The Kano Game Of Thrones: How Northern Elders Are Betraying The Last Pillars Of Their Political Strength

By Obinna Nwachukwu

As an Igbo Nigerian who has long watched the politics of the North with curiosity and, at times, admiration, I write today not as a stranger to Northern affairs but as someone who understands their profound implications for the future of Nigeria. What is happening in Kano, the harassment and humiliation of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, is not just an isolated crisis. It is a tragic reflection of how far the North has fallen into the abyss of self-destruction, enabled by the deafening silence of its so-called elders.

Two recent interventions, one by Olu Damilola and another by Chuks Emeka, have laid bare the absurdity of the police summoning a sitting Emir over a peaceful homage visit during Sallah. No horses, no procession, no titleholders, just a quiet cultural observance. And yet, the state apparatus pounced with the full force of federal intimidation. Why? Because Sanusi dares to exist. Because he reminds the powerful of everything they are not, principled, intelligent, and unafraid.

But the most disturbing part of this political theater is not just the abuse of police power. It is the complete silence of Northern elders, those who once claimed to be custodians of tradition, wisdom, and Northern unity. Where are the voices that used to thunder in defense of the North’s dignity? Where are the elders who lectured the rest of the country about “our values” and “our way of life”? Why have they gone mute as their most symbolic institution is dismantled by court jesters in agbadas?

Let’s not be naïve. Emir Sanusi’s persecution is not just about Sanusi. It is about the erosion of the traditional institution, which has long served as the North’s most potent soft power tool in national politics. When a Northern monarch speaks, Nigeria listens, not just because of royal robes, but because of centuries of cultural legitimacy. That is what they are destroying in Kano.

And Kano, dear Kano, is not just any city. It is the heart of Northern commerce, history, and political identity. To reduce the emirship of Kano to a pawn in local vendettas is to burn the North’s own house for the ashes of ego. And yet, elders from Katsina to Sokoto, Kaduna to Maiduguri, fold their arms and watch.

They watched in 2020 when Sanusi was deposed in broad daylight and exiled like a criminal. They are watching again now as he is summoned like a thug for daring to sit on a throne that his people restored him to. This is not just cowardice. It is betrayal. And history will not forget it.

Instead of confronting the real enemies of the North, poverty, insecurity, joblessness, petty politicians in Kano and Abuja have found their greatest threat in a man whose only crime is that he tells the truth. But what is worse is that the elders who should know better have chosen complicity. They have allowed children to take over the village square. And the result is a North adrift, disgraced, and dangerously weakened.

Let me say this clearly to the Northern elite, you are destroying the very institution that gave you leverage in Nigeria’s federation. The traditional stool, especially that of Kano, is not just a local symbol. It is a national asset. You have turned it into a political football, and the whole country is watching, some in sorrow, others in laughter.

If the North loses Kano’s emirate to pettiness, if it turns the Emir into a criminal, if it allows federal agents to become the new colonial residents in the palace, then it loses much more than just prestige. It loses its voice. It loses its compass. And it loses whatever remained of its ability to speak with moral clarity in the Nigerian union.

The South is watching. The East is watching. The West is watching. And we are taking notes.

Sanusi will survive this moment, because truth always survives. But can the North survive what it is doing to itself?