Aminu Bayero Loses On Political Front

Muhammad Sanusi and Aminu Ado Bayero, feuding over who is the rightful Emir of Kano, were forced last month to abandon their separate plans to hold the traditional sallah durbar in the state.

The forced changes followed directives from the Kano State Police Command amid fears of a breach of peace. It may, however, be the last time the two emirs try to hold rival durbar processions.

From all indications, the fight over the emirate council may have been settled politically without the consent or consultation with either Sanusi or Bayero. They’ve been at war since June 2024.

According to state law, the emir is appointed by the state governor and confirmed by the state assembly. Sanusi was deposed in 2020, replaced by Bayero and returned in 2024.

There was also tension within the Bayero family. Ganduje had promised to make two brothers Emir of Kano back in 2020. He eventually split the emirate into five and named one Emir of Bichi.

The contest between Bayero and Sanusi over who the rightful Emir of Kano is, evolved into an all-consuming family feud, a zero-sum game for political dominance between Abdulllahi Ganduje and Rabiu Kwankwaso and a legal tussle testing the constitutional limits of federal courts, weighing into a case that is strictly within the jurisdiction of state courts.

Competing cases were filed in a Kano High Court and a Federal High Court. Both cases have remained frozen since 2024.

The fight had also drawn in President Bola Tinubu, who saw the deposition of Bayero as an affront to his leadership. In 2014, the emirate title was used to galvanise opposition against the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan.

And in late 2025, there were hopes the feud would finally be resolved after Governor Abba Yusuf switched political allegiance from Kwankwaso to Tinubu, putting him in the same tent with Ganduje.

Almost immediately after joining the ruling party, Yusuf declared he had no plans to depose Sanusi. Both Sanusi and Yusuf are married to Bayero’s sisters.

News reports suggest political factions within the ruling APC in Kano, including the camps of Yusuf and Ganduje, have traded away any claim deposed Emir Bayero has to the emirate title.

Specifically, to accommodate all parties in the APC, Ganduje’s camp had reportedly set conditions for Yusuf. Part of the condition was choosing between naming his own deputy governor to replace Aminu Abdulsalam, who resigned in loyalty to Kwankwaso, or determining who the Emir of Kano should be.

On April 27, Murtala Sule Garo, a Ganduje loyalist, was confirmed as deputy governor by the state assembly and later sworn into office.

There are no reports that Tinubu has reached out to Bayero or voiced support for the horse trading between the APC factions in Kano.

Both Sanusi and Bayero left their fates in the hands of politicians.

One of them was always bound to be betrayed.