The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, says members of the Northern elite are trying to silence him. He said this while delivering a speech at the In
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, says members of the Northern elite are trying to silence him. He said this while delivering a speech at the Inaugural Annual Chibok Girls Lecture held in commemoration of the third anniversary of the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok Government Girls Secondary School by terrorists in Borno State.
The monarch, who was represented by his daughter, Shahida Sanusi, said he deliberately stayed away from the event because of the sharp criticisms he had received from northern leaders following his statement of last week wherein he criticized them for being responsible for many of the North’s social maladies. The emir noted that his daughter was the first female to ever represent him at an event. Sanusi said rather than address the important issues, ‘anti-intellectual’ persons were trying to silence him.
He said, “Our colleagues and compatriots among the elite do not like statistics. Numbers are disturbing. I recently gave a speech in which I said the North-East and North-West of Nigeria are the poorest parts of the country. This simple statement of fact has generated so much heat, the noise has yet to die down.
“The response to this speech has been a barrage of personal attacks and insults aimed at silencing any voices that dare shine the light on the society to which we are saying Bring Back our Girls.
“There are those who believe these attacks are aimed at discrediting me personally but even if that is the objective, it will not work. I can only be discredited by what I have done and not by insults and lies on the social media. And in any event, personal criticism has no impact on the issues.”
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said during his time at the CBN, he ensured that women were put in influential positions. He said he had been championing the cause of the downtrodden all his life. Sanusi added that even if he was dethroned, he would continue to speak for the rights of the helpless. The monarch maintained that northern leaders were not doing enough to protect women and children and this had deepened poverty.
Sanusi’s daughter, while delivering her personal speech, said her father’s life-long dream had always been to become the Emir of Kano. She, however, stated that even if he was deposed for defending the helpless, he would continue to speak truth to power. Shahida said, “My father is not afraid of giving up his throne if it stands in the way of speaking the truth. I know that if my father has to choose between the throne and his conscience, he will happily give up the throne.
“He has already accomplished his ambition of succeeding his forefathers and frankly he is the same person I knew as the banker and central bank governor. As an emir, he has not changed and he will be the same person even as an ex-emir if it comes to that.
“When Mrs. Patience Jonathan called those of us in the North almajiris, we got angry, but come to think of it, is that not what we really are? We give birth to children and just abandon them. There are no schools for the poor. There are no hospitals for the poor.”
Also speaking, the Chairperson of the event, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams, who is also the first female Vice-Chancellor of a Nigerian university, noted that the government had failed for being unable to rescue the Chibok girls.
Punch
