UPDATE: My rift with Emir Sanusi constitutional ― Ganduje

The governor of Kano state, Dr. Umar Ganduje, has affirmed that the long-standing rift between his government and the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, is a constitutional issue and must, therefore, be resolved constitutionally.

Speaking to State House correspondents after leading the state delegation on a courtesy call on President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Friday, he acknowledged that a high-powered committee has been set up to bring the rift to an end.

He, however, hoped that the solution could soon be found.

Ganduje, whose over 50-man delegation included only one of the five emirs in the state, had been asked why Sanusi was absent.

He responded that he could not carry all five first-class emirs with him at the same time.

Ganduje said: “We have five first-class Emirates in Kano State and the Emir of Bichi is from one of the Emirates. I cannot come with the whole five Emirates at the same time.

“Yes, there is the Northern Elders Committee on the misunderstanding between the Emir of Kano and Kano State government. We met with that committee and dialoguing is still on. That is all I can say.

“It is a constitutional issue and the governor and the Emir, we are working within our own jurisdictions and the problem will be solved amicably and constitutionally.”

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Also speaking on the possibility of adopting the “Shege aka Fasa,” a regional security outfit being contemplated by some elements in the north, the governor said he was exploring a different strategy, which he said would effectively tackle security challenges in Kano state.

He explained: “I hope you know the meaning of Shege Ka Fasa? You see, each state has got its own style of administering security. Kano State being the most peaceful state in the federation, I have just explained how we managed to do that.

“Very soon we are going to have community security summit, that is how the communities are going to assist security agencies.

“We are going to come out with a blueprint. Instead of recruiting people into the police force, we are going to build a strong synergy between the communities and the security agencies. The synergy will be from the ward level to the local government level to the state level to zonal level. It will work because it’s been working.

“So, there is no intention to recruit into security agencies in the state and moreover, we have introduced ICT into the security operations in the state. And like I said earlier, we have built a command and control center where we can communicate with all the DPOs in the state.

“We can see them, speak with them through the cameras. CCTV has been installed in all black spots throughout the state. We have been monitoring and it is working.

“We have also installed the most powerful vehicle tracker in the country, which operates even beyond Kano State. That is why Kano State is a trap where kidnappers can be arrested.”

He said Kano has already become the most peaceful state in the country where no cases of armed robbery, banditry or even farmers/herders clashes are reported.