As the tussle for the throne of the Kano emirate lingers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has invited the 16th Fulani Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, in what looks like recognition of him as the authentic and lawful Emir of Kano.
This is coming after all the district heads across the 44 local government areas of Kano, council chairmen, commissioners, well-meaning Kano people, and Nigerians considered him as the one on the throne. The NBA has also identified with Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano by inviting him to their ongoing annual conference in Kano.
The NBA Annual Conference, held at Amani Event Centre, Kano, which had in attendance the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip, NBA President Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, Chief Judge of Kano State, Justice Dije Aboki, and other legal luminaries, is the first NBA’s annual conference for the entire northern region.
Given the significance of this gathering, the NBA officially invited Emir Sanusi to not just attend but also to render his royal blessing and address the participants. The NBA did not invite Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, having recognized that the 15th emir has been dethroned by the new Kano chieftaincy (repealed) law 2024.
The case was to be heard at the federal high court yesterday but was stalled due to the strike action by organized Labour unions. Emir Sanusi, who spoke at the NBA conference through his representative, Mahe Bashir Wali (the Walin Kano), welcomed the participants warmly and told them that Kano has a long, enviable history as a cultural and commercial nerve center of the northern region.
The monarch said the theme of the conference, ‘Administration of Justice in Nigeria: Challenges and Reforms,’ was apt, as it was only when there is justice in the land that society can have peace, which is a prerequisite for progress and development.
For the State Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, it was a good opportunity to challenge the NBA members on the conflicting court orders given on the Kano emirate tussle when the case is purely a state affair.
The governor, represented at the conference by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Abdullahi Bappa Bichi, told the legal practitioners to always tell their clients the truth when they bring a bad case, even when the truth is bitter, rather than insisting on satisfying their clients by carrying out what is not within the ambit of the law.
To overcome the challenges confronting the administration of justice in Nigeria, the Governor said we must uphold the rule of law and make comprehensive judicial reforms.
Speaking to journalists on the emirate tussle, Barr O.M Femi said the NBA is not unaware of what is happening, “but it is good that the court is to decide, so that none of the parties involved will be aggrieved again. The ruling will set a precedence for lawyers and judges on such matters.
“However, you don’t need to be told or wear binoculars to see that His Royal Majesty Muhammadu Sanusi II is the current Emir of Kano. Nothing explains this fact more than what could be deduced from the ongoing NBA’s annual conference attended by Muhammadu Sanusi II by proxy. The recognition accorded him by the legal practitioners of our land tells it all,” he said.
Dije Aboki Kano Chief Justice, SSG To Kano, Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, NBA President Maikyau, and Mahe Bashir Wali The Walin Kano Representing Emir Muhammadu Sanusi ii at the ongoing NBA Conference holding in Kano.