The Kano Emirate has lost its longest serving and most experienced councillor, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi, who passed away on Tuesday night at the age of 91 after suffering a long illness.
Sanusi, a Galadiman Kano in the revered position, served the Emirate for over six decades and was a very influential figure in its affairs. He was the uncle of the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, and the father of Prince Abdullahi Abbas, the current APC chairman in the state of Kano.
His demise is happening at a time when the Kano Emirate throne is being contested in the ongoing war between two opposing claimants, Emir Sanusi II backed by the NNPP-led state government and Emir Aminu Ado Bayero with the backing of the APC and the judiciary. Throughout the turmoil, Galadiman Kano Abbas Sanusi maintained a mid-ground position never taking sides directly.
His funeral prayer was held at the Kano Emir’s Palace, led by the Chief Imam of Kano, Sheikh Prof. Sani Zahraddeen, and witnessed by a large turnout from far and beyond the state. Political heavyweights, including Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, and other NNPP stalwarts, were among those in attendance alongside an APC delegation led by Deputy Senate President Senator Bara’u Jibril and Abdullahi Abbas, the late man’s son.
However, for security reasons, Emir Aminu Ado Bayero who currently resides in the mini-palace in Nasarawa was absent from the funeral, which took place in Sanusi II’s stronghold.
For a brief moment, Kano’s political gladiators stood side by side in mourning. However, beyond the funeral, the bitter rivalry between the state’s political factions remains unresolved, with the emirate dispute still pending in court.
