I don’t mind being dethroned by another governor – Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has expressed his indifference to the possibility of being dethroned by another governor.

In 2020, Sanusi was removed from office by then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, a decision widely seen as a result of a bitter personal feud between the two leaders.

Although Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reinstated Sanusi, the legal battle surrounding his dethronement continues, as Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano, has taken his case to court to contest the validity of his removal from office.

In an interview on Saturday, Sanusi said only God knows how long he will stay on the throne.

He said: “For me, even now that I am here, only God knows how long I will be here. I can die tomorrow. Another governor can come tomorrow and say that he has removed me, it doesn’t matter.

“But I am happy if he does not touch the emirate. I am happy that I will not leave a history that it was during my time that these 1000 years of history was destroyed.

“So, I am grateful to this government, grateful to this Assembly that they have corrected that, that we have the emirate restored to what it was and Insha’Allah that when I die or when I leave, the person who inherits will inherit what we had. It’s about the system, not about me or about any individual.”

On the lessons you learnt while away from the throne in the last four years, the Emir said: “Life is always a continuous process of learning and relearning. And for me, I had always believed, as they say, that we should not waste a crisis. So, anytime I have a crisis, it’s an opportunity to do something else.

“In the last four years I’ve not been idle. In fact, I had just completed writing a PhD Thesis in the University of London, a week before I returned to Kano. I will be going back next month to conclude some things, because I will be graduating in September.”