“Why I Didn’t Challenge Ganduje In Court”: Kano Emir Sanusi Spills Fact On First Dethronement

The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has revealed the actual reason he did not challenge his removal as the Emir by the former governor of the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in March 2020.

Sanusi, in an interview with The Sun Newspaper on Saturday, June 22, explained that he is one of hundreds of princes of the Emirate and therefore doesn’t have fundamental right to be an Emir.

As reported by Sahara Reporters, Sanusi revealed that even if he had gone to court and the court returned him, he wouldn’t have been able to work with the administration of Governor Ganduje.

Sanusi, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that he didn’t challenge his removal in 2020, rather he challenged Ganduje for sending him on exile.

Asked why he didn’t challenge his dethronment by former Governor Ganduje, Sanusi said:

“A number of reasons. I have told you that I don’t have a fundamental right to be an Emir. I am one of hundreds of princes. God chose me. And if God says I should leave, for me, I take it that God knows better than me why I had to leave. Okay, let’s say I go to court. Let me even say this; I just got a letter that said I had been dethroned for insubordination.

“I had never been queried for insubordination,” he explained.
“The details of the insubordination were not given. I had not been given any chance to defend myself. So, it was clear that the state and the federal governments had both decided that it was time for me to go. Okay?”

“So, let’s even assume that the court said I should come back. Do you think I was looking forward to working with that government? Would I have been happy as an Emir in the last three years working with that government? You’re under a governor. The law gives him the power to be on top of you. He has said he doesn’t like you. He has made it clear he does not like you. If I come, he would just make my life miserable.

So, I didn’t go to court to challenge my removal. I went to court to challenge their attempt to keep me in exile and under house arrest to enforce my fundamental human rights but I did not go to court to challenge the removal because I didn’t even have to because it was self-evident on the face of it that this was just a political act. So, that was why I didn’t challenge it.”