Sanusi’s Deposition: What Part Of The Constitution Empowers A Governor To Banish A Citizen By Abridging His Freedom ?

March 11, 2020 Greg Abolo

The Oasis Reporters

March 10, 2020

History seems to be slowly vindicating President Jonathan on many fronts in his lifetime. Like biblical David, he had the opportunity to take out the king that was hunting for his life in a cave but he chose not to soil his hands in blood.

Reports that Sanusi has been arrested and banished from Kano state is everywhere in the media and this raises several concerns:

1. Banishment was a tool used by the British invaders to unseat legitimate indigenous authorities such as King Jaja of Opobo so they could dominate his domain.
By what power and what means and in what capacity is the Governor of Kano banishing a Nigerian citizen? Is he an invasive external colonial force?

2. Banishment is alien and unknown to the Nigerian Constitution which guarantees freedom of movement and association.

3. The evil White apartheid regime in South Africa “banned” individuals. That unjust and racist system has been dumped on the garbage heap of history and popular participatory democracy for all instituted in its place. Therefore the question arises – how is the banning of Sanusi obtainable under Nigerian democracy ?

4. The Kano state government claims Sanusi was rude and his removal necessary to preserve the “sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige” of the State and people.

The above are not crimes under Nigerian law, and furthermore, punishing a person for religious reasons is a violation of Nigeria’s constitutional secularity.

If the Emir is a religious leader, why was he arrested by the Nigerian police and not the Hisbah religious police in Kano?

This admixure of state and religion is unhealthy and unconstitutional.

5. The elevation of this class in-fighting above the serious issues facing Nigeria today shows that Nigerians face a deadlier homegrown misgovernance virus than the coronavirus.

In 1996, I wrote to the then Head of state General Abacha urging him to resolve the issue of the annulled June 12 presidential elections which affected all Nigerians just as he had resolved the issue of the Sultan of Sokoto (whom he deposed and banished) which affected only a section of the country.

Gen. Abacha then had me abducted, tortured and detained for several months.

And above all what systems are being practiced here because this banishment is certainly not within contemplation of the Nigerian constitution? If Kano State is doing this under Sharia law, they should explain fully to the Nigerian people whether or not they are co-participants in our constitutional democracy.

It should be recalled that even Saudi Arabia, the holy seat of Islam, quarantined its princes in a hotel under arrest for corruption and not banishment to the outer darkness.

Where do these politicians get their directions from?

Even the British monarchy did not banish Prince Harry but worked out a smooth transition the same week Prince Sanusi was dethroned but our leaders refuse to learn positive things.