Dethroned Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has faulted the decision of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to withdraw its invitation to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State for its forthcoming conference.
Sanusi, who arrived Kaduna on Sunday, in his first visit since relocation to Lagos after his dethronement in March, said he read the petition by the Open Bar Initiative, and insisted that there was no specific allegation against the governor.
“You say somebody does not respect the rule of law, what is the specific instance? You say somebody has mishandled a crisis, what is the specific manner in which he mishandled a crisis. Anybody can say anything; I can say you are a corrupt person, what does that mean? It means nothing,” he said.
Sanusi, who spoke at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House where he was welcomed by El-Rufai said while he does not want to join issues with the NBA, especially since Nigerians have made their views and response clear, the NBA should have allowed El-Rufai to explain himself at the conference instead of disinviting him.
“You tell him what you think he is doing wrong, he will learn something from you, and you will learn something from him. Disinviting him is not the party for people who want progress,” he said.
The former emir and longtime friend of the governor said the crisis in Kaduna preceded the present administration, and that for the first time in a long period, the governor was doing something about it.
“The North as a whole suffers because there are people who profit from division. We have divided ourselves against each other, whether it is ethnicity or religion, and I think when you have someone who says I’m simply going to stand for justice, for the right of human beings and do what is right, some people who are not used to things being done in that way are going to object,” Sanusi said.
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