New Emir Of Kano To Emerge Today

Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Saturday said the state government will announce a new Emir of Kano on Sunday (today).

The governor said this after receiving the emirate’s kingmakers at the Government House, Kano.

The new emir will succeed Ado Bayero, who passed on in the early hours of Friday after an undisclosed ailment and was buried in Kano a few hours later in accordance with Islamic rites.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the kingmakers who visited the governor were the Madakin Kano, Yusuf Chigari; the Sarkin Dawaki, Bello Abubakar; the Makaman Kano, Abdullahi Ibrahim; and Sarkin Bai, Mukhtar Adnan.

Bayero, the longest-serving emir in Kano’s history, ascended the throne in 1963 and ruled for 50 years until his death.

He was named the successor a day after the death of his father, Alhaji Abdullahi Bayero.

It was gathered that a list containing three names was submitted to Kwankwaso, who is to give final approval, according to tradition.

The immediate past Governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido and his uncle, Sanusi Abbas and the late Emir’s son, Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero, as of Saturday were the three front runners in the race to succeed the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.

Meanwhile, information gleaned from the ancient city where the kingmakers are still locked behind closed doors, indicate that the names of both men feature prominently in a list of three to be forwarded to the state government for approval.

The former CBN governor is the son of Muhammad Lamido Sanusi who was a technocrat and a career diplomat who served as the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs after serving as Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Belgium and China.

The younger Sanusi is also the grandson of the 11th Emir of Kano and Islamic Scholar, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi.

His uncle, Abbas Sanusi, who holds the traditional title of Wamban Kano, is also a strong contender for the job. He is the son of the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Bayero.

Abbas, a senior councillor in the Emirate, has long been rumoured to have shown interest in the position over time. His several years of experience in the service of the Emirate may count in the next couple of hours.