The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has been reinstated, marking a significant turn in the emirate’s tumultuous recent history.
During a ceremony held at the Africa House, Kano Government House, on Friday, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf officially handed over the reinstatement letter to the emir. The event was attended by key members of the Kano State House of Assembly and other dignitaries.
Speaking shortly after receiving his letter, Emir Sanusi emphasized that his return to power was a testament to divine will, asserting that no human action could overturn what God had ordained.
“The Arabians used to say in everything that we are going to witness, there is a lesson that shows us that God is there,” Sanusi remarked. “Whatever that is happening to an individual is preordained by Allah and to those that are sensible enough, it’s a lesson. God is one and whatever He does, nobody can change and what He doesn’t do, nobody can.”
Sanusi, who first ascended to the throne in 2014, noted the historical significance of his reinstatement.
“About 10 years ago, in this same place, former Governor Musa Kwankwaso gave me my appointment letter as the Emir of Kano. Today, after 10 years, I am here again receiving a reappointment letter from Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf,” he said.
He underscored the rarity of such an event in the emirate’s long history, mentioning that over 1,000 years, only one other emir, Muhammadu Koguna, had been overthrown and later reinstated.
The Emir commended Governor Yusuf and the House of Assembly members for their bravery and commitment to preserving the integrity of Kano State and Nigeria.
“My Governor and our assembly members, you will not understand the gravity of what you did for the history of Kano and the country at large,” Sanusi stated. “Among Kano Emirs, it started from Bagauda over 1,000 years ago. In this year, it was once that we had Emir Muhammadu Koguna who was overthrown and he came back after some days. This shows that in 1,000 years, there has been no case like what happened now.”
Sanusi also took the opportunity to criticize the political fragmentation of emirates in northern Nigeria, highlighting the adverse effects on traditional authority.
He lamented the proliferation of emirates, noting that states which once had a single emir now had as many as 20, diluting their influence and authority.
“In the northern part of this country, we have seen it in different states how politicians balkanized emirates, with a state with one Emir becoming 20, some 19,” he said. “In states of northern Nigeria, there are Local Governments with two or three first class Emirs all because the system has been destroyed.”
He warned that if such fragmentation continued unchecked, Kano could have been divided into numerous smaller emirates, significantly weakening the traditional institution. “This thing that has been brought to Kano, had it been it was allowed, one day we will wake up with Emir of Kumbotso, Bichi, Fagge, and 44 Emirs. So what the government and the assembly did is a rescue mission,” Sanusi asserted
