In the early hours of 9th March, 2020, the news of a fresh move towards the long coming attempt to remove the Former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by the Kano state government surged in. Just an hour into the noon, another report on the same issue surfaced online with a heavy news of the Emir’s dethronement.
In a press release by the Kano state government, it was stated that “the Emir of Kano is in total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state Governor and other lawful authorities, including his persistent refusal to attend official meetings and programmes organized by the Government without any lawful justification which amount to total insubordination.
“It is on record and in so many instances Malam Muhammad Sunusi II has been found breaching part 3 section 13 (a — e) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and which if left unchecked will destroy the good and established image of the Kano Emirate.”
After a careful and critical perusal through the above statements and the subsequential ones as written in the press release, I was left with nothing but to ponder over the said disrespect; may be, the one of saying the truth or fighting for the rights of the oppressed, perhaps the one of calling for a progressive change or calling for the supposed better state of the numerous children left in the cold streets of the state, or the one of advocating for hope restoration for the mickle of violated girls and women in the state.
Apart from his versatility and enormous civilization, Sanusi has being a great grace to Kano state through his relentless effort towards ensuring that the state experiences some notable developments.
In a state where there are so many social ills and harmful traditional practices such as, child marriage, marital violence, domestic violence, rape, Almajiranchi, high rate of divorce, which are continuously crippling her growth and standard, where some of her clerics have also decided to watch as they happen and many are shamed for saying the truth, Sanusi stood out to be a strong fighter and a change maker through his tireless advocacy against such acts. His presence in the kingship throne of the state has shown to be a well deserved one as he knew what bedevils his people and stood strong and firmly against them.
Beyond that, Sanusi as said by Gimba Kakanda is an “intellectual role model” who “inspired us to think critically”. Before his appointment as the Emir of the state, not many can stand to tell the truth about the ill practices in the state. If not for fear, it would be for the thought of being shamed for saying the truth. His coming inspired the youths to think critically and they have come to the better understanding of the illfares of their state through his truth telling and calling for change. This made him an intellectual role model to those who crave for progressive change in the state and an exemplary leader which others are beginning follow his suit.
One other thing that made him stood out among millions of individuals in the state, in Nigeria and the world at large is the way he holds government officials and his fellow colleagues in the leading positions accountable, and the way he does it, standing firm and strong without the fear of losing his position a King. In his words, “once you stop criticizing, once you stop saying this is wrong, the entire society is destroyed… The silence… of Ulama, the silence of intellectuals, the silence of the press when they should speak is what destroys a community. Da’wah must open the mouth of people to speak… the truth.”
To portray his lack of worry or fear of losing his throne to truth, Sanusi once made it clear, the temporality of the kingship throne and why he is always ready to quit when the time comes for him to do so. “The kingship throne is not eternal, it is vital that every king knows this. If it were to be forever, I wouldn’t have become a king. Before me was someone and before him was another person. In any leadership position, when God says it time for you to quit, if you don’t quite alive, you will quit by death.”
Today, Kano lost an icon, a man of courage and great civilization, a truthteller, an intellectual role model, an inspirer of critical thinking, an exemplary leader, one who stands for her progressive change through advocacy for the rights of the oppressed and against the illfares in the state.
Emphasizing on the gravity of what Kano people have lost, Sani Muhammad, the Executive Director of Bridge Connect Africa Initiative who have had the privilege of sharing a personal chat with the Former Emir, described him as an embodiment of simplicity and charisma who represents what the youngsters should look up to, saying that, “Kano has lost him, now the world will take this much needed resource. May Allah make this alkhair for you. Aameen”
Etudaye Musa Abdulazeez writes from Kano.