RE: EMIR AMINU ADO BAYERO – A VICTIM OF POLITICAL ARROGANCE AND EXECUTIVE RECKLESSNESS

 RE: EMIR AMINU ADO BAYERO – A VICTIM OF POLITICAL ARROGANCE AND EXECUTIVE RECKLESSNESS

By Tijjani Sarki

Eye on Kano Initiative | 7th July 2025

A Response to Professor M.T. Usman

It is with deep concern and sincere disappointment that I pen this rejoinder to your recent article concerning the dethronement of Emir Aminu Ado Bayero. As a public intellectual and academic, your readers expect a balanced, informed, and historically grounded perspective. Instead, what we received was a watery, emotionally-laden, and intellectually deficient narrative that does a grave disservice to your office as a university professor. It is disheartening,if not downright disturbing,that a scholar of your standing would descend into overt partisanship, discarding both scholarly ethics and historical accuracy in favour of political sentiment.

Paragraph 1: A Biased and Selective Introduction

Your opening line was a clear red flag. By claiming that Emir Aminu Ado Bayero was not informed of any reason for his removal, you not only misrepresented the facts but also ignored the official justification provided by the state government,a lawful restructuring of the emirate system. This legal move mirrors the march  2020 actions of former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, under whose administration the historic Kano Emirate was arbitrarily balkanized. Yet, you chose to omit this precedent entirely. Was this deliberate? Or were you simply blind to the political persecution suffered by Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, whose removal and forceful exile went unchallenged by your pen at the time? Is the restructuring of Kano Emirate only wrong when it does not align with your preferred narrative?

Paragraph 2: Misplaced and Selective Sympathy

You mourn the erosion of traditional authority, yet your sympathy is disturbingly selective. When Emir Sanusi II was dethroned and banished to a remote village in Nasarawa State about 1,000 kilometers away from Kano,you said nothing. There was no article. No protest. No scholarly lament. But now, when Emir Aminu Ado Bayero a willing participant in the dismantling of the historic Kano Emirate his father spent over five decades protecting faces the consequences of the very system he enabled, you suddenly emerge as a defender of tradition. This selective outrage is not just disappointing,it is alarming for anyone who still values academic neutrality.

Paragraph 3: Twisting History to Fit a Convenient Narrative

You invoke the 1976 Dasuki Local Government Reforms, noting how they diminished the political authority of traditional rulers. Fair point. But you conveniently ignore how this historical framework gives sitting governors, then and now, the constitutional authority to reorganize emirates as Ganduje did in 2020 and Yusuf has now done. To isolate Governor Yusuf’s actions without referencing Ganduje’s precedent is an attempt to distort history to suit your argument. As a professor of history, this is inexcusable.

Let us not reduce our revered scholarship to tales that ignore context lest one begins to suspect you belong to the group that still believes Bayajidda founded the Hausa kingdoms or that Columbus set foot in America before Mansa Musa’s empire ever existed.

Paragraph 4: An Unfair and Incomplete Critique of Governor Yusuf

You describe Governor Yusuf’s actions as “executive recklessness,” but failed to acknowledge that similar legislative instruments were used under Ganduje to divide the emirate into five in less than 24 hours. How can you condemn one and excuse the other? That contradiction exposes your commentary not as objective analysis but as political advocacy under academic disguise. If you must call out injustice, you must do so consistently or not at all.

Paragraph 5: Romanticizing a Complicit Emir

You portray Emir Aminu Ado Bayero as humble and dedicated to preserving tradition. But if tradition meant so much to him, why did he accept a throne born out of the controversial and deeply divisive balkanization of the Kano Emirate? That act alone undermined the cultural heritage his late father, the revered Alhaji Ado Bayero, dedicated his life to uphold. Accepting that throne was not an act of loyalty,it was one of ambition. To celebrate that is to glorify the betrayal of history.

Paragraph 6: Sentiment Without Substance

Your defense of Emir Aminu is rooted more in sentiment than in scholarship. You fail to present any verifiable evidence of overwhelming public support. What about the widespread opposition from the people of Kano to the 2020 fragmentation of their ancient emirate? What about the many who felt insulted by the destruction of one of the oldest, most revered institutions in West Africa? Your silence on this is not only a disservice to the people of Kano,it is an insult to the very culture you claim to defend.

Paragraph 7: A Politically Charged Hit Job

Disguised as historical reflection, your piece amounts to nothing more than a thinly veiled political attack against Governor Yusuf. And while you are certainly entitled to your opinion, you are not entitled to rewrite history. Repeatedly relying on vague phrases like “it is reported” or “sources say” is unbecoming of a professor. If your accusations lack empirical backing or verifiable field research, they become nothing more than gossip dressed in academic robes.

Paragraph 8: A Tragic Betrayal of Academic Integrity

Your article, quite frankly, falls short of the standards expected from any serious academic, let alone a professor of history. The lack of citations, the blatant selectivity, and the emotionally charged tone betray a shallow approach to a deeply complex issue. Were a Level 100 student to submit such a piece, it would be rightly criticized for its lack of rigor. It is painful to watch an academic with your credentials abandon the principles of fairness, balance, and integrity in pursuit of what seems to be personal or political loyalty.

Final Reflections: Academic Credibility and Historical Truth Cannot Be Sacrificed

Professor, your article fails both in historical accuracy and intellectual honesty. You lionize Emir Aminu while demonizing Governor Yusuf without acknowledging the broader political context that includes Governor Ganduje’s earlier actions. You lean on historical references like the Dasuki reforms and colonial legacies but refuse to juxtapose them with more immediate and relevant examples from recent history.

This kind of selective scholarship is dangerous. It misleads the public, undermines academia, and creates a false sense of injustice by omitting critical facts. It is not only unjust,it is deeply saddening. The people of Kano deserve honest, reflective commentary from scholars, not emotionally biased narratives that serve political convenience.

Conclusion

Your piece reads not as a thoughtful scholarly article but as an emotionally-driven, one-sided lament riddled with bias, omission, and contradictions. It undermines your credibility as a historian and brings into question your commitment to academic objectivity. If you truly care about the emirate system and the people of Kano, then tell the whole truth not just the parts that serve your agenda.

Tijjani Sarki

Eye on Kano Initiative

Eyeonkano@gmail.com