The
dramatic dethronement of Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, is a clear
indication that President Muhammadu Buhari is aiding and abetting corruption.
It is a common knowledge that the president emboldened Abdullahi Ganduje, the
virally corrupt governor of Kano State, to punish a globally celebrated
maverick anti-corruption king. Therefore, the denial from Buhari that he has no
hand in the Kano emirate crisis is pure baloney.
The dethronement of Sanusi is rooted in Buhari’s twin evil of
selective justice and vendetta politics. It is a calculated vengeance against
Sanusi for his opposing views on Buhari’s government. The president merely
found a willing accomplice in Ganduje, who was equally determined take his
pound of flesh against Sanusi.
Lest
we forget, there had been no love lost between Sanusi and Ganduje, after the
governor was seen in a trove of video clips receiving bribes from a contractor
and stuffing the proceeds in wads of dollars into his pocket. The bribery
incident went viral and subsequently provoked worldwide outrage. Nigerians
wanted action from both the state and federal levels.
Instead of condemning the incident, President Buhari continued
to shower stanzas of praises on the rogue governor. It was a mockery of the war
against corruption under Buhari. In short, the president’s action or inaction
is squarely the shameless juncture where the evil trajectory in Kano took a
dramatic rise. Even the Kano State House of Assembly, which had commenced an investigation of the governor, as required by the law, read Buhari’s body
language and quickly swept the bribery case under the carpet, despite
overwhelming evidence.
There was never any sign of compunction from Governor Ganduje
for his corrupt behaviour. As if that was not enough, the chairman of the ruling
All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, landed in Kano within the
same period to pass a vote of confidence on Ganduje, to the chagrin of the
Nigerian masses. It did not come as a surprise that the governor was re-elected
amid charges of monumental election rigging by federal government authorities.
It did not come as a surprise that Emir Sanusi would be dethroned. It did not
come as a surprise that the rogue governor would be allowed to deploy the
federal police under President to banish and place the anticorruption king
under house arrest in clear violation of his fundamental human rights and the
Nigerian Constitution.
The
dethronement of Emir Sanusi portends a troubling future. The shameful incident
hinges on the growing duplicity in Buhari’s war against corruption. It is a
growing pattern of war against anti-corruption advocates in the country. It is a
war against the common good.
By SKC Ogbonnia, 2019 APC presidential aspirant, writes from
Houston, Texas
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