By Ishaya Ibrahim
Even as President Muhammadu Buhari denies any involvement in the ouster of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 14th Emir of Kano, not many Nigerians are convinced of his declaration.
The monarch was removed on Monday, March 9 by the Kano State government, and exiled to Nasarawa State to live out the rest of his life. He has, however, threatened to challenge the decision in court.
Former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had on Wednesday, March 11, accused President Buhari of giving the order for Sanusi’s removal. But the president denied the allegation through his Special Assistant on Media, Garba Shehu.
“President @MBuhari has no involvement whatsoever in the dethronement of HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II from the position of Emir of Kano. All such insinuations are untrue, malicious and politically motivated.
“As outlined in the Constitution, the appointment or removal of emirs and other traditional leaders is strictly within the jurisdiction of state governments. It is unfair and disingenuous of opposition politicians to try to link the situation in Kano State to the federal government and the Nigerian President,” he said.
But many Nigerians don’t believe Shehu, at least going by the volume of opinions on the social media.
The first African Pulitzer winner, Dele Olojede, said the entire affair bears the imprimatur of the presidency. “This banishment was nominally decreed, illegally, by the governor of Kano, but was effected by security agents of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. As such, we can conclude that the Buhari government is fully culpable for this illegal act,” he said in a tweet.
Foreign policy commentator, Gimba Kakanda, said the Kano governor could not have taken the decision without the blessing of Aso Rock.
“Believe me, Kwankwaso knows what he’s saying. Ganduje is partly an errand boy in that grand scheme of things, and that explains his irrational, in fact psychotic, overreaction to every action by Sanusi,” he said in a tweet.
A tweeter user, @bigdossi also believes that the president was involved. “I told you guys he (Ganduje) can’t pull this all by himself. The puppet master is being revealed. He kicks against their ideologies and he’s too intelligent for them. Too hot to handle and too cold to hold. But Sanusi is no saint!”
Another tweeter user, @ABBABILYAMINU told Shehu: “You cannot defend this one. Even Buhari cannot. You guys have been taking Nigerians for a ride for too long. Your deceptive lies don’t hold water with us anymore,” he said.