Sanusi is not the first high profile monarch to have been dethroned in Nigeria – over the years, a handful of other revered traditional rulers have been kicked out of office for one reason or the other.
The Kano State Executive Council, chaired by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, dethroned Muhammed Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano, on Monday.
The dethronement was the consequence of year-long political rivalry between Ganduje and the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor. He was accused of insubordination and lack of respect for the laws and traditions of Kano State.
However, Sanusi is not the first high profile monarch to have been dethroned in Nigeria – over the years, a handful of other revered traditional rulers have been kicked out of office for one reason or the other.
Muhammadu Sanusi I
Coincidentally, it was for the same reason that his grandfather Muhammadu Sanusi I was dethroned in 1963.
The first Sanusi was accused of insubordination to the political authorities at the time and he was dethroned nine years after he became Emir.
Traditional rulers occupy very reverend positions in society. They are regarded as the closest to the gods of the land but this is always not enough when political leaders wield their power over their jurisdiction.
Apart from Sanusi and his grandfather, some other traditional rulers have suffered a similar fate, too. They were dethroned over perceived insubordination to political powers in the land.
Umar Tukur
The Emir of Muri was another traditional ruler in the North that was dethroned for perceived insubordination to the governor of the state.
Muri was under old Gongola State, which was governed by Yohana Madaki at the time. Madaki had accused the emir of inappropriate conduct in the palace but historians said it was because the governor thought the emir too hot-headed to handle.
The state was later divided into Adamawa and Taraba in 1991.
Ibrahim Dasuki
The Emir of Sokoto was also dethroned by the military government because he refused to live by the dictates of their rules. He was dethroned in 1996 and banished from the state.
But apart from these Northern emirs, in the other parts of the country, different kings have been dethroned also due to insubordination.
These kings include the Oba of Benin, Oba Ovoramwen Nogbaisi, and Alaafin Oyo, Adeyemi Adeniran II.