Perhaps unbeknownst to many, the key figures in the Kano emirship hold close ties within the royal family.
When the late Emir Ado Bayero died in 2014, the battle for the successor was stiff between his sons and Lamido Sanusi who later emerged the winner.
On June 8, 2014, Sanusi, grandson of former Emir Muhammadu Sanusi I, emerged the new Emir of Kano and he was crowned on June 9, 2014. His ascension then led to widespread protests from supporters of Sanusi Ado Bayero, the Chiroman Kano (Crown Prince), the son of the late Emir Ado Bayero.
The former CBN Governor, speaking after he was presented with the staff of office by then Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwakwanso, noted that there is no murmuring in the Kano royal family as being speculated in some quarters; rather, they are all united.
“The Kano Emir Palace is one united family. Therefore I’m assuring the governor that all these riots and protests are not from our house, none of our relatives are behind these things and none of our relatives will sponsor such things or be happy because of it. Because the way we grew up we all knew that all princes nurture the ambition of becoming emir one day but it’s Allah who chooses who will be the emir,” Sanusi said.
He explained the relationship he shares with the late Emir, stating that he actually married late Ado Bayero’s daughter.
“I grew up under the care of the late Ado Bayero. I am more close to the late emir than my father who was outside the country. The late emir trained me; my first wife with whom I spent over 25 years with, is his daughter,” Sanusi said.
When Sanusi fell out of favour with former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, the Kano emirate was split into five to whittle down the Kano emir’s influence.
Ganduje divided the Kano Emirate into five, creating and appointing first-class emirs for Bichi, Rano, Karaye, and Gaya emirates after amending the Emirates Council Law. But months later, Sanusi was dethroned, with the government accusing him of insubordination.
The beneficiaries of the emirates included two sons of the late emir – Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir of Kano; Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, Emir of Bichi; Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar II, Emir of Karaye; Alhaji Ibrahim Ibrahim, Emir of Gaya and Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa, the Emir of Rano.
In a dramatic turn of events, Governor Abba Yusuf has reserved the process, sacked all the emirs appointed by Ganduje and reinstated Muhammadu Sanusi to the throne.
But despite the crisis, both the Bayeros and Sanusi II have never denied their affinity in the royal family.
Sanusi once narrated how he shared the same bed with Nasiru Ado Bayero, the deposed Bichi emir, for over 10 years.
“Therefore, we are calling on those people from outside the palace to stop interfering in the things that they do not understand,” Sanusi warned.
Nasir Ado Bayero also confirmed his relationship with Sanuri in an old interview with Daily Trust, saying has been his friend for a long time.
The interview was part of the preparation for his coronation ceremony and the wedding ceremony of his daughter.
“He (Sanusi) is older than me, maybe three years older. But we were friends from the start; right from the beginning. We grew up together,” Bayero said.
The former Emir of Bichi said Sanusi “moved to the palace where I was, my room, my own little room,” adding that both of them lived together in the ‘little’ room apportioned to him (Nasir) in the palace.
“We have our breakfast together then we also go out together. We are friends, we are family and in the family growing up we were the closest to each other.
“Our friendship was kind of a case study in the palace because our fathers also grew up together.
“Late Ciroma Aminu Sunusi and my father were also best of friends and my father was his (Emir Sunusi) uncle,”
he said.
