KANO is at a precipice of a conflagration due to the contentious return of Muhammad Sanusi II as emir. Governor Abba Yusuf reinstated Sanusi and deposed his predecessor on May 24 after a new law. But Aminu Ado-Bayero holds sway as emir at the Nasarawa mini palace in the state capital weeks after his deposition. Yusuf should restore the peace in the state.

Already, there is divided loyalty to the two emirs. To complicate the matter, state and federal high courts are issuing conflicting judgements concerning the rightful ruler of one of Nigeria’s prominent emirates. The tensions continue to heighten with the Kano State Police Command enforcing the governor’s ban against protests.

The ugly contest began shortly after the 2019 general elections and culminated in March 2020 with the removal of Sanusi by the then-Governor Abdullahi Ganduje over allegations of insubordination, and “questionable expenditures and financial misappropriation,” which he denied.

Ganduje later signed a Kano State Emirate Council bill into law. The law balkanised the emirate into five – Kano, Gaya, Karaye, Rano, and Bichi. He appointed new rulers for them.

The table turned when Yusuf emerged as governor in the 2023 elections under the New Nigeria People’s Party umbrella. Backed by an NNPP-dominated legislature, Yusuf signed a bill abolishing the five emirates in May, restoring Sanusi to the throne. Kano has not known peace since then.

Over time, it has not been immune to partisan politics. In April 1963, the Premier of the Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello, dethroned the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, and banished him to Azare (now Bauchi State).

The Second Republic governor, Abubakar Rimi, removed the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero in 1982. Rimi and Ganduje had attempted to unbundle the Kano Emirate into separate councils, yet their predecessors had returned to the status quo.

The late Bayero survived threats of dethronement from the then Sani Abacha regime, and investigations of misappropriation of funds by the then governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in 2012.

In 1955, the Alaafin of Oyo, Adeniran Adeyemi II, was dethroned by the Action Group government of Western Nigeria. In 1981, the then-Governor of Ogun State, Bisi Onabanjo, deposed the Awujale of Ijebuland, Sikiru Adetona, but was reinstated by the courts in May 1984.

When the Alake of Egbaland, Adedotun Gbadebo, complained about the deplorable roads in Abeokuta in 2005, Governor Gbenga Daniel moved against him.

Indeed, the political class is cozy with traditional rulers if they are amenable to their agendas. They are courted for their cultural and symbolic influence during elections but are dispensed with when they speak truth to power.

Sanusi and Bayero and their followers should not plunge Kano into chaos. The lives and properties of Kano residents should not be cannon fodder for disputes between cousins. When the courts get their acts right, they should obey the rule of law irrespective of who the gavel eventually favours.

While traditional rulers continue to attempt to preserve imperial nostalgia, the republican nature of the Nigerian state provides little statutory recognition for them. By law, traditional rulers are under state governments. Although many Nigerians revere their royal fathers for their cultural and religious influence, modernity continues to shrink their influence.

Nevertheless, traditional rulers play the role of ensuring harmonious coexistence in communities. They can galvanise support against insecurity and support empowerment and enlightenment campaigns in their communities.

Therefore, Nigeria needs to borrow a leaf out of the book of Britain. There is a clear separation and preservation of the monarchical institution from the ever-changing political landscape in Britain. Although the country has an unwritten constitution, it has preserved the symbolic and historical sanctity of the monarchy and enabled the royals to contribute to the social welfare programmes with decorum, modesty, and without political interference.

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