Nigeria’s ousted bank governor appointed emir of Kano

Lamido Sanusi, the ousted governor of the central bank of Nigeria and one of the most outspoken critics of President Goodluck Jonathan’s record on corruption, has been appointed as the emir of Kano, the second highest Islamic authority in the country.

He was named on Sunday by the governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, from a shortlist of candidates selected by the royal household after the death on Friday of Ado Abdullahi Bayero. Ado Bayero had held the position since 1963 and was a widely revered figure.

Mr Sanusi’s grandfather reigned as emir for 10 years before the investiture of Ado Bayero and all the candidates for the succession were either sons or grandsons of past emirs.

The former central bank governor, who has been the target of a sustained smear campaign, polarises opinion in Nigeria. He is widely respected in many parts of the country – and abroad – as one of the most courageous public intellectuals of recent times.

 Internationally, he was lauded for the role he played in sanitising the banking sector and stabilising the economy – Africa’s largest – following a 2009 crash.Supporters of Mr Sanusi, who was ousted from his position in the central bank this year after exposing multibillion-dollar shortfalls in oil revenues reaching the treasury, were ecstatic at the appointment.

But it potentially puts one of the most influential traditional roles in the region at loggerheads with the presidency. Mr Jonathan was enraged by Mr Sansusi’s exposé this year and is under attack ahead of elections next February both for his record in managing oil revenues and for his handling of the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the predominately Muslim north.

The emir of Kano is one of a triumvirate of powerful rulers whose lineage dates back to the vast Hausa-Fulani and Borno empires that predated British imperial rule.

The new emir’s allies believe he can use the position as traditional ruler in the region’s main commercial centre – and his experience as a top banker – to galvanise action around regenerating the north’s ailing economy and in encouraging reforms in the Islamic education system.

While friends of the new emir said he would have to be much more sparing in his public pronouncements, as an Islamic scholar and authority they said he could play an influential role in seeking a solution to the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Now we have someone who is modern and progressive who can be a rallying point for the changing attitudes towards the traditional leadership. We want him to take a unifying force in the northern renaissance,” said Nasir el-Rufai, a former minister and senior figure in the opposition.

Mr Sanusi’s appointment followed 72 hours of frantic lobbying. According to people familiar with the matter inside the royal household, some of the region’s most powerful traditional rulers, including the Sultan of Sokoto, had pressed for a less divisive candidate in one of the former emir’s sons.

However, Mr Sanusi also had high-level support from politicians, former heads of state and dignitaries across the country, and Mr Kwankwaso, the state governor who had the final word, is a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress.

By William Wallis