A Kano elder, Malam Ibrahim Ado Kurawa, has cautioned former Governor of Kano, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, over what he described as contradictory comments regarding his earlier recognition of Khalifa Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano.
Kurawa, an erudite scholar of Northern cultural heritage, questioned what he described as Ganduje's insincerity on the emirate tussle, insisting that Ganduje had officially recognised Sanusi II as Emir, having sought his authority for his (Ganduje's) nephew to be turbaned as village head.
Kurawa wondered why Ganduje refused to present his nephew before Aminu Ado Bayero for coronation as village head, if he (Ganduje) was truly sincere about his position on the emirship tussle.
Ganduje, who officially recognised Khalifa Sanusi II as the Emir of Kano during the inauguration of Murtala Sule Garo as Deputy Governor of Kano State at the Government House, later withdrew the acknowledgement. The former National Chairman of the APC, in a statement issued by his former Chief of Staff, Mohammad Garba, explained that his reference to Sanusi as Emir of Kano was merely a matter of courtesy and protocol and should not be misconstrued. Ganduje further stated that only the Supreme Court could deliver the final verdict on the emirship tussle between Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero, cautioning against comments capable of jeopardising the court's judgment.
Reacting to Ganduje's comments in an interview with journalists, Kurawa, who was among those who challenged Ganduje's balkanization of the Kano Emirate Council in 2019, a move that led to the amendment of the chieftaincy laws, insisted that the matter before the apex court has nothing to do with the appointment of Sanusi II as Emir of Kano.
According to Kurawa, Ganduje ought to understand that the substantive matter before the Supreme Court was instituted by a titleholder who was removed by a law passed by the Kano State House of Assembly and assented to by the Governor. He insisted the suit has nothing to do with who is and who is not Emir. He cautioned the former governor to be raised above petty partisan bickering.
“The issue before the Supreme Court has nothing to do with who is the Emir of Kano or who is not, as the lawyers representing both Baba DanAgundi and the government rightly stated after the Supreme Court hearing last week. So, it is not Ganduje who will tell us that the Supreme Court has the final say.
“Secondly, when Governor Ganduje enacted the Emirate Law 2019, we went to court. I was among those who instituted the case alongside the late Alhaji Bashir Tofa and 18 others. We challenged the law because of procedural irregularities, and a member of the State Assembly also challenged it.
“The State High Court nullified the law because of those errors, but Ganduje did not remove the emirs because he claimed they were appointed under the law. He simply returned to the State Assembly and properly represented the bill.
“Now that Governor Yusuf submitted a bill seeking the repeal of the emirate laws, which was subsequently passed into law, that law itself was not challenged, whether it was properly done or not. Instead, somebody went to court alleging a violation of his fundamental rights, which is not enough grounds for the court to remove Sanusi.
“The case is not about Sanusi or Aminu, or who is Emir of Kano and who is not. The case is about DanAgundi's fundamental rights and the issue of jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, as attested by lawyers of the parties,” Kurawa argued.
