A former Kano state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has clarified that he played no part in the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano.
According to The PUNCH, the Kano State House of Assembly heard the motion on the Kano State Emirate Council Amendment Bill and eventually repealed the 2019 Law that allowed for the creation of the five separate emirates from the old Kano Emirates.
The development paved the way for the historic return of Emir Lamido Sanusi, who was dethroned on March 9, 2020.
The proposed amendment to the bill was brought to the floor of the House of Assembly on Monday, May 20, 2024, and the bill was considered and passed on Thursday, after successfully scaling its second and third readings.
But reacting to the development while speaking with BBC Hausa, Kwankwaso, who was the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, explained that he never influenced the decision of the governor to reinstate Emir Sanusi.
Asked to clarify what he meant in 2023 when he said the dethronement of Sanusi would be reviewed, he said, “When I said we will revisit the case, I didn’t say the direction to follow. I just said it would be reviewed… When I go there, I will hear what happened and I am sure they will tell me whatever happened, and whatever they tell me, we just pray for them. I heard the Assembly members have repealed the law.
“What we were telling them was they should go and investigate whether what happened was done out of goodwill or not. What happened appears to be a vendetta or cheating. It’s just a matter of did Ganduje did right or wrong. It’s not about going against him.”
He added, “I will go to Kano very soon and I will speak with some of the assembly members, especially the speaker, and the Governor on what is happening.
“Rabiu Kwankwaso has burnt his hands over dictating what to do. We are still with the Governor working together. It’s just a matter of offering advice and if you are not asked to, you keep quiet so long things are going right we just pray and hope that they succeed.”
He said despite criticism and fears that the occupier of the revered throne may continue to be decided by the governor in power, Kwankwaso said it was important for people to trace the genesis of the crisis.
“Those that are looking at it from the perspective of whether it’s going to be tenure-based are somehow right but who started it? When I came back as Governor in 2011, everybody knew that the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, was not supporting us, he was supporting Shekarau but when we got into power we didn’t even think of dethroning him. This is why we are telling people that everybody should sit down where he belongs.”
Kwankwaso had in a live interview on a Hausa programme aired on local radio in Kano after the Supreme Court victory of Yusuf, said the issue of the creation of new emirates in Kano Ganduje would be revisited by Yusuf.
He said the government of Yusuf would review the “dethronement and balkanisation of the Kano Emirate.”
Kwankwaso said, “Honestly, it is one of the things that nobody has sat with me to discuss so far, but I am sure we are going to sit and see how to go about it. Whether it’s going to be allowed, restructured, or whatever, it will definitely be revisited. Whatever is supposed to be done will be done. There are a lot of things involved and this might even be a trap, who knows? But the truth is that all these things were not done in good faith, or with good intention. They were done with some bad intentions which every one of you here and our listeners are aware of.
“Sometimes you come with things that are good and they turn out to be bad, while sometimes you bring things that are bad and they turn out to be good. But all I know is that I was not consulted as of now, but we will come to discuss and see what would be done,” he said.
