Afraid the internecine feud between Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, could degenerate into open conflagration with serious consequences for peace and security of Kano and its neighbors, a group of Northern elders have constituted a committee to reconcile the two men.
The committee comprising 10 members is headed by former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), with former Head of Service, Dr. Adamu Fika, as secretary. A statement by Fika a copy of which was obtained by Huhuonline.com named Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Aminu Masari (Katsina) as members. Others listed as peacemakers are Gen. Muhammadu Wushishi, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim (SAN), Senator Dalhatu Tafida, Dr. Umar Mutallab, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and Sheikh Ibrahim Saleh.
The committee, which Fika said had made initial contacts with the Kano State governor and the Emir, are working with the understanding and cooperation of the presidency. Fika said Ganduje and Sanusi had undertaken to refrain from taking further actions that could escalate the crisis, adding that both men had also committed to restraining their supporters from fueling the crisis until the committee ends its peacemaking efforts. “We call on everyone to harken to this call,” Fika pleaded in the statement.
The animosity between the Governor and the Emir blew open earlier in this year when in a move widely perceived to be targeted at diminishing the influence of Sanusi; Ganduje signed the 2019 Kano State Emirs Appointment and Deposition Amendment bill into law in May. The law decentralized the Kano Emirate, creating four new emirates -Gaya, Rano, Bichi and Karaye. Ganduje explained that the action was not intended to diminish Sanusi but to reduce the burden on the old emirate.
Sanusi disagreed and approached the Kano High Court for relief; which on November 21 annulled the new emirates on grounds that the state government violated due process. Dissatisfied with the court judgment, Ganduje went back to the drawing board, submitted a fresh bill on the matter to the state House of Assembly, which passed it and was signed into law by the governor on December 5.
Again, Sanusi returned to court and obtained an order restraining Ganduje from implementing the fresh law. At the weekend, the hostility worsened as the governor announced he had in his possession a petition demanding the deposition of the Emir of Kano. The announcement came shortly after Sanusi informed Ganduje that he has accepted his appointment by the governor as Chairman of the Kano Emirate Council. It remains to be seen whether the committee will mend the broken fences between the two warring factions.
