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Tag: Emir Sanusi

  • Emir Sanusi backs SON’s war against substandard products

    Emir Sanusi backs SON’s war against substandard products

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s battle against the influx and circulation of substandard products has received the backing of Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II.

    He expressed his support when he received the SON management in Kano, led by the State Coordinator Yahaya Bukar.

    The Emir described the SON responsibility as very tasking, particularly in relation to the fight against the influx, storage and distribution of substandard products.

    He assured the SON delegation of the full support of his council to assist the organisation to win the war.

    Bukar thanked the emir, the Emirate Council, the government and people of Kano State for their support to SON since its establishment in the state in 1988.

    The SON State Coordinator acknowledged the valuable contributions of the Royal Father to the realisation of the SON offshore conformity assessment programme, SONCAP aimed at checkmating the influx of substandard products into Nigeria, as the then Governor of Central Bank, under the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS).

    He reiterated the determination of SON to assist micro, small and medium enterprises in Kano State grow, through the diligent implementation of the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) designed to promote the competitiveness of all made-in-Nigeria products.

    This, according to him, will also promote consumer safety while ensuring that they get value for their hard earned money expended on products.

    He highlighted the stakeholders’ sensitisation efforts being carried out in the state by SON in markets, colleges, mosques and churches in addition to daily inspection visits to factories.

    Bukar briefed the royal father on SON consumer complaints resolution and standards enforcement activities in the state, all aimed at ensuring consumer satisfaction and safety through substantial reduction in the volume of substandard products in circulation.

    The historic visit was rounded off with the presentation of SON stickers, car hangers and wall clocks to Emir  Sanusi II on behalf of the Director-General, Mr. Osita Aboloma.

  • I’ll remain an agent of change, says Emir Sanusi

    I’ll remain an agent of change, says Emir Sanusi

    The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has vowed never to be discouraged in his crusade for change in the society.

    Sanusi spoke yesterday when Country Representative of the United Nation’s International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mohamed Malick Fall, visited him to solicit his support for the girl-child education.

    His words: “Change is always difficult in any society, not only in Kano or in Nigeria, but the world at large. Once you want to bring change, especially that which has to do with the old tradition, there is always societal resistance.

    “There are a lot of people who understand what I am saying and I, therefore, call on them, the Ulama, contractors, students, youth leaders, Muslims, especially you (UNICEF) to support me to pursue this agenda to a logical conclusion.”

    Mr. Fall solicited the emir’s support in addressing issues related to child protection, survival and development.

    “We believe that as someone with influence, he can help us to address child-related issues such as, protection, survival and development.

    “So I am here to inform you of my readiness to work with you to expand what you have been doing in favour of children, not only in Northern Nigeria, but the country at large,” he said.

    Fall reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to continue to work with the states and Federal Government toward mobilising all segments of the society to work in favour of children.

  • Kano House stops probe of Emir Sanusi

    Kano House stops probe of Emir Sanusi

    •Osinbajo, IBB, Sultan, others intervene

    THE Kano State House of Assembly yesterday stopped further probe of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, following a letter received from Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

    It urged the House to halt the probe following appeals from notable Nigerians, who pleaded on behalf of the Emir.

    It was learnt that Ganduje stated that his letter to that effect did not intend to threaten the independence of the House.

    The House of Assembly Speaker, Kabiru Alhasan Rurum,read the governor’s letter to the lawmakers yesterday.

    The letter urged the House to halt proceedings into the eight-count charge against the monarch, citing mediation moves by prominent Nigerians, including members of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, Aminu Dantata and Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

    Ganduje buttressed his appeal by positing that the monarch showed remorse during a reconciliation session organised by Northern Governors’ Forum in Kaduna.

    The House after an extensive deliberation session passed a unanimous verdict approving the termination of the probe.

    The Nation learnt that the House before now allegedly planned to create additional emirates in the state.

    However, a lawmaker, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, expressed dissatisfaction over the intervention by prominent Nigerians.

    “I am not happy at all because we are set to make the records straight before this sudden intervention by prominent personalities,” he said.

    Emir Sanusi has been enmeshedin controversy lately over allegation of financial misappropriation and misconduct.

    Besides the probe initiated by the state anti-corruption agency, the Housealso set up an eight-man committee to investigate the monarch.

    It followed a motion of urgent public importancelast week by member representing Nasarawa Local Government Area, Alhaji Ibrahim Gama.

    Gama frowned at the comments credited to the monarch over the proposed Kano light rail project to be executed by Ganduje.

    The Chairman of the House Committee on Works said: “The statement from the Emir is capable of tarnishing my image, the government and that of the assembly”.

    “The Emir during his speech in Kaduna alleged that the Kano State Governor and his entourage, including me as the Chairman of the House Committee on Works,wasted one month in China seeking for loan to construct rail.

    “The Emir’s statement was not true. We spent only four days in China, and our visit was to find out the capability of the company to handle the rail project.

    “His utterances have caused a lot of insult to me, the state government and also the House of Assembly.”

    He took a swipe at Emir Sanusi for sending his daughter to represent him in one of the functions organised by Bring Back Our Girls Group in Abuja, describing it as inimical to the tradition of the Emirate Council.

    “There are many responsible Emirate Council members who can represent him at the programme. This is the first time we are seeing such in the historical traditional home,” he added.

    According to Gama, the mode of dressing of the Emir’s daughter during the programme was an embarrassment to the emirate council and the tradition of Kano people.

    He accused the monarchof introducing religious issues that were contrary to the teachings of Islam, saying such comments were capable of disgracing the religion.

     

  • Elite must wake up to leadership responsibilities, says Emir Sanusi

    Elite must wake up to leadership responsibilities, says Emir Sanusi

    Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II yesterday urged the elite to wake up to their leadership roles.

    He said there is failure in some sectors because of the inability of the leaders to set their priorities right.

    The Emir also said those in position of authority should focus on providing education, healthcare for the people instead of dreaming of owning runways and having mega cities.

    The Emir spoke in Abuja yesterday when Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello was given an award by Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris as the Most Security-Conscious Governor in Nigeria.

    The emir said: “My advice to His Excellency is to remind him that to whom much is given, much is expected. For all of us in positions of authority, whether governor, emir, police commissioner, the president, chairman of local government; we must remember that over 170 million Nigerians were created by God and when God chose us and put us in these positions, it is not because he does not love those not given the positions.

    “If there is anything that has destroyed this country, it is people thinking that offices are for themselves and their families but it is not. We were given offices for those who are not in office; we were given office not to sleep so that they may sleep. We were given office so that you can go hungry so that they may eat.

    “You were given office so that you stay awake fearful of what may happen to them so that they may sleep in peace. People who think that they are in office to enjoy, to have sound sleep, to have a comfortable life are the worst leaders ever. So, I say to the governor and myself and to all of us who have a responsibility, the prophet of Islam has one Hadith about leadership that is very frightening.

    “He says, it is a trust and on the Day of Judgment, it is a source of humiliation and regret. Everyone must remember that there would be a day that we will account for these privileges. On that day, if you did not serve those people, you would regret and wish that you never had that office.”

     The Emir also said there is need to address what he described as silent violence like poverty, hunger, lack of healthcare and other social amenities..

    On security he said: “How would you blow up mosques because you want to establish an Islamic system? In Southern Kaduna, we have people who lived together for decades and centuries killing each other because they have constructed fake identities – settler and indigene – and because of genuine lack of enforcement of the law. Every time there is crisis in Southern Kaduna, people die, there is a tribunal, there is a report, culprits are identified and nothing happens. So, these small instances utterly lead to conflagration and therefore, it is important to address them at every point in time.”

  • Emir Sanusi urges youths to embrace farming

    Emir Sanusi urges youths to embrace farming

    Emir of Kano Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II has urged youths to embrace farming to fight redundancy among them.

    According to the monarch, agriculture remained the best weapon to fight unemployment among youths.

    Sanusi, who was delivering his Sallah message at Kofar Kudu, said youths must engage in modern agriculture to reduce redundancy and indolence.

    The monarch, who emphasised that agriculture is the only solution to the nation’s economic challenges, stressed that all hands must be on deck to help the country get out of the economic crisis.

    He called on governments to pay attention to agriculture, and deliver  farming input and fertiliser to farmers on time.

  • Why Nigeria is underdeveloped -Emir Sanusi

    Why Nigeria is underdeveloped -Emir Sanusi

    The immediate past Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, yesterday bared his mind on the state of the Nigerian economy, giving reasons why the country is underdeveloped.

    The Emir of Kano who spoke while inaugurating the remodeled secretariat of the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA), at the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex said, the major problem of the country was that it imports what it has and exports what it does not have.

    The Emir said, it is unfortunate that Nigeria has crude oil but imports refined petroleum products for its consumption, as well as it has gas but could not generate electricity from it, except to import generator.

    According to the Emir, “I have always said it, the problem of this country is that, we are in a country where we import what we have and we export what we don’t have. It is only in Nigeria we do that. We have cotton, but we will not process it to make cloth, except we go to China to buy clothes. We have crude oil, but you cannot go to filling station and get fuel refined in Nigeria, except we take our crude to England and go there to buy refined products. We have refinery here in Kaduna, but the fuel you will buy is not refined here.

    “We have gas in Nigeria, but we are always burning it, it is flaring into the air. Instead of us to generate electricity with it, we rather go abroad to import generator to get power and we have gas that can generate electricity for us, we have coal and we have water to generate electricity.”

    He added, “From time immemorial, tie and dye used to be one of the major businesses of Kano people, but now, it is Chinese that bring dyed clothes for us to buy. Kano people now select design for Chinese to go back to China and bring finished product back to them,” he lamented.

    He, however, said there is no way Nigeria will move forward or develop, except the country corrects all the anomalies highlighted.

    “This correction is not something difficult, since God has blessed us with what to do. We have tomatoes, we have cotton, we have gas, we have crude oil. From any day Nigerian refineries begin to solely refine our petroleum products, from the day we produce plastics from our petrol-chemical companies, from the day, we begin to generate our electricity from gas and produce fertiliser, we produce our clothes from our cotton, Nigeria will develop.

    “The textile industry use to employ over 600,000 people, but now, it will be difficult to get 30,000 people under textile industry employment. Here in Kaduna industrial estate, both Muslims and Christians were working and their children living and playing together, but the moment the factories closed down and workers disengaged, the children who used to play together started seeing themselves as Muslims and Christians and started killing themselves during crisis.

    “All the crises experienced in Nigeria, including the current Boko Haram insurgency were caused by the death of the Nigerian economy,” he explained.

    Emir Sanusi however argued that the way out of the nation’s economic woes is to support government by not patronising products smuggled into the country, saying such goods were responsible for the collapse of the nation’s industry.

    On the hardship currently experienced in the country, the Emir said the Buhari government deserves commendation, for the fact that, despite the economic situation, workers were not retrenched or their salaries cut.

    Earlier, the President of KADCCIMA, Abdul Alimi, said the Emir of Kano assisted the chamber greatly when he was the CBN Governor, especially towards the success of the KADCCIMA secretariat project.

     

  • Emir Sanusi denies keeping Ese in palace

    Emir Sanusi denies keeping Ese in palace

    The Emir of Kano, Mohammadu Sunusi II, yesterday denied the allegation that he was harbouring Ese Oruru in his palace.

    At a news conference at his palace, the Emir said he learnt of the fact that the girl was still in Kano when journalists from the BBC called on him while he was South Africa.

    He said: “Since August last year, the District Head of Kura came to the palace with a young girl of about 15 years, alongside with somebody from the area whom we were told was married to him after she was converted to Islam.

    “I ordered for her immediate repatriation to her parents who were said to be in Bayelsa State. I ordered the Kano State Shariah Commission to liaise with the Assistant Inspector General ( AIG)  Zone 1 to assist in taking her back to her parents in Bayelsa, through the AIG who oversees Bayelsa axis, for her safety.”

    Sanusi said he solicited for the intervention of the police authorities because the girl was said to have made a statement that she was afraid that her parents could harm her.

    “In Islam, she has no right to just go ahead and decide things for herself. She is still young.  She is not matured enough. And nowhere in Islam where such young girls can just make up their mind and give their hands in marriage just like that. It is not permitted in Islam. That is why we said she must be taken back to her parents, “ Sanusi added.

    The monarch said he was surprised when he saw online stories alleging that he ordered for the girl to remain in captivity of the palace.

    “To my utter surprise since from the time we ordered that the girl be taken to her parents in Bayelsa through AIG Zone 1 office, we didn’t hear anything about her. Just for us to now start hearing all kinds of stories that we are keeping her in our custody.  This is injustice of the highest order, “ Kano Emir said.

    He went on: “I am therefore giving an order that an investigation should immediately commence with the AIG office and know what was the position of things since that time we ordered for her repatriation to her parents.”

    The Emir called on Yunusa to wait till she is 18 and ask for her hand in marriage.

    He added: “We cannot in anyway be more Muslims than the Prophet of Islam Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him. We must therefore do things according to the set rules and regulations governing our religion.“

  • Emir Sanusi faults Buhari’s naira policy

    Emir Sanusi faults Buhari’s naira policy

    A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, has urged the Federal Government to  end its policy of trying to maintain the value of the  naira.

    Sanusi said the drawbacks of the policy “far outweigh its dubious benefits”, according to the Financial Times reports.

    President Muhammadu Buhari told the BBC last week that he was not convinced of the need to “murder” the naira.

    The falling oil price has put pressure on his currency policy.

    The authorities are keeping the official naira rate at around N200 to the dollar, but the black market rate is over N300.

    The government relies on oil exports for vital foreign exchange and the declining price means there are fewer dollars in the country.

    “The government does not have the reserves to keep the exchange rate at its official level in the market,” the traditonal ruler told the Financial Times.

    The policy has “never worked” wherever it has been tried, he added.

    In an effort to sustain the policy, the government has imposed currency restrictions, and halted the importation of certain goods in order to stop dollars leaving the country.

  • Islamic banking’ll boost economy if well harnessed, says Emir Sanusi

    Islamic banking’ll boost economy if well harnessed, says Emir Sanusi

    Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has said Islamic Banking institution can revitalise the troubled Nigerian economy if well adopted.

    According to him, one of the major benefits of the system is to reduce poverty.

    He spoke yesterday at the Third Annual Holiday Convention of the Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP) at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry in Lagos State.

    The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, who disclosed that non-Muslim countries including Cote d’Voire, Senegal and Gambia are picking interest in the Sukuk, the Islamic banking system, also called for increased awareness on the Islamic Banking system.

    Speaking via video recording on the benefits of the system, which he said remain largely untapped, the monarch further urged Muslims to invest into Halal products and services, including Game reserves, Cinemas, games among others.

    These, he said, can help the Islamic banking system to thrive and drive the economy.

    In his address, Sterling Bank Head of Islamic Banking, Dr. Bashir Oshodi, said over 100 million Nigerians are living below poverty line.

    He said a recent research has shown that Nigeria, Tanzania, Congo and Ethiopia, were marked to become extremely poor by year 2030, adding that these countries are predominantly Muslims.

    “Islamic Banking, if well harnessed, would ensure large numbers of people are economically independent,” adding that people like Aristotle, Adam Smith and Alfred Marshall were all proponents of interest free banking.

    Jaiz Bank Plc Head of Corporate Affairs, Al-Hassan Abu Kareem, lamented that Muslims are the least beneficiaries from their operations.

    This, he said, is due to ignorance on the benefits inherent in it.

    He urged scholars to avail themselves of the opportunity of the training sessions organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which he said, would help them understand the real perspectives of Islamic banking and how it can be fully integrated into the society.

    He said: “There was one of our non-Muslims customers who collected N2 million naira loan and he was the first to get that from us when we started initially. Accidentally, it was the period when there was media advocacy against Islamic banking and Jaiz Bank. After getting the loan, he showed it to his church members and that was a positive testimony for us.”

    GMP Board of Trustee chairman Abdul Akeem Oyewale, urged Muslims on creating awareness, getting education and training on the Islamic banking system.

    He urged Muslims to register for online courses that could avail them of the basic knowledge of the Islamic banking system.

  • Emir Sanusi for Badagry convention

    Emir Sanusi for Badagry convention

    The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi (II), will lead eminent personalities to the third annual Muslim Professionals’ Convention at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos. The four-day convention, with the theme: Unlocking the potentials of Islamic finance in Nigeria, is organised by the Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP).

    According to GMP Administrative officer, Aameenah Yunus-Ali, Emir Sanusi’s keynote address will focus on encouraging Muslim professionals to champion the cause of Islamic Finance not for private or corporate development alone, but with the overall national development.

    The Kano monarch, she said, will join other facilitators, drawn from various financial institutions with expertise on the orthodox and Islamic financial system.

    She said: “The programme is not limited to Islamic finance alone as participants will enjoy sessions on health and wellness, marriage counseling and a host of fun trips and workshop as well.

    “With over 200 participants in mind based on previous attendance, our audience includes, but not limited to, young professionals in major industries. Veteran professionals and employers of labour will also be in attendance.”

    One of the facilitators, Mr Sulaiman AbdulKabir, said the convention is aimed at providing an ideal platform for relaxation and networking, learning and reflection on how to use professionalism to impact nation building.

    AbdulKabir said the forum will also provide first-hand information on the corporate world, finding new business contacts on all business opportunities and upgrading career strategies for the upcoming years.