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    Monday, March 19, 2018

    Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II: Religion, Tradition & Style


    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation is not just a large land space. Embedded in that West African country are hundreds of cultures, traditions and a number of religious persuasions.
    A federal republic in West Africa, bordering Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Abuja is located. Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country
    According to the country’s demographics, there is a largely Muslim north and a Christian south. In between these two there is a labyrinth of African cultural belief systems that dictate Nigeria’s very powerful traditional leadership.
    Whiles the southern traditional system is almost fully grounded in only ‘tradition,’ the northern structure is markedly different. Different in the sense that it combines tradition and religion almost seamlessly.
    So that even though some Muslims have disputed the term ‘Muslim chief,’ in Nigeria, the head of Muslims is the Sultan of Sokoto who is located in the country’s north west. He is referred to as ‘Sarki Muslumi’ – the chief/king of Muslims.
    There are Emirs i.e. traditional rulers dotted across the north. Among others, the Emir of Daura (president Buhari’s village), the Emir of Katsina, the Emir of Adamawa, the Emir of Borno, the Emir of Zazau in Kaduna, then in the central north is the Emir of Kano, the subject of this piece. The Kano Emirate is simply the stand out monarchy across Nigeria’s north.

    How did the Kano Emirate come about?
    The current occupant of the throne, Muhammad Sanusi II, speaks about the Emirate in an interview with Forbes Africa on ‘My Worst Day At Work’ program.
    “The Kano kingdom has been in existence for over a 1000 years, and my particular dynasty has been ruling Kano for over 200 years. And prior to the colonial administration and the post-independence government, this institution used to be effectively the government of the area.
    “And the Kano Emirate is contiguous with Kano State now, with 12 million people; the Emirate was much larger than what Kano State is today. There are two other emirates, Ringim and Dutse which were carved out of Kano Emirate when Jigawa State was created.
    “So it is a role that basically is a religious traditional role but it is also one that has a tremendous influence in terms of being an advisory role in terms of political authorities and collaboration in the delivery of public services,” he added.

    The Stylish Central Bank Governor Before Becoming Emir
    But long before becoming Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi – then Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, served as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. He is credited with mass reforms in the country’s financial sector.  Sanusi, till date continues to make presentations on the state of the Nigerian economy.
    Under his leadership, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) investigated top bank CEOs and 16 senior bank officials faced charges that included fraud, lending to fake companies, giving loans to companies they had a personal interest in and conspiring with stockbrokers to boost share prices, and today, he has been appointed as the Emir of Kano by Gov. Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso of Kano following the departure of Alh. Ado Bayero. In August 2009, the Sanusi led the Central Bank of Nigeria to "rescue" Afribank, Intercontinental Bank, Union Bank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank by bailing them out with 400 billion naira of public money, and dismissed their chief executives. September 2009, he said that 15 of the current 24 Nigerian banks might survive reform in the banking sector. The CBN also took over a number of local banks as a measure of protecting depositors.
    Over the time that he was CBN boss, Sanusi was reputed for his fashion sense within corporate circles. His appearance was almost predictable. He will either be wearing a bow tie or chairman Mao suit.
    Muhammad Sanusi II is officially the 14th Emir of Kano, a religious and historic region in the center of Nigeria’s north. He ascended the throne after the death of his grand uncle, Alhaji Ado Bayero who ruled as emir for over five decades.

    12 Facts About The Emir
    1. He was a successful banker and was a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, appointed on June 3, 2009, for a five-year term, but was suspended from office by President Goodluck Jonathan on February 20 2014, after claiming that a $20 billion fraud was committed in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – the first northerner to hold the post.
    2. Sanusi had his primary education at the St. Anne's Catholic Primary School, Kakuri, Kaduna between 1967-1972 and secondary education at King's College Lagos, graduated in 1977.
    He obtained a bachelor's degree in Economics in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, 1981. And a master's degree in Economics at Ahmadu Bello University in 1983, and became an instructor there from 1983 until 1985. Also a degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies from the African International University in Khartoum, Sudan.
    3. He is chancellor of University of Benin (UNIBEN)
    4. He was named the first Forbes Africa Person of the Year (POY) in 2011.
    5. Sanusi has spoken at many distinguished events, including Warwick Economics Summit in February 2012 where he spoke about banking reforms in Nigeria and their impact on the economy.
    6. Before becoming emir, he had aimed for the post of African Development Bank (AfDB) CEO – which role is currently occupied by Akinwumi Adesina, a former Agric Minister of Nigeria.
    7. He is the grandson of Muhammad Sanusi (The 11th Fulani Emir of Kano ).
    8. The global financial intelligence magazine, The Banker, published by the Financial Times, conferred on Sanusi two awards, the global award for Central Bank Governor of the Year, as well as for Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa.
    The TIME magazine also listed Sanusi in its TIMES 100 list of Most Influential People of 2011.
    In 2013, Sanusi was also awarded a Special GIFA award at the third Global Islamic Finance Awards held in Dubai, for his advocacy role in promoting Islamic banking and finance in Nigeria during his stint as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. 
    9. In 2015, Emir Muhammad Sanusi II was awarded Global Leadership in Islamic Finance Award 2015 by Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA) to become the fifth GIFA Laureate, following Tun Abdullah Badawi (2011), HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah (2012), Shaukat Aziz (2013) and Nurrsultan Nazarbayev (2014).
    10. Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II was born as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi into the Fulani Torobe (Sullubawa) clan of Kano on the July 31 1961. He is the grandson of Sir Muhammadu Sanusi, the 11th Emir of Kano, from the Sullubawa clan of the Torobe Fulani.
    11. He is the direct son of Ambassador Aminu Sanusi, a career diplomat and technocrat that served as the Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, China and Canada, who later served as the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    12. He is the second most powerful Muslim leader, he ranks only behind the Sultan of Sokoto.

    The Emir is also known for his unconventional views on society and religion. One of his most recent positions has to do with announcing a ban on polygamy, especially for poor men.
    He is on record to have said that there is a direct link between poverty and terrorism which has dogged especially the country’s northeastern Borno State. He said a law was being drafted to be presented to the Kano State House of Assembly in respect of restricting polygamy.

    Tree of Emirs of Kano Emirate, Sokoto Caliphate
    The following is a list of Emirs of Kano, a city and emirate in northern Nigeria. Once the Hausa Kingdom of Kano, it was conquered by Fulani Usman dan Fodio in 1805, who installed a Fulani Emir of Kano in place of the old kings.

    Fulani Rulers     
    Clan of Dambazau           
    1. Suleimanu dan AbaHama(emir) (ruled 1805-1819)
    Clan of Sullubawa
    2. Ibrahim Dabo dan Mahmudu (ruled 1819-1846)
    3. Usman I Maje Ringim dan Dabo (ruled 1846-1855)
    4. Abdullahi Maje Karofi dan Dabo (ruled 1855-1883)
    5. Muhammadu Bello dan Dabo (ruled 1883-1893)
    6. Muhammadu Tukur dan Bello (ruled 1893-1894)
    7. Aliyu Babba dan Maje Karofi (ruled 1894-1903)
    Emirs of Kano, Kano Province- Protectorate of Northern Nigeria
    8. Muhammad Abbass Dan Maje Karofi (ruled 1903-1919)
    Emirs of Kano, Protectorate of Nigeria 
    9. Usman II dan Maje Karofi (ruled 1919-1926)
    10. Abdullahi Bayero (ruled 1926-1953)
    Emirs of Kano, Kano Province- Government of Northern Nigeria
    11. Abdullahi Bayero Dan Abbas (ruled 1926-1953)
    12. Muhammadu Sanusi I Dan Bayero (ruled 1954-1963)
    13. Muhammad Inuwa Dan Abbas (ruled 1963 - he served for 3 months only)
    14. Ado Bayero Dan Abdu Bayero (ruled 1963-2014)
    15. Muhammadu Sanusi II (2014 to date)

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