How Sanusi Embarrassed Kano, Federal Government – Investigative Panel

A committee set up to intervene in the crisis between the dethroned emir and Abdullahi Ganduje, the state governor, has said comments of Muhammad Sanusi II on national issues embarrassed the Kano government and the federal government.

The panel, which was led by Abdulsalami, former military head of state, also claimed that manipulations by people, the creation of new emirates, also fuelled the crisis between the two.

“The frequent utterances of the Emir caused disaffection and embarrassment to the Kano State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria. As a result of the above development, things became compounded because of manipulation by others which ultimately culminated in the reason for the creation of the new Emirates,” the committee said.

The panel further stated that the measures which were taken by the state government made it difficult for the emirate council to pay salaries as it threw them into a dangerous financial situation.

According to the committee, when the emirate challenged the creation of new emirates in the court, it became offensive to the government and was considered as an act of insubordination.

“As a result of the above development, things became compounded because of manipulation by others which ultimately culminated in the reason for the creation of the new Emirates,” the committee said.

It explained that the governor insisted that the move was for developmental purposes, but the Emir and sections of the public perceive it as punitive and many leaders and civil society groups advocate for a return to the status quo.

“As a result of the new measures following the creation of the new Emirates, the Kano Emirate Council is now in a precarious financial situation finding it difficult to even pay salaries.

“Relations between the Governor and the Emir reached the lowest level and it became imminent that the Governor was about to dethrone the Emir.

“The resultant court cases in themselves became offensive to the Kano State Government and the Governor considers them almost as an act of insubordination and wants them stopped.”

It added that the creation of the new emirates also led to the polarisation of Kano society and “created deep division within families”.

“The creation of four Emirates of Bichi, Gaya, Karaye and Ram in Kano State that was hitherto culturally homogenous because of common religion, language and shared historical experiences led to the polarisation of the society as desperate attempts were made to create new identities among the new Emirates,” it said.

“This was worsened by the dismissal of some District Heads and appointment of others from different strata of traditional hierarchical structure.

“Consequently, it became clear that there could be a serious breach of security in Kano because of these disruptions of the traditional institution that bond the people.

“This has happened in other states, where the creation led to a breach of the peace because of polarisation. This imminent security breach could spill over and threaten neighbouring states and beyond to the detriment of the entire country.”