James Agberebi
Protesters, under the auspices of the Concerned Patriots of Nigeria (CPN), stormed the Presidential Villa and the National Assembly in Abuja on Friday to express their displeasure over the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The Guardian reports that the state governor, Abba Yusuf, had on Thursday signed Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 into law, effectively dissolving the five Emirates Council created by his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and dethroning Alhaji Ado Bayero as Emir of Kano.
The four other emirs dethroned alongside Bayero are those of Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye.
Following Sanusi’s reinstallation, protesters carried banners expressing concerns about the escalating situation in Kano and called on President Ahmed Tinubu to intervene.
The protesters accused the Governor of abusing his office by dissolving the traditional council.
“A lot has been going wrong in the state, but the Concerned Patriots of Nigeria had thought it best to allow Kano State to sort out its thorny issues,” coordinator of the group Abdullahi Muhammed Saleh said.
“However, Thursday’s brash actions of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, who sacked five emirs to reappoint Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi as the 14th Emir of Kano, has awoken us to the urgency of raising the alarm about the destructive excesses of the state governor.
“Since being sworn into office, Governor Abba Yusuf has committed a string of loutish acts that run like a hardened criminal’s rap sheet. All in the name of undermining his predecessor, he started with a demolition spree that has served to impoverish the people whose lives he took an oath to improve. Thus he proved himself to be anti-people.
“The Governor then attempted to destroy the structures of political parties in the state. The impish fanaticism with which he pursued this illicit mission saw him intruding into the structure of other political parties, including hiring some charlatans who purportedly suspended the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who is interestingly his predecessor. Thus he proved himself to be anti-democratic.
READ ALSO: Police threatens ‘miscreants’ booing Emir of Kano at public function
“The group said the latest stunt of sacking five emirs to install his acolyte was achieved by manipulating the Kano State House of Assembly, which he had successfully turned into a rubber stamp for endorsing his illegal acts.
They said the governor eroded the autonomy guaranteed by the separation of powers as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“It is inconceivable that any right-thinking person will descend low to the point of manipulating the traditional institution for political gimmicks. The humiliation meted out to the five emirs was most unbecoming and we have cause to believe that Abba Yusuf has set the stage for using the traditional institution as ancient and as esteemed as that of Kano for a political seesaw will continue since his successor will revert to the five emirates. The Kano governor has thus proven himself to be the anti-traditional institution leader.”
The Guardian further reports that Ganduje had dethroned Sanusi as Emir of Kano in March 2020 over the latter’s harsh criticism of the government.
