Abdulsalami Abubakar, former military head of state, says the efforts to reconcile Abdullahi Ganduje and Muhammadu Sanusi II, former emir of Kano, did not yield the desired result.
The Kano executive council led by Ganduje, the state governor, had on Monday dethroned Sanusi as emir, accusing him of insubordination.
In 2019, Abubakar was appointed as chairman of the reconciliation committee set up to intervene in the crisis between Sanusi and Ganduje.
Speaking in an interview with Voice of America (VOA) Hausa on the development, Abubakar said: “Well, I can say so in view of the latest development. In my view, all the committee’s efforts are wasted.”
He said after the committee submitted its report to the President Muhammadu Buhari, he “expressed willingness” to intervene.
Abubakar added that he cannot say categorically if Buhari intervened, but that if the president did, “I’ll be surprised that we got to this point”.
“After conclusion of the assignment, we realised that there was amicable resolution to the crisis. Surprisingly, this is what happened at last,” Abubakar said.
“I can’t really say whether Buhari has a hand in the matter because I am currently not in Nigeria. But before I left the country, we submitted our report to him, and he expressed willingness to intervene in the matter in order to have amicable resolution, despite being a constitutional matter. I really don’t know if he had intervened.
“The way this is, I don’t know if he was was involved or not. There are signs that he did because of this our report but I can’t be completely sure, but if he involved himself, I’ll be surprised that we got to this point. But then you know no matter what was said, no matter the advice given, it is what Allah had willed to happen and there’s no one who can change it.
Rabiu Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, had accused Buhati of ordering Sanusi’s dethronement.
The presidency, however, said the president had no hands in the matter. Buhari had earlier said he would not interfere in the crisis between the governor and the former monarch.