By Jafar Sani Bello
I am appalled by the twist in our state that’s making waves on numerous social media networks with regards to the issue of the state five-emirate council with the outrageous call that the law establishing the new emirates be revisited with a call for the reinstatement of former Emir Sunusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of a reunified Kano Emirate.
I see this letter as albeit H.E Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso making good his vow that the issue of the emirates will be revisited as he stated in an interview he granted over a dozen radio stations in Kano last month. Kwankwaso’s grouse with the new emirates, might not be far-fetched from the relocation of their district Madobi to Karaye emirate, thus necessitating the change of title from Majidadin Kano to Majidadin Karaye which is Kwankwaso’s father’s title until he died in 2020 and who was succeded by Kwankwaso’s younger brother.
This bearing in mind the fact that Kwankwaso as the state governor within a short stay of some months with the former emir, had cause to issue several queries to the former emir making a lot believe me that Kwankwaso wouldn’t have had the restraint to contain the intricate former emir for the years Ganduje did.
To start the umbrella “Yan Dangwalen Kano” despite not being a legal entity operating as they stated on their letter paper from the residence building of H.E Rabiu Kwankwaso which he has since turned into a political office for his Kwankwasiyya activities is a travesty.
The letter to the Hon. Speaker Kano State House of Assembly in which the troubleshooting, destabilizing, and utterly dangerous plea was made is, to say the least, ambiguous in every true sense as Kano State has according to verifiable INEC data 5,921,370 registered voters, of which only 1,746,410 voted during the 2023 general election and this figure is not a representation of the absolute population of Kano with a population of 15,462,200 according to the National Bureau of Statistics (2022).
Thus one might ask on whose behalf are they speaking under the aegis of “Yan Dangwalen Kano” most likely Kwankwasiyya or the former Emir Sunusi Lamido Sunusi himself a Kwankwasiyya convert, but not the people of Kano. It’s therefore absolutely right to posit that the platform is in all intent and purpose misleading.
As a concerned citizen of Kano state, a state where I sought the nomination of my party PDP to be its candidate twice to contest for the seat of the state’s governor in 2019 and 2023 believe that the subject matter of our emirates is beyond the purview of “Yan Dangwalen Kano” and as a matter of fact that of the citizens of Kano state who the Kwankwasiyya supporters alias “Yan Dangwalen Kano” lack any locus stand to address.
I am of the humble view that any attempt to revisit the issue of the state emirate council is akin to fuelling crises at a time when the country is already on the edge a situation that needs not to be further compounded.
Kano state is one of the few stable states in the North West with regards to security and this enviable position is under threat in an attempt to massage the ego of someone.
The sponsors of the letter “Yan Dangwalen Kano” posited that Sunusi Lamido Sunusi is a highly respected, influential, extensively knowledgeable, experienced, and highly connected personality both within Nigeria and Internationally making him a valuable asset not only to Kano state but also to Nigeria.
The probing question here that will scorn for an answer is to what benefit this array of credentials has been to Kano state from his days as Executive Director UBA to Managing Director First Bank, CBN Governor, and former Emir of Kano.
Kano people are not ignorant of the fact that these arsenals of credentials have been nothing but a poke in the eyes of the state’s and national personalities from Kwankwaso to Goodluck to Buhari to Ganduje all of whom he has slighted at the slightest opportunity accorded him in his Mr. know it all or right always demeanor who would soon be added to this list is only a matter of time for us to know.
The former emir is a social critic and he’s best left to keep prodding on that title and not that of the Emir of Kano a state used to emirs with a great deal of restraint due to an avowed belief that silence is golden, speaking only when there is an absolute need.
They do so with a great level of decorum and countenance in an utmost private manner whispering to the ears of the concerned and not showcasing their command of English in a public galore or with media hosts whilst picketing their target a path synonymous with the former emir.
There are rumors making waves in the region and state in particular that the present administration is poised with an agenda to short-change the Northern region and this could be viewed as part of the ploy to ensure that, that end is achieved though this might come with an inevitable catastrophic price on the inhabitants of the state and region at large. Destabilizing Kano is the stroke that might break the camels’ backs about instability in the entire region, God forbid.
For the avoidance of doubt and a refresher in history, these emirate councils are not new but have had a historic existence which the past administration only revisited, revamped, and reestablished for the development of the state to which great impacts have been felt by the inhabitants of the reestablished emirates and state at large.
A snippet into the annals of history will reveal to one that Gaya is the oldest and most significant site in Kano’s history and precedes the foundation of Kano itself. Karaye existed before the arrival of Bagauda in 999 and was ruled by Kings from 1101 to 1793, whilst Rano is historically seen as one of the seven legitimate Hausa states founded by the descendants of the legendary Bayajidda, sometime during the Middle Ages. Likewise, Bichi’s first Emir was Emir Kobi, who ruled from the early 19th century until his death and was succeeded by his son, Emir Tukur, who ruled from 1879 to 1903.
Bello writes from Kano and can be reached at jafarsanibello@yahoo.com
