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Sanusi Not Qualified to Be Emir, Appointed to Spite Jonathan – Ganduje
The Kano State Government appointed Lamido Sanusi as the 14th Emir of Kano in 2014 to spite the then President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has said.
The Kano governor spoke Tuesday at the public presentation of a book written by a journalist, Bonaventure Philips-Melahon, on the former president.
Mr Ganduje, who was the deputy to the then Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso at the time, said the government knew that Mr Sanusi did not deserve to be the Emir of Kano.
Mr Sanusi had, at the time, been suspended as Governor of Central Bank by Mr Jonathan following his allegation that $20 billion was missing from the records of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The money, he had said, was from crude oil exports by the national oil company between 2011 and 2012 that was not remitted to the Federation Account.
Mr Sanusi is a member of the Dabo royal family and became the 14th Emir of Kano from the Fulani Sullubawa clan following appointment on June 8, 2014, after the death of his uncle, Ado Bayero.
He was, however, dethroned on March 9 by Mr Ganduje for alleged insubordination and disrespect for constituted authorities.
Speaking at the Tuesday book presentation, Mr Ganduje said the former emir was crowned to spite Mr Jonathan.
“Mr Sanusi was not the best man for the throne at the time he was appointed in June 2014 but was given the throne to spite former President Jonathan.
“He was appointed in order to prove that what Jonathan did to him was wrong and that the people of Kano wanted their son as Emir and therefore they decided to appoint him as Emir.
“But when he was appointed, there were a lot of demonstrations with people burning tyres here and there. But because of government backing, he was sustained on the stool.
“When I became governor, (that’s why you will laugh), I said yes, the Jonathan medicine is an important medicine.
“That medicine, even though I am not a medical doctor, but that medicine would serve the same purpose, for the same disease and for the same patient.
“So I took my Jonathan medicine and decided to save the system, to save the institution and I applied it effectively. So Jonathan and I are on the same page. Actually, I have no regrets” the governor said, apparently alluding to his controversial dethronement of Mr Sanusi.
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The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
