The deposed Emir Muhammad Sanusi II, has said he could get back the throne if he wanted because removing him was illegally done in the first place.
Malam Sanusi boasted in a video where he spoke after he was released from house arrest in both Loko and Awe in Nasarawa State following an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja. He then flew to Lagos accompanied by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai.
Last Monday, the former Emir was dethroned and banished by the Kano State government over allegations of disrespecting the office of the governor, insubordination and disregard for culture.
The former Emir said all he needed to do to get the throne back was to go to court.
“I have done what I could in six years, I’m moving on. I don’t want to go back. The truth is, if I had wanted to go back, the dethronement letter was so badly written, it was not done professionally. The easiest thing is just to go to court,” he said.
“It’s simple, fair hearing. Did you query him? Did you ask him to defend himself? Did you even call him to ask him question? That’s all but I think we should go on to a new phase in life,”
Meanwhile, there are more denials as regards who ordered the detention of Malam Sanusi after he was deposed. The Kano State Government said it had no hand in the detention of Sanusi. The latest denial is from the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. A statement by Mr. Malami’s special assistant on media and public relations, Umar Gwandu, says that the minister would not comment on a matter in court. Rabiu Kwankwaso, however, accused President Buhari of ordering the removal of Malam Sanusi.
“He (President Buhari) is the one that gave them the order. Here in Kano as we see, Buhari destabilises where ever he puts his hands,” Kwankwaso said after Sanui’s release.
But the Presidency denied the allegation, saying the President does not interfere in state matters except it has impact on national security.
Malam Sanusi was appointed the 14th Emir by the former Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso in 2014. There were reports at the time that the kingmakers preferred one of the sons of the 13th Emir, the late Ado Bayero.
At the time, Kwankwaso said: “It is unfortunate that some enemies of Kano State attempted to politicize this process. HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was not only on the recommended list of the Kingmakers, but was on top of the list.”
Things fell apart between the former Emir and the present Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje who took over from Kwankwaso, when Malam Sanusi publicly criticised the governor and accused him of spending a month in China when actually the Governor spent some days. Mr. Sanusi was accused and investigated for misappropriating billions of naira when he was Emir.
Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdullahi Ganduje are not on good terms. Some people say that Malam Sanusi had to pick Kwankwaso’s side because he felt he owed his emergence as the Emir to the former governor.
In an interview with the Punch Newspaper, Tanko Yakasai, an elder statesman and the founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, said Malam Sanusi never believed he owed allegiance to Governor Ganduje.
“But unfortunately for him, in-between the time he was appointed and subsequent events, when the two people who appointed him parted ways on party basis, the deputy now became the governor and I think in my opinion, I don’t think the emir sees the deputy as the man, who appointed him,” he said.
It is not clear what the former Emir plans to do now that he has been released. There are speculations and calls by some people that the former Central Bank Governor should run for President in 2023.
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