Frank, controversial and vocal, the dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi’s last ambition in life was yesterday thwarted by the action of the state government led by Abdullahi Ganduje.
Sixty months ago, the dethroned emir had in an interview to mark his coronation in 2015, told newsmen at the Emir’s Palace in Kano that his last ambition in life was to die as an emir.
On February 4, 2015, Sanusi who emerged as Kano emir on June 8, 2014, said “no position is bigger than the emir’s throne.”
Sanusi said about his new found glory: “Well, in terms of a position or anything material, I don’t have any. My prayer is that I move from this palace to my grave. I don’t have any desire or aspiration that I’m targeting. It is natural, I grew up in the palace and for me, and there was never anybody that is more important than the Emir of Kano, both my grandfather and the late Emir of Kano.
“Positions are nothing; it is really what you do with them. So, ultimately, one will like to leave behind a good record of service. I want to leave a reputation where people of Kano would continue to pray for me in remembrance of the good service and leadership I provided to them.
“There is no house that a man will like to live in rather than this palace; there is nothing that a man wants in this life that Allah has not given to me,” the dethroned emir said.
On how he felt when Kano kingmakers picked him as the emir, Sanusi II, who was born on July 31, 1961, said it was difficult to express the enormity of his feelings.
His words, “It is difficult for one to express exactly the enormity of feelings of becoming an emir but you know the Quran leaves nothing out and I think the best words any prince can have to express this gratitude were the words used by Prophet Yusuf (AS) after he was given the position Allah gave him. He said: ‘Oh father, this is the interpretation of my dream; Allah has made it a true…’ If there is one thing that every Muslim believes in, it is that power comes only from God and only Him knows why He chooses a particular individual and at a particular time and gives him power.
“Therefore, whenever one is chosen to this position, one is overcome by a sense of humility because you know that it is not that you are better than other princes; it is not because you are closer to God than others; it is not because you are clever or strategic, God decided to put you there and our responsibility now is to thank Him. And try to understand why He put us there and what He would like us to do,” he said.
