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One king is locked up in the palace and is protected from potential usurpers by hundreds of subjects armed with sticks and machetes.
Another king, who was evicted from the same palace in May, lives in an annex down the street and is sending lawyers to the court in an attempt to regain the throne.
The battle for the emirate of Kano, one of West Africa’s oldest and most revered kingdoms, is not just a struggle for an age-old throne but part of a broader struggle for control of the most populous state in Africa’s most populous country.
The emirs of Kano once held absolute power, ruling their subjects from the ornate palace in the city of Kano, an ancient trading center just south of the Sahara.
Today, the rulers still sit on opulent thrones, wear silken robes, and have courtiers who fan them wherever they go. Yet their kingdom is part of Nigeria, Africa’s largest democracy, and they operate alongside that country’s elected representatives.
Like British monarchs, they have a lot of influence over their subjects, but they have few official powers.
The conflict between the two emirs has become a bone of contention ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
Analysts say different branches of Nigeria’s elected government have taken sides, with the local state government backing Emir Sanusi, a reformer and the current king, while the federal government backs Emir Aminu, a more traditional ruler fighting to regain the crown.
Never before have there been two pretenders to the throne in Kano, a bustling city of 4.5 million people. Observers warn that the situation is so tense that riots could break out. “We did not expect anyone to attack the emirate in this way,” said Ruqayyah Salihi Bayero, a palace historian.
A Game of Thrones
The Kingdom of Kano dates back to the year 999. It was first ruled by Hausa kings and then, after the conquest in 1805, by Fulani emirs. The throne is not hereditary; kings are chosen by kingmakers and by the governor of Kano.
Emir Sanusi — known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi before his accession to the throne — became emir in 2014. He was less traditional than previous emirs, who spent their days resolving local disputes.
A former banker and governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is occasionally seen in Louboutin shoeshe was highly educated and popular among the elite of the international business world. He believed that girls should be educatedwomen’s rights were to be respected and poor men were not allowed to marry multiple wives. These ideas did not go down well with his conservative subjects, who called him a puppet of the West.
Northern Nigeria’s aristocrats wear towering turbans, tied over their mouths to symbolize dignified silence. Emir Sanusi wore the turbans, but he was outspoken. He criticized politicians and denounced corruption.
Shortly after becoming Emir, he made an enemy of the most powerful man in Kano State, Abdullahi Gandujethe governor at the time. Mr. Ganduje became known as “Gandollar” after he was filmed filling stacks of dollars – an alleged bribe —in his ample robe.
When Emir Sanusi criticized Mr. Ganduje’s behavior, the governor retaliated. Emir Sanusi may have had over 1,000 years of history behind him, but the emirate was now part of Nigeria and Mr. Ganduje was Kano’s highest elected official.
Accusing Emir Sanusi of “total insubordination,” Mr. Ganduje used his authority to overthrow the emir. Mr. Ganduje gave the crown to Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir Sanusi’s relative and trusted advisor.
Emir Sanusi was driven out of Kano and dumped in a village 300 miles away, from where he fled to Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, while the newly appointed emir took up residence in the palace. Emir Aminu was like the monarchs of old: he kept his mouth shut.
“He’s not trying to change anything,” said Abdulbasit Kassim, a historian of Muslim societies in West Africa. In contrast, he said, “Sanusi is a disruptor.”
The deposed monarch returns
The Emir of Kano rides magnificently caparisoned horses. He wears intricately embroidered robes. When he takes a sip of water in public, his guards raise their red and green robes around him to protect his dignity and privacy.
But he cannot make policy, levy taxes or command an army.
Yet Africa’s traditional leaders enjoy great loyalty, and politicians are quick to exploit this.
Abba Yusuf, who defeated Mr Ganduje in an election last year, had vowed to restore Emir Sanusi to the throne if he became governor. On May 23, he dismissed Emir Aminu and expelled his entourage from the palace.
Emir Sanusi landed back in Kano about 12 hours later in a private jet. Mr. Yusuf then held a ceremony that was part coronation, part political rally. The two men sat together on a bench decorated in Nigeria’s national colors. Mr. Yusuf presented Emir Sanusi with a letter confirming his reinstatement as emir, while hundreds of Kano nobles showed their support.
One by one, Kano’s princes threw themselves on the carpet in honor of the returned king—even those who had betrayed him. Emir Sanusi stood up and took the microphone.
“An emir cannot sing the praises of anyone,” he said. “But the governor is a hero.”
That same evening, when the festivities were over, Mr. Yusuf Emir Sanusi moved back to the palace. Emir Sanusi’s son Ashraf took to Instagram to document their homecoming, panning his phone around the palace’s interior.
Everything was gone: the curtains on the windows, electrical sockets in the walls. The courtiers of Emir Aminu had stripped the palace bare.
Playing politics
Although the reinstated king has the support of the local governor of Kano, leaders in Nigeria’s federal government have shown a preference for Emir Aminu, analysts say. A spokesman for Nigeria’s president denied that the federal government was taking sides.
Just days after he was deposed in May, the silent king returned to the palace, flanked by a contingent of soldiers sent by the government. They installed him in what is known locally as the “mini-palace” — an annex to the main palace used as a guest house, next to the burial place of former Kano kings.
The father of Emir Aminu and the grandfather of Emir Sanusi, both former emirs, are buried here.
Dozens of armed police now guard Emir Aminu around the clock at the annex. Until recently, hundreds of Emir Sanusi’s supporters also stood guard in support of their king, just around the corner from the palace.
Emir Aminu’s legal representative, Aminu Babba Dan’agundi, said due process was not followed when Emir Aminu was ousted earlier this year. “No one is above the law,” he said.
Despite the economic crisis, many Nigerians are very interested in who will take power over the emirate.
“I despise Sanusi,” said Aminu Garba, a supporter of Emir Aminu, as he recalled a time when the emir said that a woman beaten by her husband should be beaten back.
“Aminu is here to create drama,” said Aisha Abdullahi, a recent graduate, adding that she supported Emir Sanusi because he was a friend of women.
Analysts say politicians are playing an outsized role in the crisis leading up to the 2027 elections. Mr Yusuf, the state governor, is likely to run. His success could depend on keeping Emir Sanusi in power.
However, observers say the party in power at the federal level needs Emir Aminu back on the throne to get enough votes in Kano.
“They have become pawns in a broader political chess game,” said historian Kassim.
Emir Aminu continues to fight a legal battle to be reinstated. So far he has won mostly in the federal courts, while the state courts have sided with Emir Sanusi.
“We must find a way to bring back peace and stability to the state and the nation in general,” said Ms. Bayero, the palace historian.
Mr. Yusuf, the governor, has twice ordered the police to evict Emir Aminu from the palace and arrest him. So far, the police have refused and recently they ordered the hunters and vigilantes guarding Emir Sanusi to withdraw, leaving him alone and vulnerable.
The centuries-old royal flag flies above the palace. Last week, Emir Aminu hoisted a replica of it outside the annex building.
Currently both flags are still flying.
