Ex-chairman of the transition committee which ushered in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015, Ahmed Joda, says the deposed emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, knew he would face attacks by feudal lords in the northern part of the country.
In a letter addressed to Sanusi, Joda said although he did not know Sanusi’s whereabouts, he was addressing him as his son.
“Your departure from the Throne of Kano was predictable from your very beginning and from the moment you ascended to it. For Kano and for Nigeria, it may well be a blessing in disguise that you may now be able to address issues that are now urgent for our society as a person not encumbered by the burden of office,” he wrote.
The 90-year-old continued: “The purpose of this letter to you is not to commiserate with you, because I know that you must have known the likely consequences of the principled position you have taken.
“The reality we must face in Northern Nigeria is that the evil forces of feudalism that have kept us in bondage for so long are still there and fighting.
“You have been the only voice that has been telling us this truth. These forces will fight you and you know it also, within me, I feel that you have always known of this possibility and that you would be fully prepared for the consequences.”
Sanusi was dethroned on Monday by Kano State Government on allegation of insubordination among others.
The deposed monarch was also sent on exile to Nasarawa State.
Joda, a retired federal permanent secretary, urged Sanusi not to contest his dethronement in court.
“I suggest to you that, if you are contemplating the legal route to right the wrong that has been done to you; you should abandon the thought. The judiciary is not the way to go in this country when you are seeking justice.
“For evidence, you have a living example in Jokolo, the Emir of Gwandu. In the circumstances of the present, I suggest that you only take full advantage of the fundamental rights guaranteed to all Nigerian citizens by the Constitution and only go to court to enforce those fundamental human rights,” he advised.
