Four years after being deposed, Muhammadu Sanusi II has been reinstated as the Emir of Kano by Governor Abba Yusuf.
On Thursday, Governor Abba Yusuf announced the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano at the Art Chamber of the Kano State Government House at around 5:16 PM.
The governor made this announcement shortly after signing the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Bill 2024 into law.
Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria known as Lamido Sanusi before his ascension, was removed from his position as Emir in March 2020 by the previous governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Ganduje had split the historic Kano Emirate into five separate emirates—Karaye, Bichi, Rano, and Gaya, alongside Kano—using the Kano State Emirates Council Law of 2019.
Governor Yusuf’s new law abolishes these additional emirates, restoring the Kano Emirate to its original status. “With the full support of the kingmakers, I have approved the reappointment of Mallam Sanusi Lamido,” Yusuf declared amid cheers from the audience.
Yusuf emphasized that the new law means all appointments made under the 2019 law are now void.
The emirs of the dissolved emirates have been given 48 hours to vacate their palaces.
Present at the signing of the bill were Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam and Speaker of the Assembly Jibril Falgore, who had earlier met with traditional rulers and kingmakers in a closed-door session.
Sanusi’s reign as Emir began on June 8, 2014, during Rabiu Kwankwaso’s governorship. His appointment came less than four months after then-President Goodluck Jonathan removed him as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria over corruption allegations.
Sanusi’s tenure as Emir saw conflict with Governor Ganduje, particularly over Sanusi’s criticisms of the state’s financial management, leading to his eventual removal.
The political fallout from Sanusi’s removal played a significant role in the 2023 gubernatorial election, with many voters seeing his removal as politically motivated.
This sentiment contributed to the victory of Governor Yusuf, backed by former Governor Kwankwaso, who had initially appointed Sanusi as Emir.
Kwankwaso had hinted at a review of Sanusi’s dethronement, and Yusuf’s administration has now delivered on that expectation, reversing many of Ganduje’s policies.
This reversal echoes a similar historical event from the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Governor Abubakar Rimi attempted to split the Kano Emirate, a decision that was later reversed by his successor.
Historians and traditionalists, including Nadir Nasidi of Ahmadu Bello University, have long opposed the creation of multiple emirates, advocating for a singular, unified Kano Emirate.
