Shun Ado Bayero
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
As the tussle for the throne of Emir of Kano raged on, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the body of law profession, has issued a statement recognizing Muhammadu Sanusi II as the lawful monarch of the Emirate.
Earlier, all the district heads across the 44 local government areas of Kano, the council chairmen, commissioners and some well meaning Kano people and Nigerians had recognized him as the one on the throne.
The NBA identified with Sanusi II as the 16th Emir of Kano, when the body invited him to their ongoing annual conference in Kano state.
The conference, holding at Amani Event Centre, Kano, had in attendance the President of 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, the first NBA’s annual conference in the entire northern region.
Given the significance of this gathering, the NBA officially invited Emir Sanusi, to not just attend, but to also render his royal blessing and address the participants.
The NBA did not invite Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, having also recognized that the 15th Emir has been dethroned by the new Kano chieftaincy (repealed) law 2024, a case that was to be heard at the federal high court yesterday but was stalled because of the strike action by organized labour unions.
Emir Sanusi II, 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 centre 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, the society could’ve peace, which is the prerequisite for progress and development.
For the State Governor, Abba 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, who was 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 to satisfy their clients by carrying out what is not within the ambit of the law”.
“That is why, 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 at the ongoing conference in Kano, 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 non of the parties involved would 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 to 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.
