{"id":86631,"date":"2024-07-03T09:07:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T09:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/03\/kings-battle-for-a-millennium-old-throne-in-nigeria\/"},"modified":"2024-07-03T09:07:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T09:07:11","slug":"kings-battle-for-a-millennium-old-throne-in-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/03\/kings-battle-for-a-millennium-old-throne-in-nigeria\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Battle for a Millennium-Old Throne in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/02\/multimedia\/02nigeria-kingdom-1-jgtw\/02nigeria-kingdom-1-jgtw-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Kings Battle for a Millennium-Old Throne in Nigeria\" title=\"Kings Battle for a Millennium-Old Throne in Nigeria\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One king has been barricaded in the palace, protected from potential usurpers by hundreds of subjects armed with sticks and machetes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Another king, evicted from the same palace in May, is living in an annex down the road, dispatching lawyers to courthouses in an attempt to regain the throne.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The battle unfolding for the emirate of Kano \u2014 one of West Africa\u2019s oldest and most revered kingdoms \u2014 is not just a struggle for an ancient throne, but also part of a wider contest for control over the most populous state in Africa\u2019s most populous country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The emirs of Kano once had absolute power, ruling over their subjects from the intricately decorated palace in the city of Kano, an ancient commercial hub just south of the Sahara.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Today, though rulers still sit on sumptuous thrones, wear silken gowns and have courtiers to fan them wherever they go, their kingdom is part of Nigeria, Africa\u2019s biggest democracy, and they operate alongside its elected officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Like British monarchs, they have great influence over their subjects, but few official powers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The clash between the two emirs has become a flashpoint ahead of the Nigerian presidential election in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Different branches of Nigeria\u2019s elected government have chosen sides, analysts say: The local state government supports Emir Sanusi, a reformist and the current king, while the federal government supports Emir Aminu, a more traditional ruler who is fighting to retake the crown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Never before have there been two claimants to the throne in Kano, a thrumming city that is home to 4.5 million people. Observers warn that the situation is so tense that riots could break out. \u201cWe did not think anyone would attack the emirate like this,\u201d said Ruqayyah Salihi Bayero, a palace historian.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-50a76e2\">A Game of Thrones<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The kingdom of Kano dates back to the year 999. It was first ruled by Hausa kings and then, after it was conquered in 1805, by Fulani emirs. The throne is not hereditary; kings are chosen by kingmakers and by the governor of Kano.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Sanusi \u2014 whose name was Sanusi Lamido Sanusi before ascending to the throne \u2014 became emir in 2014. He was less traditional than former emirs, who spent their days settling local disputes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A former banker and central bank governor of Nigeria, occasionally spotted in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BICjGApANfu\/?hl=en\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Louboutin shoes<\/a>, he was highly educated and popular in elite international business circles. He believed that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=agzEkTf-gCk&amp;ab_channel=ChannelsTelevision\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">girls should be educated<\/a>, women\u2019s rights should be respected and poor men should not marry multiple wives, ideas that didn\u2019t land well with his conservative subjects, who called him a Western stooge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Northern Nigeria\u2019s aristocrats wear towering turbans, tied over the mouth to signify dignified silence. Emir Sanusi wore the turbans, but he was outspoken. He criticized politicians and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/21\/world\/africa\/governor-of-nigerias-central-bank-is-fired-after-warning-of-missing-oil-revenue.html\" title=\"\">called out corruption<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Soon after he became emir, he made an enemy of Kano state\u2019s most powerful man, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.premiumtimesng.com\/news\/headlines\/290358-kano-governor-ganduje-caught-on-video-receiving-dollars-from-suspected-contractors.html?tztc=1\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Abdullahi Ganduje<\/a>, the governor at the time. Mr. Ganduje became known as \u201cGandollar\u201d after he was filmed <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.premiumtimesng.com\/news\/headlines\/290358-kano-governor-ganduje-caught-on-video-receiving-dollars-from-suspected-contractors.html?tztc=1\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">stuffing wads of dollars \u2014 an alleged bribe<\/a> \u2014 into his capacious robes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Emir Sanusi criticized Mr. Ganduje\u2019s behavior, the governor moved to retaliate. Emir Sanusi might have more than 1,000 years of history behind him, but the emirate was now part of Nigeria, and Mr. Ganduje was Kano\u2019s highest elected official.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Accusing Emir Sanusi of \u201ctotal insubordination,\u201d Mr. Ganduje used his authority to kick the emir off the throne. Mr. Ganduje gave the crown to Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir Sanusi\u2019s relative and trusted adviser.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Sanusi was driven out of Kano and dumped in a village 300 miles away, from which he fled to Lagos, Nigeria\u2019s biggest city, while the newly appointed emir moved into the palace. Emir Aminu was like the monarchs of old: he kept his mouth shut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe\u2019s not trying to change anything,\u201d said Abdulbasit Kassim, a historian of Muslim societies in West Africa. By contrast, he said: \u201cSanusi\u2019s a disrupter.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-cc6a8aa\">The Deposed Monarch Returns<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The emir of Kano rides on magnificent, tricked-out horses. He wears intricately embroidered gowns. If he wants to take a sip of water in public, his guards raise their red and green robes around him to protect his dignity and privacy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But he can make no policy, raise no taxes and direct no army.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, Africa\u2019s traditional leaders command great loyalty, and politicians are often keen to capitalize on it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Abba Yusuf, who defeated Mr. Ganduje in an election last year, had vowed to restore Emir Sanusi to the throne if he became governor. On May 23, he fired Emir Aminu, expelling his retinue from the palace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Sanusi landed back in Kano around 12 hours later in a private jet. Then Mr. Yusuf hosted a ceremony that was part coronation, part political rally. The two men sat together on a sofa in the Nigerian national colors. Mr. Yusuf handed Emir Sanusi a letter confirming his reinstatement as emir as hundreds of Kano\u2019s noblemen roared their support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One by one, Kano\u2019s princes prostrated themselves on the carpet in homage to the returned king \u2014 even those who had betrayed him. Emir Sanusi rose and took the microphone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAn emir is not supposed to sing anyone\u2019s praises,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the governor is a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Late that night, when the festivities were over, Mr. Yusuf moved Emir Sanusi back into the palace. Emir Sanusi\u2019s son Ashraf took to Instagram to document their homecoming. He panned with his phone over the palace interior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Everything was gone: the drapes on the windows, electrical outlets from the walls. Emir Aminu\u2019s courtiers had stripped the palace bare.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-13o6u42 eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-1db2f11f\">Playing Politics<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Though the restored king has the support of the local governor of Kano, leaders in the federal government in Nigeria have shown a preference for Emir Aminu, analysts say. A spokesman for Nigeria\u2019s president denied that the federal government was taking sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Just days after he was deposed in May, the quiet king came back to the palace flanked by a contingent of soldiers sent by the government. They installed him in what is known locally as the \u201cmini-palace\u201d \u2014 an annex of the main palace used as a guesthouse, next to the burial ground of past Kano kings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Aminu\u2019s father and Emir Sanusi\u2019s grandfather, both former emirs, are both buried there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dozens of armed police officers now guard Emir Aminu round the clock at the annex. Until recently, hundreds of Emir Sanusi\u2019s supporters also stood guard in support of their king just down the road at the palace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Aminu\u2019s legal representative, Aminu Babba Dan\u2019agundi, said that the correct procedure had not been followed when Emir Aminu was deposed earlier this year. \u201cNobody is above the law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/11\/world\/africa\/nigeria-economy-strike.html\" title=\"\">economic crisis<\/a>, many Nigerians have become deeply invested in who will control the emirate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI despise Sanusi,\u201d said Aminu Garba, a supporter of Emir Aminu, remembering a time the emir said that a wife slapped by her husband should slap back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAminu\u2019s here creating drama,\u201d said Aisha Abdullahi, a recent graduate, adding that she supported Emir Sanusi because he was a friend to women.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts say politicians are playing an outsize role in the crisis ahead of the 2027 election. Mr. Yusuf, the state governor, is likely to run for re-election. His success may depend on keeping Emir Sanusi in power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The party in power at the federal level, though, needs Emir Aminu back on the throne in order to get enough votes in Kano, observers say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019ve become pawns in a wider political chess game,\u201d said Mr. Kassim, the historian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Emir Aminu continues to fight a legal battle to be reinstated. So far, he\u2019s mostly prevailed in the federal courts, while state courts have sided with Emir Sanusi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe have to find a way to bring peace and stability back to the state and nation in general,\u201d said Ms. Bayero, the palace historian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Yusuf, the governor, has twice ordered the police to evict Emir Aminu from the palace annex and arrest him. So far the police have refused, and recently they ordered hunters and vigilantes guarding Emir Sanusi to stand down, leaving him alone and vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Above the palace flies the ancient royal flag. Last week, Emir Aminu hoisted a replica of it at outside the annex.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For the moment, both flags are still flying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/03\/world\/africa\/nigeria-kano-emir-kingdom-battle.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One king has been barricaded in the palace, protected from potential usurpers by hundreds of subjects armed with sticks and machetes. Another king, evicted from the same palace in May, is living in an annex down the road, dispatching lawyers to courthouses in an attempt to regain the throne. The battle unfolding for the emirate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/07\/02\/multimedia\/02nigeria-kingdom-1-jgtw\/02nigeria-kingdom-1-jgtw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3601,1581,75500,194,10373],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86631"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86633,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86631\/revisions\/86633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}