How I led protest at age 8 – Emir Sanusi

Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II, ascended the throne in June 2015 after the death of Dr. Ado Bayero who reigned for over five decades. In this interview, the financial guru-turned-Emir spoke on a wide range of issues to mark his coronation today. Excerpts: Weekly Trust: Your biggest ambition was to step into the […]

Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II, ascended the throne in June 2015 after the death of Dr. Ado Bayero who reigned for over five decades. In this interview, the financial guru-turned-Emir spoke on a wide range of issues to mark his coronation today. Excerpts:

Weekly Trust: Your biggest ambition was to step into the shoes of your grandfather. How did it feel when kingmakers picked you as the late Emir’s successor?
It’s difficult for one to express exactly the enormity of feelings of becoming an Emir but you know the Qur’an leaves nothing out and I think the best words any prince can have to express this gratitude was the words used by Prophet Yusuf (AS) after he was given the position Allah gave him. He said: ‘Oh father this is the interpretation of my dream, Allah has made it a true…’ If there is one thing that every Muslim believes, it is that power comes only from God and only He knows why he chooses a particular individual at a particular time and gives him power.
Therefore, whenever one is chosen to this position, one is overcome by a sense of humility because you know that it is not that you are better than other princes; it is not because you are closer to God than others; it is not because you are clever, God decided to put you there and our responsibility now is to thank him and try to understand why he put us there and what he would like us to do.
WT: From St. Anne’s Primary School in Kaduna to King’s College in Lagos and later to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, what are the events you would say shaped your personality?
It is interesting because if we go back over to our lives at formative years we can always remember individuals and incidents that later reflect on our character in the future. I went to St. Anne’s at the age of 8. One instance I remember was that I led the first demonstration in the school. You know initially, St. Anne’s was an all-girls’ school but it later became mixed. The girls’ dormitory had a store and our boxes were kept there. On a weekend, the matron would clear the girls’ dormitory and open the store for we boys to access our provisions in our boxes. Every time we open our boxes some of our provisions would be missing and the keys are with the matron. And nobody wanted to speak, so there was this particular day when I opened my box and I discovered that my biscuits were missing.  So I confronted the matron and I told her my biscuits are missing and she said, ‘What do you mean, are you calling me a thief?’ I said I don’t know and she slapped me. And I led a protest with other students to the Headmaster. We went on a near-riot and we were disciplined but after then our provisions never got missing again.
So, in a sense, throughout my life I have been someone speaking about things missing and I always get into trouble for that.
There is something about St. Anne’s, it is a catholic school but it allowed everybody to practice his faith. As a Muslim, we were allowed to fast, pray and our Christian matron wakes us up to pray in the morning. It was extremely tolerant and it taught me at an early age about values, honesty and patience. At the end of it, I came out tops in the National Common Entrance Examinations and the principal of King’s College wrote a letter congratulating our headmaster.
WT: Did you have an interest in Christian Religious Knowledge (CRK) while at St. Anne’s?
I was actually the best student in Bible Knowledge at King’s College. I got a Distinction at my secondary school examination. The most interesting thing is that when I studied Bible Knowledge, especially the Old Testament, I was much better than Christian students because I already knew all the stories from the Qur’an, starting from the story of creation, to those of the prophets. Muslims who had gone to the ‘Islamiyya’ school at home had a very strong advantage over our Christian brothers.
My being versed in Bible Knowledge almost got me into trouble in Kano when I came for my scholarship interview for the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The person in charge, when he went through my result, said ‘These people at King’s College cannot be asking our children to study Bible Knowledge’. I quickly told him that I chose it.  He then said ‘You, from the palace, went to Lagos and studied Bible Knowledge?’. At that time it was seen as odd, but for me it was an intellectual asset. With this, I think we should focus on things that unite us and not the ones that divide.
WT: After achieving your ambition of stepping into the shoes of your ancestors, what other aspiration do you have left?
In terms of position or anything material, I don’t have any. My prayer is that I move from this palace to my grave. I don’t have any desire or aspiration that I’m targeting. I grew up in the palace and for me there was never anybody more important than the Emir of Kano, both my grandfather and the late Emir of Kano.
Positions are nothing. It is, really, what you do with them. So ultimately one will like to leave behind a good record of service. I want to leave a reputation where people of Kano would continue to pray for me in remembrance of the good service and leadership I provided to them. There is no house that a man will like to live in rather than this palace; there is nothing that a man wants in this life that Allah has not given to me.
WT: Kano is said to have developed in commerce because of the tolerance of the people of the state. What would you do to strengthen this?
 The strength of Kano and its wealth was built on set of values. First of all, the core virtues of Islam which are honesty, courage, piety. Also openness, tolerance of the people of the state would be consolidated for the benefit of all.
WT: Under your watch at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the economy was stabilised. How did you record that feat?   
In my life, I have always felt I should not accept responsibility for any position that I’m not prepared for.  I don’t think anyone should accept a position if he thinks he cannot perform the role. And I don’t think anyone should appoint somebody if he doesn’t believe the person can man the position. I think I was selected to be the Governor CBN in view of the circumstances at that time. In the middle of the crisis, the government was looking for someone with a particular skill, that is, risk management. In the years leading to my appointment, I have built a reputation for myself on risk management. My priority was to save the banks and I set for myself a task, a criterion, on which I would measure my success. That criterion was that we should go through that banking crisis without a depositor losing a kobo. Yes, shareholders may lose their money; bank workers may lose their jobs; some borrowers may lose some of their assets but it was extremely important that depositors do not lose their money.
The second area was the exchange rate and the wide divergent between what I met and the official rate. Third was price stability, bringing down the inflation. As long as you focus on three to four things, not 100 things at a go, you will succeed. No matter what happened, if you look at my records at the CBN, you will remember that throughout the period I was the governor nobody lost money in the Nigerian banks. You will remember that the Naira was kept stable in all those years. You will remember that inflation was brought down and I revolutionised the payment system in the country.
WT: If you get the chance to manage the country’s finances again, would you do things the same way?
You know the CBN was supposed to achieve stability in the economy and we achieved stability during my tenure. There is a fundamental distinction between what is right and what is popular. What is popular is not always the right thing. So for me what we did at the CBN was the right thing at the right time.
WT: You ascended your throne at a time the economy of the state is facing challenges. What would you contribute in addressing it?
If you find yourself in a role like this, what is incumbent on one is to draw on all resources, intellectual, financial and social to improve the lives of the people. This I will continue to do to enhance the living condition of the people of Kano.