By Haruna Abdullahi (Haruspice)
He was born to be great and he wasted no time in manifesting that greatness. As a child, he was already exhibiting power in royalty when alongside his grandfather he joined to welcome one of the British officials to Nigeria in 1963. That event signalled the birth of a child-king, he announced himself far ahead of time.
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Throughout his trajectories, he lived a life of attention – leaving on his heels impenetrable imprints. As a student, he rebelled by committing class suicide when he chose to align himself with the Marxist ideology when he became a leftist as against his feudal leaning as a scion of an aristocratic class.
His unstoppable adventure led him to further studies in pure Islamic jurisdictions in far away Khartoum, Sudan. It was there he horned himself as an Islamic scholar – obviously preparing himself for the world he eventually found himself today.
As a Banker, he dismantled all that were rooted conventions in the sector living again the rebellious traits in him. In all of these, he stands triumphant somehow. His reign as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria saw series of violent turbulence that shook the banking sector to its positive foundation. Like ever, he refused to follow the rules and trudged on a rebellious ride. So much that he challenged late President Umaru Musa Yar Adua’s Eleven Points Agenda and followed suit to expose an alleged $20 billion unremitted fund by the Dieziani Led NNPC under President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Even though he was booted out he left the apex bank with his head high and shoulders up.
Following his destined stride, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would later become the Emir of Kano – a reign that witnessed one of the most tumultuous intrigues in the history of monarchical contraption in kano emirate. He was in the eyes of the storm and got eventually swallowed by the storm when he was dethroned as the Emir of Kano by the state government in March 2020.
With his dethronement, everyone thought that was the end of a fiery voyage for the Fulani rebel king but like the calabash pushed in water, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi continue to stay irrepressibly afloat. Out of Kano, he found refuge in the warm embrace of Kaduna where his university friend Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai reigns as Governor. In Kaduna, Sanusi reign in fascinating splendour as he enjoys the royalty that comes with kingship. He wears the regalia of kings, walks in the parade of aesthetic palace aides and gets the ululation that comes with kingship. Out of the throne, Sanusi’s rebellious gusto has enthroned him into more royal fiefdom – commanding more influence than ever.
He is today the Khalifa General of Tijaniyya Sufi of Nigeria, a rival sect to the Izala group- competing dominance with the Sultanate empire. Is Shiek Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II the grooming successor to Shiekh Dahiru Bauchi? Is Nasir Elrufai preparing the sustenance of his friend in eternal reference, power, fame and prestige? Only time can tell, until then, all hail the rebel king, His Royal Highness, the Emir at large.
Unstoppably musing
First published on 25 September, 2021
Chief Haruna Abdullahi (Haruspice)Â is a Seasoned journalist and publisher of World Entourage Magazine, and a chieftaincy title holder.