By Uche Mbah
The face off between the the governor of Kano State, Umar Ganduje, and the Emir of Kanu, Mohammed Sanusi, appears not to abate as the governor has approached the state Assembly to resubmit the bill for the creation of four additional Emirates in the state.
He had earlier submitted the bill through a non member of the house of Assembly, asking for the creation of the same four emirates. The House had speedily passed the bill, and he assented to the bill the same day. However, the case landed in court and the court threw out the newly signed law, ordering a return to status quo ante. The Court predicated its dismissal of the case on the fact that the creation of the emirate did not follow due process. According to the court, the bill was not submitted by a member of the House, hence the house did not follow due process. the result was therefor null and void.
But the state executive council rose from a meeting holding that the new submission has corrected the anomaly, and therefore it is hopeful it will again scale through. Whether the new bill will satisfy the judges if it is taken to court remains to be seen.
Analysts have pointed out that the reason for the creation of the Emirate was to weaken the control base of the Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi, who has been seen to be at loggerheads with the governor on policy matters. Sanusi has been critical of the Emirs actions, which made critics believe that the governor was acting out of pique. A press statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Mallam Muhammad Garba, insisted that some of the Emirates predated the Kano Emirate, and that the governor is only possessed of the courage that other past governors did not have.
