By Abiola Olawale
The 16th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II, has described his restoration to the throne as a manifestation of divine intervention.
In his acceptance speech after receiving his appointment letter from Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf, the monarch said that his reinstatement is a testament to the divine will.
Sanusi added that the adversities he encountered in the past constituted a phase predestined by the will of God, adding that nobody can obstruct God’s plan.
He said: “The Arabians used to say in everything that we are going to witness, there is a lesson that shows us that God is there. Whatever is happening to an individual is preordained by Allah and to those who are sensible enough, it’s a lesson.
“God is one and whatever He does, nobody can change and what He doesn’t do, nobody can.
“Time will not permit for long talks. Whatever we will say, we have said it when we were leaving.
“We made it clear that God has preordained time and cause for everything and everyone. He gave leadership to whom he wanted and at the time he wanted. When He gives, no one can take it away and when he takes it away, nobody can take it back.”
He also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the governor and the assembly members for their role in his reinstatement.
He continued: “My Governor and our assembly members, you will not understand the gravity of what you did for the history of Kano and the country at large. Among Kano Emirs, it started from Bagauda over 1,000 years ago.
“In this year, it was once that we had Emir Muhammadu Koguna who was overthrown and he came back after some days. This shows that in 1,000 years, there has been no case like what happened now.
“In the northern part of this country, we have seen in different states how politicians balkanised emirates with a state with one Emir becoming 20, some 19. In states of northern Nigeria, there are Local Governments with two or three first-class Emirs all because the system has been destroyed.
“This thing that has been brought to Kano, had it been it was allowed, one day we will wake up with Emir of Kumbotso, Bichi, Fagge and 44 Emirs. So what the government and the assembly did is a rescue mission.”
The New Diplomat reports that on June 9, 2014, Sanusi was crowned the 14th Emir of Kano.
Following a disagreement between Sanusi and the immediate past Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, the monarch on June 6, 2019, was queried for allegedly misappropriating N3.4 billion, an allegation the former bank chief had since denied.
However, the statement of Sanusi wasn’t enough as Ganduje in December 2019 assented to a bill passed by the Kano House of Assembly splitting the Kano Emirate Council into five emirates, whittling down the influence of the monarch.
On March 9, 2020, the Ganduje administration dethrones Sanusi for ‘disrespecting lawful instructions’.
