Following his dethronement by the Kano State Government following his criticisms of the State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and the political and governing elite in Northern Nigeria, former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has been barred from receiving the honourary doctorate degree that would have been conferred on him by Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Southeast region.
Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Charles Esimone had announced the conferment early on Monday, saying that Emir Sanusi II, along with others, were to be receive their honorary doctorates degrees at the varsity’s convocation ceremony scheduled to hold between March 9 and March 13.
Director General, Media and Communications, Kano State Government, Mr Salihu Yakasai, had first announced the dethronement on his official Twitter handle, @Dawisu, on Monday, saying: “The Kano State Executive Council has unanimously approved the dethronement of the Emir of Kamo Mallam Muhammad Sanusi II at a special sitting held today by the council.
Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, added in a statement on Monday that “this removal is made after due consultation with the relevant stakeholders and in compliance with Part 3 section 13 of the Kano State Emirate law 2019 and other reasons stated above.
“The removal was reached to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano Emirate built over a thousand years.”
Emir Sanusi ascended to the throne of his forefathers in 2014 following the death of his granduncle Alhaji Ado Bayero.
His grandfather, Muhammadu Sanusi I, reigned from 1953 to 1963, before he was deposed by the then Premier of Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello.
His father Aminu Sanusi was Ciroma of Kano.
Emir Sanusi, an economist and banker, served as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 2009 to 2014, when he was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan after raising the alarm on the $20bn alleged to be missing.
Since ascending the throne, he used the pulpit of his traditional office to attack the governance mode of political leaders in Nigeria especially in his home State of Kano, where he has been engaged in a running battle with the State Governor.
His likelihood of being dethroned has been on the front burner following the numerous investigations for alleged corruption by State Government agencies and the State House of Assembly.
In order to whittle Emir Sanusi’s influence, his Emirate, which used to cover the whole of Kano State, a population of 9,401,288, was balkanized into five.
It came to a head during the 2019 Governorship elections when the Emir faced allegations that he supported the governorship candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abba Kabir-Yusuf.
