A FORMER governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, has insisted that he played no role in the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano.
This followed the passage of the Kano State Emirate Council Amendment Bill by the state House of Assembly, repealing the 2019 law that allowed for the creation of the five separate emirates from the old Kano Emirates and paved the way for the return of Sanusi, who was dethroned on March 9, 2020, by then governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.
In his reaction to the development, Kwankwaso, speaking with BBC Hausa, Kwankwaso, said he never influenced or interfered in Yusuf’s decision to reinstate Sanusi.
Asked to clarify what he meant last year when he said Sanusi’s dethronement would be revisited, he said: “When I said we will revisit the case, I didn’t say the direction to follow. I just said it would be reviewed…
“When I go there, I will hear what happened and I am sure they will tell me whatever happened, and whatever they tell me, we just pray for them. I heard the Assembly members have repealed the law.
“What we were telling them was they should go and investigate whether what happened was done out of goodwill or not. What happened appears to be a vendetta or cheating. It’s just a matter of did Ganduje do right or wrong. It’s not about going against him.”
“I will go to Kano very soon and I will speak with some of the Assembly members, especially the Speaker, and the governor on what is happening.
“Rabiu Kwankwaso has burnt his hands over dictating what to do. We are still with the governor, working together. It’s just a matter of offering advice and if you are not asked to, you keep quiet, so long things are going right, we just pray and hope that they succeed.”
He said despite criticism and fears that the governor in office would continue to decide who occupies the throne, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in last year’s general elections said it was important for people to trace the genesis of the crisis, adding: “Those that are looking at it from the perspective of whether it’s going to be tenure-based are somehow right, but who started it?
“When I came back as governor in 2011, everybody knew that the late Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, was not supporting us; he was supporting Shekarau, but when we got into power, we didn’t even think of dethroning him. This is why we are telling people that everybody should sit down where he belongs.”
