Sanusi remains strongest man of Kano Emirate, as court nullifies Ganduje’s additional Emirates

With the verdict of a High Court sitting in Kano State on Thursday, which nullified the appointment and creation of four additional Emirates by Kano State Government under the current administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the Emir of Kano Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II remains the strongest of the Kano Emirate, The DEFENDER has gathered.

Justice Usman Na’abba, who is the presiding judge, ruled that due process was not followed in the creation of the Emirates.

In May 2019, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had assented the bill seeking the establishment of four additional first-class Emirates thereby, in the words of many analysts, demystifying the strong influence of the Emir of Kano on the state’s traditional institution.

The four additional Emirates were Rano, Gaya, Karaya and Bichi.

Ganduje assented the bill following its passage by the Kano State House of Assembly.

With reports ascribing the governor’s decision to rift between him and Emir Sanusi, Ganduje said the move to create four emirates in Kano was not targeted at anyone but to “take Kano to the next level”.

He later in the month presented letters of appointment to the four new first-class Emirs during a ceremony held at the state capital.

Those presented with the letters of appointment include Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of Late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, as the Emir of Bichi; Ibrahim Abulkadir as the Emir of Gaya; Tafida Abubakar as the Emir Of Rano and Abubakar Ibrahim II as the Emir of Karaye.

The creation of the new Emirates was however met with controversy as four Kano State kingmakers filed a suit against Ganduje and the State Assembly.

The creation of four additional Kano Emirates paves way for the decentralisation of the Kano Emirate Council thereby decentralising the power of the Emir of Kano.

But with the latest development, if not appeal against, the Emir of Kano remains the strongest man in the Kano Emirate Council.