Idowu Akinlotan
NOTABLE critics of the Buhari presidency as well as aides of the president provided a side attraction to the Emir Sanusi deposition controversy as they hurled accusations and counteraccusations at one another last week. Former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso was scathing. He said on BBC that he was sure the order to dethrone Emir Sanusi came from a meddlesome presidency. “Considering remarks made by those closer to Mr President,” he began confidently, “they say he does not interfere in misunderstandings, that he keeps mute whenever there are such conflicts. But we, especially in Kano, we look at this attitude of Mr President differently. Where he was supposed to intervene, he never did. So, where he was not supposed to intervene, you found him intervening. You see, here in Kano State, government officials said they were ordered from above to depose the Emir. He (Buhari) is the one that gave them the order.”
But presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, was adamant that there was no such intervention. According to him: “All such insinuations are untrue, malicious and politically motivated…The President does not have a history of intervening in the affairs of any state in the country, unless the issue at hand is of national consequence. On such matters which impinge on national security, he has a duty of involvement as the law stipulates.” The public will be uncertain whose account to trust regarding what transpired before the deposition, particularly the role of the presidency. But they will recognise how unrealistic it is to carry out such a major deposition without at least hinting the presidency. If the president didn’t order it, did he not at least know about it? And in light of former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar’s exasperation while referencing the deposition, it is even harder to believe that the presidency neither got a hint nor gave an approval.
Mallam Kwankwaso spoke to the BBC, but Gen Abubakar spoke on Voice of America. Hear the general’s cryptic comment on the deposition, particularly the efforts of his peace committee to find an amicable resolution to the misunderstanding between Governor Ganduje and the deposed emir. “We met with the emir and the governor separately, then we met them together. We tried to mediate. All I can say is that there was a misunderstanding and satan got involved. The governor had the yam and the knife in this matter because the emir is under him. I can’t say whether or not President Buhari intervened because I was not in Nigeria. But before I left, we went to him with our report and we discussed. I cannot say whether he intervened or not, but if he intervened, it would be surprising we would be where we are now.”
Of the two responses between Mallam Kwankwaso and Gen Abubakar, and between the certainty of the former and the incredulity of the latter, there is little doubt that the former head of state’s statement is the more revealing. Despite Mallam Shehu’s denial, it is more likely than not that the presidency knew a thing or two about the deposition. It is not clear whether they ordered it, especially given Emir Sanusi’s acerbic interventions in the presidency’s management of economic matters and social programmes, but it is likely they knew about the deposition. If a report of the disagreement between the governor and the emir was discussed with the president, it is unlikely that Dr Ganduje, a fanatical loyalist of the president, would not get an approval as it were. All signs suggest that he did, and that the president was disinclined to intervene further to halt the deposition. It could also be inferred that the Kano governor read the mind of the president and proceeded to the fateful deposition.
What is even more surprising is the highly nuanced and baffling rapidity with which the Emir Sanusi banishment controversy was disposed off between Monday and Friday. First, it is clear that Kano signed off on the banishment, contrary to its claims. Second, the case went to court only on Thursday. By Friday, it had been resolved in the court, and that same day, with the Kaduna governor in tow, the judgement had been transmitted to Awe in Nasarawa State and other agencies involved in the banishment, and pronto Emir Sanusi was out of the state and into freedom. The country rejoices with him. But given the customary tardiness of the security agencies and the courts, it is shocking how the processes were speeded up. Was it because the government was wearied and discouraged by the general unpopularity of the deposition and banishment, particularly the banishment? Or was it because the emir carried a lot of weight?
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