Sanusi – Again the North faces shame

Although the dethronement of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who ruled as Muhammadu Sanusi II did not come to me as a surprise, it filled me with anger and disappointment. Anger and disappointment because the avoidable happenstance was brought about by unnecessary egotistical squabbles. In the end no good has been served to […]

Although the dethronement of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who ruled as Muhammadu Sanusi II did not come to me as a surprise, it filled me with anger and disappointment. Anger and disappointment because the avoidable happenstance was brought about by unnecessary egotistical squabbles. In the end no good has been served to the common man that both the Emir and the Governor pose to serve and defend. I am disappointed because both Ganduje and Emir Sanusi are endowed with such immense intellect and opportunity that were they to unite both strengths, the impact on the greater society would have been remarkable and long lasting. Northern Nigeria should have been spared of the show of shame, especially at this time that the region is reeling under the worst indicators of decadence. Sanusi, as reformer, and Ganduje as champion of state sponsored development with enormous resources, would surely have done better for humanity were they both less petty.

It was bound to happen. Governor Ganduje as leader of Kano with the taxpayer’s treasury under his care is not infallible. No one ever is. Emir Sanusi meanwhile, a proud scholar, a reformer, has no bridle for his mouth when speaking his mind publicly in pointing out Governor Ganduje’s infractions. He did not spare even Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who masterminded his appointment against the run of royal thinking at the time. Even earlier, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi did not spare the President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when he exposed the pillage that was at the time running amock at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company NNPC, then being supervised by Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Allison Madueke. If Sanusi’s caustic alerts on Goodluck provided wings for Muhammadu Buhari to coast into being President, the old man was also not spared of ridicule when Sanusi publicly wrote off Buhari’s fundamental policies of integrity, capacity to govern, anti corruption and effectiveness as a leader. Just before the 2019 elections, Sanusi was quoted as saying “It is not always easy to have a leader who has both integrity and capacity to govern – two important qualities of a leader. If a leader does not have both integrity and capacity to govern, choose the one that has the capacity to govern because his capacity to govern will benefit the people while his lack of integrity will be his own harm. If you choose a man who has integrity without capacity to govern, his lack of capacity to govern will harm the people while his integrity will only benefit himself.” At the time this statement was made, many Nigerians took it to mean an endorsement of Atiku Abubakar and a denunciation of President Muhammadu Buhari, both of whom quietly discountenanced Sanusi – the former feeling he had capacity, and the latter feeling he had integrity. It is doubtful that both men forgave Sanusi for his temerity to cast public aspersions on their character. Surely even when the chance was there to intervene between Sanusi and Ganduje, both men stood aloof. Indeed President Buhari openly rejected the invitation to mediate, saying that the matters were already before a court of law – so conveniently.

Thus all told, Sanusi is a victim of his own self destruct. He has not been discreet. If he had learned from his predecessor Alhaji Ado Bayero who ruled against all odds for well into 50 years, and discretion mainly, gave him the firm grip he had on the throne, Sanusi would have learnt not to commit his blunders. Alhaji Ado Bayero surely knew as much truth to talk to power as Sanusi did, and saw equally as much abuse of executive privilege if not more through the 50 years. But the maxim that was sacrosanct was that you speak to power only when you have nothing to lose, and this leaves it thus, only to the underprivileged and the poor to speak so called truth to power. If as Emir, you speak to power, power has no choice but to assert itself. No power is absolute. Every power derives from another power. Power can be exercised only in respect and reverence of the higher power. In this regard, no monarch should lose sight of the fact that he who gave the staff of office as symbol of that majestic authority, can again take it back.

Sanusi is an epitome of brilliance. He desired individual changes of mindsets. He was a privileged “revolutionary” that attacked the sore wounds of Northern conscience – indolence, laziness, acceptance and embrace of ignorance, beggarliness, marrying more wives than can be afforded, giving birth to more children than can be catered for, and almajiranci. Sanusi loudly debunked the covering all of these with a cloak of tradition and religion. He condemned all, to wild cheers and applause, much to the chagrin of Northern establishment who had always turned a blind eye whilst in power.

And Sanusi was hailed and spurred on. He was the toast of public lectures where the truth was told in vilification of Northern political elite. He seemed invincible in his robes and his eloquence. Alas. The loud ovation will now transmute to silent and solemn pity of him who was cheered to a fall. The North behaves like a pig. It gives birth to many of its kind in one dropping and without hunger for a reason, eats up its best. The Hausa PDP singer Haruna Ningi, would have better fitted the North as Arewa in that song. He sang “shegiyar uwa mai kashe ‘ya’yanta”  meaning – bastard mother that kills her own children. What else can you say of Northern Nigeria today if not to call her a bastard mother that devours her offspring.

Our Bachama people would sing saying “but for nowadays, how can grass eat a horse”? Our griots if they saw this would sing – how can a man we saw “technologically” receiving and pocketing bundles of dollars in alleged bribery and corruption, mount that rostrum and all it appeared to be, to dethrone a whole Emir of Kano, a near deity? In Nigeria, if people can wriggle out of allegations of corruption however well founded they are, they can sit tight and pretty. If they have power added, just speak no truths to any such power. Pity. While Sanusi is a bold ideologue and spoke what made popular sense in bitter truth, it was foolhardy to have personalized his conflict with the Governor. It is not between Sanusi and Ganduje, but between the Emir and the Governor, the Emir is the loser, and through him, the Palace.

Vicissitudes of time. Sanusi began the day as Emir, and landed by nightfall in Nasarawa State to begin life in exile, dethroned.