Royals the world over are held in very high esteem, and as such they’re expected to abide by high standard of moral conduct in their private and public lives. Therefore, when in 1936 it became clear to Edward VIII that as king and head of the Church of England, it was a taboo for him to marry a divorcee, he abdicated the throne of England to marry the woman he loved. Thus, when an aide to the Kano state governor told the Emir of Kano to shut his “dirty mouth”, I thought that’s the highest level of ridicule, shame, insult and abomination that Lamido Sanusi has brought upon himself and to the highly revered throne of Kano. What respect, if any, is there for Sanusi to salvage?
It is a taboo for the Emir of Kano to be loquacious. It is against all known norms of decency and royal etiquette for a king to behave as such. Post- abdication, he’s free to live the life of a social critic. Something’s gotta give. When Lamido Sanusi’s autobiography is written, it will make a compelling read. It is a tale of a brilliant student, who as a banker rose to the pinnacle of his career; and who as a prince became king. By all means a successful and distinguished personality- from his tale one will learn a lesson or two about how to succeed in life and how to avoid pitfalls in the vagaries of life. The tragedy of Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano, however, is that he fails to learn or take into account Al-Maghili’s exhortations in Taj Al Muluk, which was an Islamic code of conduct comprising royal etiquettes and administrative obligations written by Al Maghili for Muhammadu Rumfa, the 20th Hausa ruler of Kano in the 1490s (at about the time Columbus set sail west to the New World).
Sanusi in his wisdom thought he could reinvent the monarchy in a new light to meet the needs of a 21st century Hausa state, but failed to realise that monarchy is by nature conservative, and you don’t change a thousand-year-old system in a span of five years. Furthermore, even in Britain you don’t destroy the centuries-old Buckingham Palace to build a glass and steel structure in its place. He tried to project the image of an enlightened priest – king who speaks truth to power but failed in the process as he chose to convey his message publicly rather than privately despite his access to State House. What’s more galling is the way he carries himself with an air of self- righteousness and holier – than – thou attitude where he appears to be the only traditional ruler in the country that comments on virtually any topic, leading many to wonder whether he’s the only western – educated monarch in the country.
The truth is, other traditional rulers, out of respect for the dictates of their thrones have decided to remain generally silent and only speak when there is absolute need to do so. A prince, after all, should be seen not heard. The Queen of England has spoken only once to the press in 68 years! Yes, the BBC interview! We are thus sick and tired of economic indices being reeled out spontaneously, about poverty and Malthusian scare-mongering on population growth in northern Nigeria, without requisite sacrifices via personal examples from an aristocratic Rolls Royce-riding ‘radical’ ‘protégé’ to Aminu Kano, Bala Usman and Balarabe Musa.
With a flamboyant and ostentatious lifestyle akin to a Bourbon monarch, Sanusi has lost the moral high ground to preach the gospel of fiscal discipline to others. In fact, I wonder how a brilliant and award- winning economist cum emir ended up racking over 37 million naira as bills for his mobile phone calls, data and roaming charges in three years. Intellectual financial prudence? One really wonders what legacy in terms of human development he’s bequeathing as emir to the good people of Kano despite having two world-class, Forbes-recognised billionaires as subjects and indigenes of the state. Several moves were made in the past at reconciling the emir with his governor all of which have come to naught. Therefore, the on-going moves at reconciling the two, will also fail, as no side will shift, yield or honour the terms agreed upon. As it is now, it’s no longer a question of if but when the governor will depose the emir, because Sanusi can’t stop “speaking truth to power”.
The serious business of governance, therefore, can’t be held hostage, lingering in a perpetual impasse between Sanusi and Ganduje . We can’t continue like this. Either the emir abdicates or gets deposed. After all, Sanusi himself has brooked no dissent by firing his aides such as Isa Pilot, Maja Sirdi and Sokon Kano for their perceived disloyalty to the throne. Due to the fact that the Kano monarchy is greater than the ambition and interest of any prince, and because of what the monarchy represents in the hearts and minds of the teeming millions of people in the state and beyond historically, culturally, socially and religiously, Lamido Sanusi has to, as Emir of Kano, abdicate the throne, or get deposed, so that the honour, prestige and glory of Kano Emirate and the state may be restored.
Imam writes from Kano
