The governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar, has lambasted Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammdu Sanusi II, dismissing him as a hypocrite.

Yari in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment and Communication Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, quoted the assassinated Sheikh Ja’afar Adam, whom he said “named Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as one of those whose hypocrisy would bring an epidemic of monumental proportions to this country. The tapes are very much in circulation long after Sheikh Ja’afar’s death. He had argued in that sermon that ‘Sanusi Lamido is one of the enemies of Islam who would assume all traits of a good Muslim but deep inside them is a hatred of Islam, and the people far beyond human imagination.’ Could this be a prophecy foretold?”

Yari’s statement said, “For those who consider the emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II to be anything but a first class intellectual, a consummate banker and a bona fide member of Nigeria’s royalty, the last couple of weeks were a dizzying spectacle of mixed messages on integrity, royalty and wisdom. Within a perimeter of weeks, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, whose royal tentacles and social networks traverse the length and breadth of this country, lambasted the nation’s economic framework, the northern elite, sub-national leadership especially the governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar and the traditional institution of marriage. All frontiers that we hold so dear.

“With due respect to our highly revered traditional institutions and royal fathers, as a blue-blooded family member himself, Hon Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar holds the emir in very high esteem. He believes that the emir as a brother and co-occupant of elite positions in Nigeria, he could advice governors and those in positions of authority in several chains of communication that are richly available to him. But he preferred the public platform, for reasons best known to him. Governor Yari firmly believes that a country that goes to its pastors and Imams who recommend prayer and fasting as the solution to every social misfortune, from matrimonial disagreements, to social and economic complications needs to be wary of the wrath of God in the event of an epidemic of unquantifiable proportion such as Type C meningitis. And as a country that succumbs to the supremacy of Allah, we must continue to link Him with all things, fair or foul.

“Those who want to equate science with God, like HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II can denounce Yari’s statement from the rooftops but that will not change Governor Yari’s beliefs in the omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence of Allah. By a certain bizarre coincidence too, like a prophesy foretold, Sheikh Mahmood Ja’afar had before he was assassinated named Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as one of those whose hypocrisy would bring an epidemic of monumental proportions to this country.”

Governor Yari also said “the emir should be aware that Allah who gives power to whoever He wills at His own time, also takes it away at the most inauspicious time. As elected officials, we are obliged to serve people just as we serve God. Within this precinct Governor Yari has done his best. As representatives of the best of our traditions, our Emirs, chiefs, kings and queens are also obliged to lead by example, show empathy, adjudicate with compassion, display wisdom and embrace the fear of God, in all they do. In this HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II is struggling.

“Recently, our erudite emir has been mired in several controversies, which rather than enhance his profile and the integrity of royalty, has put him very much on the spot. And the emir has put up a spirited defense of all the allegations against him. But he was not transparent enough, as he always accused officials, especially governors, to tell the public what he found in the Kano Emirate palace coffers when he ascended the exalted throne. This is the least of his people’s expectations of him. It was the first that our finest royalty would offer.

“Sacrifice is another attribute known to our royal fathers. But when an emir pledges to commit his hard earned resources for the face-lifting of the palace where he alone would reside and eventually transfers the burden to his impoverished subjects, there is a breach, or a problem. Late Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki, of blessed memory, used his money to rebuild the Sultan’s Palace in Sokoto to his taste but until his demise, he never tendered the bill to his subjects for reimbursement.”

•Adapted from a Daily Trust report.

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