The royal battle between Muhammadu Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero over who is the rightful Emir of the historic city of Kano took a dramatic turn last Friday when armed security agents, and armored tanks, acting on directives of the Federal Government, besieged the entrance of Kofar Kudu palace, disrupting the city’s daily rhythm and igniting fear among residents, as Sanusi remained under house arrest for hours. This unconscionable blockade of the ancestral home of the Kano emirate was a major escalation of hostilities that tarnished the image of Kano as a center of harmony and tradition, undermining its fragile peace and the sanctity of its cultural institutions. The federal government’s intrusion into the Kano emirate’s protracted crisis, is a disgraceful act of political meddling that exacerbates tensions, undermines tradition, and compromises the peace of one of Nigeria’s most historic cities. Nigeria cannot afford to let Kano’s royal crisis become a blueprint for the desecration of its traditions and institutions.
At the center of this crisis lies the wrongful dethronement of Emir Sanusi II in 2020 by then-Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, after a bitter public spat with Sanusi, who was critical of his administration. Ganduje moved to dilute the emir’s traditional influence by creating five new emirates in a brazen power play. He then installed Aminu Ado Bayero as the 15th Emir of Kano, an act widely regarded as politically motivated. Justice came in May 2024 when the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won Kano State and Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, leader of the NNPP, disbanded Ganduje’s artificial emirates and reinstated Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as the rightful Emir of Kano. This bold move restored dignity to the emirate and rectified a grave injustice. However, the All-Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled federal government, siding with Bayero, has chosen to subvert local governance by backing Bayero’s unlawful claims to the throne.
A flurry of contradictory judgments and orders from both federal and state courts, tainted by the political leanings of the NNPP-led state government and APC-controlled federal government have only compromised and discredited the courts. Rather than offering clarity and justice, these rulings, whether in favor of Sanusi or Bayero, have sown confusion and eroded public trust. Dissatisfied with his removal, Bayero returned to Kano to reclaim his stool with heavily armed military and mobile police officials. The forceful attempt to gain access into the Kofar Kudu palace was foiled by the state government, which moved Sanusi back to the palace at midnight before Bayero’s arrival. After the aborted plan, Bayero relocated and settled at Nasarawa mini palace, a resting destination for emirs during traditional festivals, where he has assumed full royal compliments and has been holding traditional court sessions for the past seven months, while Sanusi presides at the Kofar Kudu ancestral palace with the full paraphernalia of office and recognition as rightful emir by the state government, despite pressures from the federal government to oust him and recognize Bayero.
The royal tussle over the Emirship of Kano – a revered institution and a symbol of Nigeria’s cultural heritage – has descended into chaos, with the federal government shamelessly fanning the flames. Governor Yusuf’s reinstatement of Sanusi II as the 16th Emir and the concurrent ousting of Bayero may have divided public opinion. Still, the federal government’s unabashed support for Bayero – complete with military backing – demonstrates an unholy alliance between security forces and partisan interests. In its blatant interference, the federal government has turned a legal and traditional dispute into a political battleground, undermining Kano’s fragile peace and the sanctity of its cultural institutions. This intervention blatantly tramples on the principle of federalism, stripping Kano’s people of their right to self-determination in matters of tradition.
The federal government’s disgraceful conduct has not been limited to brute force. In what appeared like a push to whittle down the weight of personalities that attended a high-profile wedding of the daughter of NNPP leader and former presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the Kudu palace, it has sought to legitimize Bayero, by exploiting another royal marriage scheduled to hold at Bayero’s mini Nasarawa palace between the son of Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and the daughter of Nasiru Ado Bayero, younger brother to the deposed emir. The deputy Senate President, who is also a strong pillar behind Bayero, had concluded plans to attract the presence of President Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and other bigwigs to the wedding, after Vice President Kashim Shettima’s high-profile attendance at the wedding hosted by Sanusi, whom he referred to as “Emir of Kano” in his speech at the event. However, the plan to host President Tinubu in Kano for the royal wedding billed for next Saturday, December 13, 2024, was aborted as the event was relocated to Abuja. The APC’s machinations around the relocation of the rival wedding suggests a calculated move to manipulate public opinion without admitting to their backing down amid the rising tension and potential for violence in Kano. This shows their desperation to prop up Bayero as a figurehead for their political agenda.
The consequences of this reckless interference are dire. Kano’s storied emirate has become a pawn in a toxic political struggle between Tinubu’s APC and Rabiu Kwankwaso’s NNPP. This not only threatens Kano’s stability but also endangers Nigeria’s democracy by normalizing federal overreach into local and cultural domains. President Tinubu must immediately pull back his forces—literal and figurative—from Kano. Respect for traditional institutions and the will of Kano’s people should guide the resolution of this conflict, not the cynical maneuvers of political elites seeking to dominate the 2027 elections.
The deployments of armed security forces in Kano, are more than just intimidation tactics – they are a flagrant violation of Kano’s autonomy and a cynical attempt to destabilize Governor Yusuf’s administration. This flagrant federal overreach betrays a deep disregard for tradition and democracy. The Kano emirate is not a political trophy to be fought over by Abuja and state officials; it is an institution steeped in history and cultural significance. The Federal Government must immediately halt its interference in Kano’s royal affairs and withdraw its armed agents from the emirate.
President Tinubu must understand that this is not merely a local dispute; it is a national embarrassment that erodes the sanctity of traditional institutions. The judiciary, for its part, must rise above the influence of political actors and issue rulings that reflect justice, not partisanship. To Kano’s citizens, this crisis is a clarion call to defend their heritage against encroachment. To the state government, continue upholding justice and protect the people’s will. To the judiciary: rise above partisan pressure and restore the credibility of your rulings. And to the Federal Government: cease this dangerous game of thrones and hands off Kano. This crisis is not just about an emirate; it is about the soul of Nigeria’s democracy.
