Nigerian Eye

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 Many Nigerians were shocked as Lamido Sanusi, the 14th Emir of Kano was on Monday ripped off his crown and sent on exile by the government of Kano State, the biggest economy in Nigeria’s northern region. 
 
Sanusi caused shockwaves in Nigeria when he alleged that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had diverted $20bn (£12bn) in oil revenue in 2014. Intelligence officials seized his passports, and he was quickly kicked out as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. 
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The dethronement is argued by many to have been due to his frequent condemnation of corruption and misgovernance among Northern elites coupled with his controversial views on polygamy and family planning. 
 
According to sources familiar with the issue, the aforementioned may have angered many in conservative northern Nigeria and thus led to Sanusi’s dethronement. 
 
WATCH VIDEO BELOW... 
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One of the many statements by the former Emir that could have led to his downfall is: 
 
“If you look at all the poverty indices in the world today, you find that in south-west Nigeria the poverty is 20 percent and in the north-west, it is 80 percent, Northeast its same 80 percent. Why is it that the poorest parts in this country are the Muslim part?” Sanusi asked in a video that has since gone viral. 
 
On the standard of education in the north, Sanusi said: “We have to be very honest with ourselves. How come the state that started Sharia is not the one that is the most educated state in Nigeria? In fact, how come in that state in 2017 only 24 students got five credits in secondary school?” 
 
The minimum requirement for admission into Nigerian universities today is five credits, including English language and mathematics. 
 
A copy of the five-paragraph letter that notified him of his dethronement said Sanusi was removed for acts of insubordination , including staying away from official functions in the state. 
 
Signed by the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Usman Alhaji, the letter also informed the deposed Emir that the government had decided to banish him to Nasarawa state, a distance of over 600 kilometres from Kano. 
 
“How do we define Sharia and how do we define Islam? Illiteracy? Malnutrition? Children on the streets? We have to ask ourselves,” Sanusi added. 
 
He said his people cannot ask those questions until they understand that people have to live well in this world to serve Allah in the hereafter. 
 
“For Islam to prosper, we need educated Muslims. We need Muslims that are not begging, and we need Muslims who are standing on their feet,” Sanusi said. 
 
He warned that if poverty continued in the north, Islam would disappear from the region. Quoting Prophet Mohammed, he noted: Allah I seek refuge with you from disbelief and poverty. And poverty can lead to disbelief. 
 
“These children that we see as Almajiri and we laugh at them and treat them as victims- somebody will just come and pick them up, put them in a school, give them medical care and convert them to another religion and they will do that by the hundreds, and thousands,” he said. 
 
Sanusi noted that these street children in the north are products of bad economic policies and wrong priorities. “These children are not criminals, they are victims. What part of the Islamic law, what part of the Quran allows a father to give birth to a child and leave the child to go and fend for himself?” he asked.

Latest-News THROWBACK VIDEO: Is This The Speech That Led To Emir Sanusi's Dethronement?

Many Nigerians were shocked as Lamido Sanusi, the 14th Emir of Kano was on Monday ripped off his crown and sent on exile by the government...

Court adjourns trial of Sowore, Bakare till April

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the trial of the Convener of #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare. 
 
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu adjourned the trial until April 1 and 2 in a ruling on Wednesday following the objection raised by the counsel to the defendants, Femi Falana. 
 
Falana had challenged the testimony of the first witness presented by the prosecution, for giving evidence outside his written statement. 
 
But the prosecutor, Kayode Halilu, insisted that he served a summary of the witness statement on the defendants’ counsel and the witness. 
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The witness is one Rasheed Olawale, a Principal Staff Officer of the Department of State Services (DSS) in charge of Surveillance and Communication Intelligence at the Lagos State Command. 
 
After listening to both counsels, the trial judge ruled that the witness cannot be allowed to depose to a four-paragraph statement and give a 10-page of evidence. 
 
She subsequently adjourned the trial to enable the prosecutor to reproduce the witness’ statement. 
 
Sowore and Bakare are facing trial over treason and money laundering charges filed against them by the Federal Government. 
 
They have, however, pleaded not guilty and have since been granted bail by the court. 
 
The government had filed a motion on notice praying the court to grant an order excluding persons other than lawyers and accredited members of the press from witnessing the proceedings. 
 
It also sought an order to clear the court whenever the prosecution witnesses were testifying, such that only the trial judge, parties and legal representatives, as well as accredited members of the press, would be able to see them. 
 
The prosecution also asked for an order that the real names and addresses of the prosecution witnesses in the proceedings should not be disclosed. 
 
Shortly before Sowore and Bakare’s trial began on Wednesday, Justice Ojukwu adjourned ruling on an application by the prosecution seeking to have witnesses shielded in the trial of the defendants. 
 
This followed the request of Halilu who informed the court that the defence team served him a counter-affidavit and he needed time to reply to it.

Latest-News Court adjourns trial of Sowore, Bakare till April

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the trial of the Convener of #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defen...

UNILAG VC caused suspension of convocation – Council

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The Governing Council of the University of Lagos, Akoka, has blamed the varsity’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, for the suspension of the 56th convocation ceremonies of the institution. 
 
It was gathered that Ogundipe sidelined the council in his plans and did not seek approval for the list of honorary degrees. 
 
The VC had last Monday announced a series of programmes for the convocation, saying 13,489 graduating students would be conferred with degrees, diplomas and certificates from Monday, March 9, till Friday, March 13, 2020. 
 
However, on Thursday, the varsity announced the suspension of the event. 
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The Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr Wale Babalakin, was reported to have written to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, saying he was not informed. 
 
The minister was said to have written the National Universities Commission, which, in a memo dated March 4, halted the programme. 
 
The UNILAG chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities had accused Babalakin of allowing his ego to override the interest of the federal institution. 
 
But the governing council on Tuesday said the VC breached important rules by plotting to carry on with the programmes without getting approvals. 
 
In a resolution passed on March 7, 2020 and signed by the UNILAG Registrar, Mr Oladejo Azeez, the council stated that the VC only sought permission for the convocation lecturer and budget proposals. 
 
“The NUC directive for the suspension of the convocation ceremonies was based on the exchange of correspondences between the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Dr Bolanle Olawale Babalakin, and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, regarding claims that management failed to obtain council’s approval for the convocation ceremonies. 
 
“Council was guided by the audio recording of a special meeting held on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 and Wednesday, January 22, 2020, in order to clarify claims by the vice-chancellor that the convocation ceremonies were brought to council for approval. 
 
“The audio recording, the minutes of these meetings, as well as the agenda/notice of meeting confirmed that the convocation budget was the only item formally brought to the January 2020 special meeting. 
 
“Council was also verbally informed of the proposed convocation lecturer and this choice was discussed. However, the convocation programme was not listed as an item on the agenda of the special meeting of the council and there were no supporting documents on the programme tabled during the January 2020 special council meeting,” the resolution stated in part. 
 
The Honours Committee of the Senate was reportedly not aware of those to be conferred with honorary degrees. 
 
Ogundipe did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message on the issues as of press time.