Abdulsalami panel: Sanusi’s comments embarrassed Kano

The comments of Muhammad Sanusi II on national issues embarrassed the Kano government and the federal government, says a committee set up to intervene in the crisis between the deposed emir and Abdullahi Ganduje, the state governor.

The panel, led by Abdulsalami, former military head of state, said manipulations by people, the creation of new emirates, also fuelled the crisis between the two.

It said the measures taken by the state government threw the emirate council in a dangerous financial situation as it found it difficult to pay salaries.

The committee said the court cases initiated to challenge the creation of the new emirates became offensive to the government and was considered as an act of insubordination.

“The frequent utterances of the Emir caused disaffection and embarrassment to the Kano State Government and the Federal Government of Nigeria. As a result of the above development, things became compounded because of manipulation by others which ultimately culminated in the reason for the creation of the new Emirates,” the committee said.

“The Governor insists that they were created for developmental purposes, while the Emir and sections of the public perceive it as punitive. Many leaders and civil society groups advocate for a return to the status quo.

“As a result of the new measures following the creation of the new Emirates, the Kano Emirate Council is now in a precarious financial situation finding it difficult to even pay salaries.

“Relations between the Governor and the Emir reached the lowest level and it became imminent that the Governor was about to dethrone the Emir.

“The resultant court cases in themselves became offensive to the Kano State Government and the Governor considers them almost as an act of insubordination and wants them stopped.”

It added that the creation of the new emirates also led to the polarisation of Kano society and “created deep division within families”.

“The creation of four Emirates of Bichi, Gaya, Karaye and Ram in Kano State that was hitherto culturally homogenous because of common religion, language and shared historical experiences led to the polarisation of the society as desperate attempts were made to create new identities among the new Emirates,” it said.

“This was worsened by the dismissal of some District Heads and appointment of others from different strata of traditional hierarchical structure.

“Consequently, it became clear that there could be a serious breach of security in Kano because of these disruptions of the traditional institution that bond the people.

“This has happened in other states, where the creation led to breach of peace because of polarisation. This imminent security breach could spill over and threaten neighbouring states and beyond to the detriment of the entire country.”

The Kano executive council on Monday dethroned Sanusi as emir, accusing him of insubordination.

Reacting, Abdulsalami said the removal of Sanusi amounted to a wasted effort to resolve the crisis between the two men.