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Tag: Emir

  • Pending Tsunami in Kano Emirate: Will the Emir survive it? 1 – Godwin Etakibuebu

    Pending Tsunami in Kano Emirate: Will the Emir survive it? 1 – Godwin Etakibuebu

    By Godwin Etakibuebu

    It began with the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation of the Kano Emirate Council over allegation of misappropriation of Six Billion Naira.

    While the probe continued, those that are well entrenched in Kano politics knew that the exercise was all about the highly respected Emir of Kano; Mallam Muhammad Sanusi 11 than the Emirate Council.

    This much became manifested when the Kano State House of Assembly, on May 10th 2017, set up an eight-man committee to “investigate the allegations levelled against the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi 11, bordering on misconduct and alleged misappropriation of funds belonging to the Kano emirate Council”.

    The probe committee of the State House of Assembly, being superior, terminated the functions of the State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission against the Emirate automatically.

    The Chairman of the latter [Muhuyi Magaji] tactically complained about the usurpation of his agency’s function when he said that “the agency has achieved 80 per cent success into the investigation of alleged misapplication of N6 billion by the Kano Emirate Council before the House of Assembly took the matter over”.

    He added quickly that “the commission had also recorded a water-tight case against the emirate council over the allegations of financial misappropriation and we have also identified our primary suspect in the course of the investigation”.

    Take note of the language used – “our primary suspect”, and not suspects. That points to one individual being hunted.
    The enthusiasm with which Kano State government functionaries were falling on each other on this matter is an incontrovertible fact that there is “one big fish that must come into the net for full punishment”.

    The big fish couldn’t have been any one else but the Emir of Kano himself. While the probe of the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission was ostensibly directed at the Emirate Council for “misapplication of N6 billion” without mentioning the Emir’s name, the State House of Assembly was specifically set up to “investigate the allegations levelled against the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammad Sanusi 11”.

    The singular language of “our primary suspect” used by Muhuyi Magaji earlier has been narrowed to an individual, albeit the Emir.

    The Honourable Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, while constituting the probe panel, did not bring any allegation against the Emirate Council but instead levelled several allegations against the Emir directly. Some of the allegations are listed below for our collective evaluation and bearing in mind the seriousness of each of these allegations, it will be safe to conclude that the Emir is, most likely, on a long journey into dereliction if found guilty of any of the allegations.

    Misappropriation of funds belonging to the Kano Emirate Council.

    Spreading false rumour against the person of the State Governor; Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
    Embarrassing the Kano Emirate Council by sending his daughter to represent the Council in a recent event in Abuja, as against a responsible Council member.

    The mode dress of the Emir’s daughter at the function in Abuja caused embarrassment to the Emirate Council and the tradition of Kano people because she failed tyo wear full traditional regalia.
    Getting involved in political issues.
    Introducing religious views that are contrary to the teachings of Islam.

    Making statement against President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Kano State House of Assembly Probe Committee, which was given only two weeks to submit its report, is most likely to return verdict of “guilty” on the Emir, all things being equal.

    How did the Emir; a very brilliant and erudite scholar in Islamic laws and tradition, a most conspicuous student of history, walked himself into such a tight and dark cul-de-sac alley without bringing to bear the historical event of his grandfather? His grandfather; Emir Muhammadu Sanusi 1, who reigned from 1953 to 1963, was probed by the Northern House of Assembly of financial impropriety in 1962, after the Emir reportedly fell out of favour with the powerful Sardauna of Sokoto; Sir Ahmadu Bello, and by 1963, his deposition as Emir of Kano had become fait accompli.

    Is the grandson trending the same path? Will he end up just like the grandfather, more so when powerful machineries of both the Federal and State governments are against him? A peep into his background might be helpful in defining and interpreting what anchorage awaits him in this stormy voyage of troubled waters he is swimming against. I met Sanusi Lamido Sanusi [SLS] in the later days of his tenure as Governor of the CBN and in the few times we met, we spoke frankly to each other, with mutual respect. Based on this, l can understand and discuss his journey into the present.

    Ugochukwu Okoraofor; then a Director with the CBN, called me by 5 am of February, Monday 3rd, 2014, begging for my presence in Abuja that same day, saying “Goddy, there is a man l want you to meet this night please”. Of course l obliged him and l left Lagos for Abuja with Arik’s last flight of that day. I did not meet the “man” until the next night [04/02/14], a little after midnight and we talked till 3am. The “man” happened to be the Governor of CBN himself in his official residence in Abuja.

    Godwin Etakibuebu, a veteran journalist, wrote from Lagos.

  • BBC apologises to Emir Sanusi over alleged N6b Emirate fund scam publication

    BBC apologises to Emir Sanusi over alleged N6b Emirate fund scam publication

    British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, has apologised to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, over reports it published claiming the Emir was connected with a financial recklessness that took place with the Kano Emirate fund.

    Recall that on April 24, the corporation had published a report claiming that the Emir was under probe by the Emirate’s anti-graft commission for alleged mismanagement of Kano Emirate fund.

    The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission had opened an investigation into allegations of ‘questionable expenditures’ running into billions of naira by the council over a short period of time.

    However, in the apology letter dated April 28, 2017 and sent to Emir Sanusi, Mr. Jamie Angus, editorial director at BBC, said that an April 24 story quoting the Chairman, of Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, Muhyi Magaji, as saying that he (Sanusi) was amongst those being investigated in connection with alleged misappropriation of about N6 billion Emirate Council fund was “not correct.”

    “The recording of the interview was passed to another colleague in Abuja office, summarised in a despatch and then sent to London where the online report was written and published.

    Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano “It is now clear from our investigations that the reports did not accurately reflect what we were told by Mr. Magaji, who had, in fact, made clear to our reporter that you had not been invited in for questioning and indeed that it was unlikely that there would be a need to invite you for question.

    “Accordingly, the report we published suggested that you were under personal investigation was not correct and for that I offer my sincere apologies,” Mr. Angus said.

    Recall also that the Kano state Emirate Council had equally refuted the allegations that the emir spent N6 billion of the emirate’s fund since assuming office in 2014. Speaking at a press conference in Kano on Monday, a senior official in charge of finance, Bashir Wali, told newsmen that contrary to reports, Sanusi has only spent N2.9billion since he emerged Emir three years ago. Mr. Wali, who is also the Walin Kano, further explained that Emir Sanusi inherited about N1.9 billion as against the alleged N4 billion from his predecessor Alhaji Ado Bayero.

  • Stop preaching hate messages, Emir of Kano warns clerics

    Stop preaching hate messages, Emir of Kano warns clerics

    The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has called on Muslim clerics to stop preaching hate messages in the Mosques.

    The Emir also called on Nigerians to live in peace and tolerate one another, despite their religious beliefs.

    The revered monarch, who described the practice as non-Islamic as non-Islamic, said the Mosque is a holy place.

    Sanusi made the statement while inaugurating an ultra-modern mosque at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State on Friday, January 28, 2017.

    The Emir also called on Nigerians to live in peace and tolerate one another, despite their religious beliefs.
    The monarch described it as totally against the tenets of Islam.

    He said, “Muslim clerics, and indeed all Muslims, should preach peace among the adherents and work to achieve peace with members of other religions.”

    He asked Muslims all over the country to unite and forge a common front for the propagation of the religion.

    Sanusi also called for religious tolerance among members of the two major religions in Nigeria, saying it was the panacea for peace in the country.