Sanusi vs Bayero: The Politicisation Of Traditional Rulership In Nigeria

 By Olu Fasan

There is aparadox in the relationship between politicians and traditional rulers in Nigeria. Before elections, prominent presidential and gubernatorial candidates queue to pay homage to traditional rulers and solicit their blessing.

*Sanusi 

But after elections, the agency changes hands: a traditional ruler must walk on eggshells to avoid being dethroned. Like the Pope, traditional rulers have “soft” power, but state governors possess “hard” power. Adolf Hitler famously threatened the Pope. Nigerian state governors are little Hitlers who exercise crude executive power. The latest victim of such crudity is the deposed Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, who is replaced by a previous victim, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Last week, barely one year in office as governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, led by former Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, dethroned Ado Bayero as the 15th Emir of Kano and replaced him with Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir. Just over four years ago, Sanusi was the 14th Emir of Kano. He was enthroned by then Governor Kwankwaso on June 8, 2014. However, on March 9, 2020, Sanusi was deposed by then Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, who replaced him with Bayero as the 15th Emir of Kano.

What’s most troubling about this saga is the extreme politicisation of the ancient Kano emirate. In 2020, when Sanusi was dethroned, I wrote a piece in this column titled “Sanusi’s dethronement: The will of God or an act of man” (Vanguard, March 19, 2020). Sanusi took his dethronement with equanimity and attributed it to the will of God, saying: “The one who gives, has taken.” But I argued that while God permitted it, being omnipotent, Sanusi’s dethronement was the machination of man. Put simply, Sanusi was a beneficiary of politics, then a victim of it. It’s a fascinating story worth retelling.

In 2014, when the then Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, died, Sanusi was not the choice of the kingmakers, according to Tanko Yakassai, a leader of the Arewa Consultative Forum. Yakassai said that, following the demise of the emir, “his eldest son was announced as the emir, but it was later changed.” But why was the kingmakers’ choice changed, and why was Sanusi made the emir instead? Well, it’s politics, politics, politics!!!

Governor Kwankwaso, who was a PDP governor, fell out with then President Goodluck Jonathan and decamped to the then opposition APC. At the same time, Sanusi, then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was a thorn in the flesh of Jonathan, whose administration he accused of corruption. In response, Jonathan suspended Sanusi as CBN governor. But that made Sanusi APC’s “poster boy” as he gave them ammunitions to fight Jonathan. Truth is, if Kwankwaso was still in PDP and loyal to Jonathan, Sanusi would not have been emir. But the timing was auspicious. Being Jonathan’s enemy, Sanusi became Kwankwaso’s friend, and was rewarded with the throne: his lifelong dream!

Indeed, Sanusi himself confirmed this narrative in an interview with the Financial Times in 2018. The FT wrote: “Jonathan and the governor of Kano were adversaries. Any enemy of Jonathan’s was a friend of the governor. Sanusi got the nod.” But what politics gave, politics later took away. In 2014, Sanusi was on the winning side with Kwankwaso, who rewarded him with the emirship. But six years later, in 2020, Sanusi was on the losing side with Ganduje, who accused him of “disrespecting the office of the governor” and dethroned him. Now, the table has turned again!

But what future does this tit-for-tat politics portendfor the stability and sanctity of the Kano emirate, especially given the deep-seated mutual animus between Kwankwaso and Ganduje? If APC regains Kano in 2027 and a Ganduje protégé becomes governor, would Sanusi be dethroned again and replaced with Bayero? As it is, Sanusi is in Kwankwaso’s camp, while Bayero is in Ganduje’s, and the fate of either is tied to who governs Kano State. Evidently, Governor Abba Yusuf would not have dethroned Bayero without the say-so of his godfather and party leader, Kwankwaso. Indeed, Kwankwaso made it clear as soon as his party won the state that the emirship issue would be revisited. Governor Yusuf, his protégé, has now kept the promise: Bayero is gone, Sanusi is back!

Yet, here’s the big picture: politicisation damages the traditional institutions. But unless the Constitution recognises traditional rulers and protects them from crude exercise of executive power, such politicisation is inevitable.Not long ago, former President Obasanjo scolded some Obas in Oyo State for failing to stand up to welcome the state governor at a public event. He was criticised in some quarters. But Obasanjo’s point was that governors were the democratically elected leaders of their states and, thus, were superior to traditional rulers. 

Indeed, Nigeria is a constitutional democracy, not a constitutional monarchy; so, elected politicians are in control. However, it’s also worth remembering that when the colonialists came to the territories that they later cobbled together to create Nigeria, they did not meet politicians on the ground; rather, they met traditional rulers. So, democracy notwithstanding, traditional rulers deserve constitutional recognition and protection as the original custodians of the ancient kingdoms that constitute Nigeria. Democracy must sit alongside tradition. 

Sadly, however, the traditional institutions in Nigeria have not always covered themselves in glory. The rivalry, bitterness, corruption, politicking, intrigues, etc that usually precede the selections and appointments of traditional rulers are beyond belief. The only royal throne that is immune from politicisation in Nigeria is probably the Obaship of Benin. This is because there is no contest for the throne: the first son of an Oba of Benin succeeds him under a cherished primogeniture system. But for most of the other traditional rulers, choosing a successor is a fight to the finish, often involving unroyal, cloak-and-dagger behaviours.

For instance, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo, died in April 2022. Yet, more than two years later, no successor has been chosen. Why? Governor Seyi Makinde rejected the kingmakers’ choice allegedly because they were compromised and did not follow due process. Why should such an ancient traditional stool be so embroiled in a bitter contest and manipulation as to render it vacant for years? 

Yet, until the Constitution recognises the traditional institutions and until successions to royal thrones are devoid of bitter rivalry, corruption and politicisation, traditional rulers would be prey to governors’ crude exercise of executive power as the otherwise revered Emir of Kano now seems, sadly, to have become!

*Dr. Fasan is a commentator on public issues