Re: What will make Sanusi Lamido great

I promised Dr Ibrahim A.B Lawan that I will publish his rejoinder last week. Unfortunately, I had to postpone it to pay tribute to our friend, Suleiman Bisalla, who lost his life in the recent Abuja bomb blast. May his soul rest in peace. Below is the rejoinder:

Malam Burji, your piece has forced me to write this rejoinder for the record because it seems like you are trying to balance this topic and history isn’t and will never be like that, no matter how you like or try to defend your governor, Alhaji Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who desperately wants to run for president in 2015 at all cost.

Either deliberately or an omission, you should have first exposed the outcome of the kingmakers’ first decision that was sent to the governor, the governors rejection of the list and the purported second voting and the rumours of the amount of money that flowed to the kingmakers for the second voting, which is a betrayal of the legacy and memory of late Ado Bayero.
Secondly, choosing emirs has always been ‘hit or miss’ considering the small sample size and the handful of people who get to decide. But it is what it is. The initial announcement of a candidate who obviously was not the governor’s preference, the lack of good relationship between the governor and the late emir as well as Sardaunan Kano Malam Ibrahim Shekarau whom  because of his respect and loyalty to the late emir earned himself the best title in the North.

For long now, especially during campaigns, Kwankwaso’s people agenda has been exposed severally on radio channels.
If  you remember in 2011 a young man and well known fearless politician Hayatu Jantile several times on Freedom Radio and Pyramid Radio exposed Kwankwaso’s agenda that ‘sabon gwamna da sabon sarki’, meaning new governor to be and new emir to be in Kano our own state and like a dream the agenda has now became a reality.

This is the state that late Ado Bayero has sacrificed his time and resources to build and maintain the tempo of the palace and the state in general where Kano people prefer to take their case to the palace rather than to the court; that is why he became one of the greatest monarchs not only in Nigeria but Africa.
He was the most influential, highly respected and loving monarch.Yes, not only in Nigeria or Africa but in the world.
The governor’s interest in being the flag-bearer for the APC come 2015 and why he would want none of late Ado Bayero’s sons, his biggest contender, out of the running by selecting him as the new emir.

The children of the late emir have shown Nigerians that they are disciplined and responsible at the same time. There is no doubt the people of Kano have shown them that they are with them because they appreciated and will continue to remember the contributions of their father. It’s going to be difficult in Kano to find where any one of the late Ado Bayero’s sons cannot get a favour or support from the grassroots that came out in millions for the burial of their father. We always remember his last public statement before he died, the one he made after an attack on his life in January 2013:

“What I believe is that whatever happens to me on this earth is destined to happen to me by Almighty Allah. So, there is no point in showing any fear, as whatever happens to any person is already pre-destined to happen to him. Therefore, wherever such things happen, whether good or bad, what is required from that person is to thank Allah; if it is for good, exercise patience.”

Finally, I want you to know that you should not try distorting history. During his life, the late Ado Bayero displayed ability to forge relationship across ethnic and religious divides.Various local government reforms stripped him of virtually all the functions the emir had at the advent of his reign. He was imbued with so much faith in the will of Allah and was so full of contentment that he exuded so much resilience as well as capacity to adapt to changes easily.
Whether Kwankwaso likes it or not, there is no politician in Kano today that will not look for some of the emir’s sons’ support. Kano people are highly educated.

Lawal, a researcher and guardian counselor, wrote from Kano and can be reached at ibrahlawal51@ yahoo.com