page_title: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
section_title: Emir of Kano
hierarchical_section_title: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi / Emir of Kano
caption_attribution_description: English: The Emir of Kano on his throne before the September 2016 Durbar.
context_page_description: Muhammadu Sanusi II was the 14th Emir of Kano from the Fulani Sullubawa clan. He ascended the throne on 8 June 2014, following the death of his grand uncle Ado Bayero. He was dethroned on 9 March 2020 by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
  Prior to his accession, Sanusi was an economist and banker. He served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009 to 2014, when he was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan after raising the alarm on the US$20 billion NNPC scandal.
context_section_description: On 8 June 2014, Sanusi was selected to succeed his granduncle, Ado Bayero, as the Emir of Kano. His enthronement was controversial, with some believing that it was a politically-motivated move to avoid corruption charges from his tenure at the central bank. Many expected Bayero's son to succeed him as The Emir, and protested Sanusi's appointment. He was crowned Emir Muhammadu Sunusi II (anglicized as Sanusi) on 9 June 2014, the 14th Emir of Kano and leader of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, the second largest Sufi order after the Qadiriyya Sufi order and the fourth-most-important Muslim position in Nigeria after the Sultan of Sokoto, Shehu of Borno and Emir of Gwandu.
  In November 2014, after Sanusi urged his followers to fight Boko Haram, the Great Mosque of Kano was bombed, with over 150 casualties. In December 2014, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau accused Sanusi of deviating from Islam and threatened his life. Sanusi replied that he is "safe with Allah", and likened Shekau's extremist comments (describing Sufis as unbelievers) to those of the heretical Islamic preacher Maitatsine.
  During Sanusi's six-year reign, The Emir reinvented himself as a charismatic figure at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Major developments, such as the drafting of a new Muslim family law, construction of a 40,000 books library and vernacular modernization of the 15th century palace took place; and the Durbar festival was promoted internationally. Tourism to heritage sites such as the ancient Dala Hill and Gidan Makama increased and was encouraged by Sanusi. The Emir also played a role in revamping the ancient city's cultural objects including in clothing where he advocated for the revival of the moribund 14th century dye pits at Kofar Mata – and through his own style and drapery projected the craftsmanship of the city's leading guilds.
  Sanusi also spoke out on government policies, breaking with royal tradition. He criticised the government of misplaced priorities. In 2017, the emirate council was under investigation for financial irregularities. Many saw this as retribution over comments he made against the state government. The investigation was later called off by the state legislature following intervention by the ruling class. In 2019, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje signed into law the creation of four new emirates; Bichi, Rano, Gaya and Karaye. This unprecedented move saw the partitioning of Sanusi's traditional domain as Emir.  According to the law, out of the 44 local government areas in the state, Sanusi as Emir of Kano will preside over just 10 local government areas; with the remainder carved up amongst the new emirates.  In March 2020, the state legislature launched a new investigation against The Emir for violation of "traditional practices", this was coming after a high court ruling restraining the corruption investigation against Sanusi.
caption: Sanusi before the Durbar in September 2016
exif: {"Image Make": "samsung", "Image Model": "SM-G930F", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "G930FXXU1APD1", "Image DateTime": "2016:09:13 11:14:33", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "202", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "512", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "384", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "988", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "37719", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "17/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:09:13 11:14:33", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:09:13 11:14:33", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "141/25", "EXIF ApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "23/10", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "21/5", "EXIF SubSecTime": "0878", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "0878", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "0878", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "828", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "26", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "C12LLJB18VM C12LLJC01GM"}