As Oba Visits, Sanusi Strengthens Bond With Lagos

By Emmanuel Aziken

The Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu has become the latest high profile Lagosian, nay Nigerian to visit with the deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II in his Lagos residence.

The visit of the Oba Akiolu comes as Lagosians and Nigerians from different walks of life continue to make the deposed emir feel at home in Lagos.

Besides the Oba others who have visited the emir since he arrived late on Friday are Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Ovation publisher, Dele Momodu; the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Usman, among others.

The throng of visitors to the deposed emir underscores the seeming love Sanusi seems to have for Lagos and Lagos has for him.

Once he got news of his dethronement penultimate Monday he immediately arranged for his family to move to Lagos. A private jet provided by a friend was immediately dispatched to Kano. Sanusi wanted to move with them to Lagos but Governor Abdullahi Ganduje would not allow that.

When he was removed from his last position as governor of the Central Bank he was in a similar situation.

Sanusi was in Niger Republic attending a meeting of Central Bank governors in February 2014 when he was sacked from his position as governor of the Central Bank by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Once the news reached him Sanusi immediately found the next available plane and flew over Kano, his place of birth, and even flew over Abuja to Lagos.

In Lagos he was immediately encircled by the opposition figures of the All Progressives Congress, APC who guided him.

Sanusi had given much fire to the opposition’s momentum against Jonathan with his assertion of a missing $20 billion from the treasury. That allegation helped to build up perceptions of the Jonathan administration as corrupt.

The allegation was eventually proved untrue, but the damage had been done.

When few months after the emir of Kano stool became vacant it is no secret that the top Lagos political class moved to Kano to impress it on Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso to tilt the odds towards their man.

Circling around the Lagos crowd was not strange for the sacked Central Bank governor. He had attended Kings College, Lagos and formed life-long relationships there.

Atedo Peterside who Sanusi met in Kings College in revulsion at his removal as emir refused to attend a strategy meeting called by the Governor of the Central Bank last week.

The bond between Sanusi and Lagos would also have been helped by the long time he spent working through the ranks of the banking industry in Lagos. He rose to the top management cadre at UBA and was managing director of First Bank from where he was appointed CBN governor.

Indeed, the Lagos elite have clearly associated and identified with Sanusi in his rising. In his descent they have also come around to associate with him.

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