruling for mere days before being ousted.
“The second Sarki reported to have been deposed/dethroned was Dakauta Dan Abdullahi Baja in 1452. He was said to have ruled Kano for just one day” Adnan’s account states.
Other notable depositions include Sarki Atuma Dan Dakauta, who ruled for a mere seven days in 1452, and Sarki Yakubu Dan Kisoke, who was dethroned in 1565 after a reign of just four months and 29 days, though he was later offered reinstatement, which he declined.
The pious Sarki Abubakar Kado Dan Rumfa, who ruled from 1565 to 1573 was also removed after 8 years while Sarki Alhaji Dan Kutumba (1648-1649) was deposed and settled in Dan-Zaki village in Gezawa.
Bawa’s account further highlighted the turbulent reigns of Sarki Kukuna Dan Alhaji, who was deposed and reinstated in 1652-1652, and Sarki Soyaki Dan Shekarau, who ruled for only three months before being sacked in 1652.
The British colonial administration and the Emir depositions
Adnan also said that after a 259-year respite from depositions, the British colonial authorities deposed Sarkin Kano Alu in 1903, exiling him to Yola and later Lokoja, where he died in the 1920s.
Subsequently, the Acting Sarki Waziri Allah bar Sarki was removed in 1909 by the British Resident Officer in Kano, Mr.Temple.
More recently Emir Sanusi the First was deposed in 1963 after being indicted for financial misappropriation by the Muffet Committee of Enquiry, while Emir Sanusi the Second (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) was deposed by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on March 9th, 2020 and taken to Look in Nasarawa State.
Another tension as the Court halt the abolition of the five Emirates by the Kano State Government
On the same day that the Kano state Governor Abba Yusuf signed into law the bill that repealed the law of the Kano State Emirate Council, the Federal High Court in Kano issued a fresh injunction directing the State Government to stop its decision concerning the abolition of the four new Emirates created during the previous administration of ex-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje till the court heard the motion filed before it.
The motion of ex parte was filed by Aminu Babba Dan’agundi, Sarkin Dawakin Babba, praying that the court nullifies the abolishment of four Emirate Councils of Gaya, Rano, Karaye, and Bichi, and the reinstating Muhammadu Sanusi II as new Emir of Kano.
The joint respondents on the motion filed by Dan’agundi include the Kano State Government (as the first respondent), followed by the State House of Assembly, the Speaker Kano State House of Assem The boy, the State Attorney General, as the second, third, and fourth respondents respectively.
Others are the State Commissioner of Police, Inspector General of Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Department of State Security (DSS), as fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth respondents.
Granting the prayers of the plaintiff, Justice A.M. Liman issued an interim order suspending the dissolution of the Emirates and installment till the hearing and determination of the plaintiff/applicant’s motion before the court.
Furthermore, the court order restrained 5th – 8th respondents from enforcing, executing, implementing, and operationalizing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law, 2024 (1445 A.H.), passed by the State House of Asseon on Thursday 23 May 2024.
The economic and development implications of abolishing the 5 Emirates
Umar Muhammad is a public affairs analyst with a keen interest in development affairs. He said the recent decision of the Kano State government to scrap the other four Emirates in Kano State came at a time when Kano State needs more development not only in the city but in the other rural areas.
These four Emirates abolished that include: Gaya, Rano, K’araye, and Bichi are rural areas that need to be developed and the development began to manifest as a result of the ex-emirate councils created by the immediate past administration.
“I wonder why Governor Abba Kabir behaves this way, as other states are focusing on real development matters. like electricity generation, poverty alleviation, education, and Information and Communications Technology -ICT but he resorts to something that can create tension and insecurity.
Does he forget that Kano is the major commercial center of Northern Nigeria and some African countries? A one-day tension in Kano can cause huge economic loss.”
Umar added that the traditional activities previously took place in abolished Emirates during Eid Ul-Fitr and Kabeer Celebrations generated much income for rural dwellers besides attracting tourists which in turn Boost the economy of such Emirates.
The analysts also said as a result of the new Emirates creation in 2029 Kano State government provided a lot of infrastructure in that area such as Hospitals, road networks, and other social amenities.
“My advice to Abba Yusuf is to shift his attention to boosting the economy of Kano through cooperation with the Kano business community to see how the Kano state Independent power generation plant will work, attract more foreign and domestic investors by providing an enabling environment which will, in turn, help in generating more Employment for the teaming youth living idle ” Muhammad added.
To end this piece, Adnan Bawa Bello stated Kano Emirates has experienced so many depositions of Emirs right from pre-colonial to colonial and post-colonial periods but a lot of the new generation of Kano citizens are not aware due to a lack of reading culture. This shows that there is a need for teachers and parents to intensify efforts to improve the reading culture among their students and wards.
On the other aspect, what Umar Muhammad said on the need for the Kano State government to keep itself away from all distractions is very important for it to change the present social, economic, and security situation in the state that has about 20 million people presently.
The next thing now is to wait and see whether the state government under NNPP will obey the Court Order of the Federal High Court or it will go ahead and reinstate Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of Kano.
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