As soon as news broke on Ado Bayero’s passage on June 6, the scramble began for his coveted stool, the Kano emirate, though the plot on who succeeded him had long been hatched.
Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is part of the cabal that had long isolated Lamido Sanusi as Bayero’s successor.
Even when Kwankwaso was in far away Port Harcourt on the day Bayero died, attending the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led Nigeria Governors’ Forum retreat, he knew the implication of not rushing back home after receiving news of the transition of Bayero and the danger in not effecting the plan to make Sanusi his successor.
Did Kwankwaso not anticipate the protest that greeted Sanusi’s appointment? He did. Would he have preferred another person to Sanusi? I doubt it.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was chosen. In fact, discerning watchers of the succession to the Kano emirate would have been surprised to hear that Sanusi was not the anointed successor after all the efforts he made.
The struggle for the real occupant of the palace of the emir of Kano is not new. Bayero’s appointment as the 13th emir in 1963 faced resistance.
After the dethronement of Sanusi’s father, Muhammadu (Bayero’s half-brother), in 1963 and the coming to power of Muhammadu Inuwa – whose reign was short-lived – and the eventual selection of Bayero to succeed him, protest rent the ancient city. Residents stayed away from the streets for days until normalcy returned.
The issue is not whether the protesters will melt away in a few days, but the character of Sanusi as Emir. That is why some Kano indigenes and others are praying that the protest should not escalate into killings.
Kwankwaso, while presenting the letter of appointment to Sanusi, said he was under pressure over the pick. Why would he be under pressure if there was no initial understanding to have Sanusi in the palace ab initio? Once a deal is struck, the rest, as they say, is history. Kwankwazo had a deal with Sanusi and it was incumbent on him to implement it.
“It was a difficult decision, all the contestants are friends of the government. There is no one among them that is an enemy of the government. If it was possible to divide the position of the emir into six and share it among all the contestants, I would have done that but it was not possible.
“There are people, even in my government, that inherited the position but we have to choose one. As a governor, I must perform my responsibility and take a decision, if not, things will go bad,” Kwankwaso explained.
But beyond his explanation is the fact that Sanusi is the man he can trust now, given the political dynamics of cosmopolitan Kano, where only birds of the same feather flock together amid diverse and contending political interests.
And typical of other things that happen in our country without the citizens asking critical questions, which governor would have received the support Kwankwaso got from Sanusi as CBN boss in form of huge monetary aid to cushion the effects of the natural disaster in the state a few years ago without looking for the time to pay back?
I hope Nigerians have not forgotten in a hurry, as usual, the flaks that trailed the N100 million Sanusi dolled out to the Kano State government and how he defended his action with almost his blood. Part of what the Goodluck Jonathan administration holds against Sanusi, and for which he was suspended, is his alleged financial recklessness, particularly donations authorised and defended despite the existence of the CBN board.
One person who did not see anything wrong, and who will not see anything wrong, in Sanusi and his actions while in office is Kwankwaso.
While he was CBN Governor, Sanusi paraded the nooks and crannies of CBN and government offices in the full regalia of a traditional ruler, conveying the message, “I am the emir in the waiting.”
He said during the week: “My selection is an act of Allah and our family is united.” His selection did not take place on June 8. It had long been done by Kwankwaso, who was only waiting for Bayero to die.
Is Sanusi qualified for the office? Yes. He fits into the mould nationally and internationally because of his good education and international exposure. However, the sore point is his penchant for controversy. His reign, which started with protests, normal or not, will be in the interest of his appointees more than in the overall interest of the people of Kano.
As Kwankwaso’s appointee, I do not see Sanusi deferring too much to the likes of Ibrahim Shekarau, former Governor of Kano, and other personalities in the state who do not share the same political family with Kwankwaso. Already, Sanusi has reportedly started functioning from Kano State Government House, allegedly betraying his interest less than a week of his appointment.
Those who have Sanusi’s ears should tell him that the office of emir, which he craves so much, is quite different from the office of CBN governor; and that part of what people will use to judge the success or failure of his reign is his ability to mend fences among warring subjects, galvanise peace and unity between the state and federal government, and be advisory, not advocatory, in national and international affairs.
If Sanusi fails to do so, he will be currying dethronement. It would be sad to hear that he, like his father, is dethroned – in his own case, due to avoidable controversy.
Pen pushers, not gun runners
Last week, the military embarked on a foolish reconnaissance of media houses whose only business is to push pen to help in social, economic and political stability.
Vans ferrying newspapers across the country and the drivers were given brutal treatment on the lame reason that they were suspected to be carrying lethal items or were gun runners.
Whoever sold that idea to the authorities can at best be described as their enemy, and they should distance themselves from him.
The reading culture in Nigeria has plummeted to the point of an eye sore, yet the powers that be are wreaking more havoc on information dissemination. If the military and their paid masters are creative in their approach to information sharing, the media are their best partners.
During the dark days of military authoritarianism, the role of the media came in handy, not withstanding that many journalists paid with their lives.
The media mirror the ill treatment members of the public, including the military, without anybody mirroring their own.
If mopping up newspapers without pay is how to pay the media for all their efforts in this country, and in a democracy, it is a pity. But let nobody make any mistake about it – the media must continue to push the pen.
