Residents Riot Over Sanusi's Emergence As Kano Emir

Some residents of Kano State on Sunday took to the street following the announcement of the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the Emir of Kano State.

*The Emir Of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

A witness said the aggrieved residents at the Kofar Kudu area of the state, near the Emir’s palace started the riot as Sanusi was announced the successor to late Alhaji Ado Bayero.

He said the residents of the neighbouring streets trooped out to the palace area in opposition to the choice, shouting “Ba muso, ba muso”, meaning, “We don’t want, we don’t want” in apparent reference to the choice of Sanusi by the state government.

According to him, the angry residents set tyres on fire, mounted road blocks and started throwing stones at passing vehicles.

He said the situation was, however, quelled by the swift arrival of a detachment of police officers, Civil Defence officials as well as members of the state Hisbah.

Despite the reactions from residents, the state government in a statement issued on Sunday by its secretary, Suleiman Bichi, insisted that: “The state government received their recommendations and Allah has conferred on Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the former governor of the central bank, (the post of) the successor to the late emir".

 The appointment was announced at the state government headquarters in the northern city in the presence of the four so-called “kingmakers” — royal officials who meet in closed session to decide on the succession.The kingmakers considered a number of names and put them forward to the state government for approval.

Sanusi had been tipped to be in the running, as he is the grandson of the late emir’s brother, who had a short-lived reign in the 1960s.

His appointment to the distinguished role comes after a turbulent few months in which he has fought court cases against his suspension and mounted a legal challenge against the confiscation of his passport.

The Emir of Kano is the second most-influential of Nigeria’s triumvirate of Muslim leaders: at the top is the Sultan of Sokoto and number three is the Shehu of Borno.

All three traditional Muslim monarchs are custodians of Islam and lead clerics in their areas. They have also been seen as key figures bridging the often fractious divide between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.

But they have recently come under pressure to speak out more against the threat posed by the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram who are currently waging an increasingly violent insurgency in the northern part of the country.
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