By Uzair Adam
Asia Mohammad Ahmad, wife of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed claims that the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was the subject of her husband’s recent remarks about the silence of some of his friends and associates.
Ahmad made the clarification in a post on her verified Facebook page on Saturday while reacting to a column by Professor Farooq Kperogi titled, “Sanusi and the Betrayal of El-Rufai,” published in the Saturday Tribune.
She said Sanusi remained with the family and urged the public to stop linking the Emir to El-Rufai’s statement.
“I want to clarify that HH is with us and Mallam’s post has nothing to do with HRH SLS, so pls stop alluding to things that you don’t know!” she wrote.
Kperogi’s column examined whether Sanusi was among those El-Rufai referred to in a September 23 statement in which the former governor reflected on the silence of some friends, family members and associates whom he had previously supported.
El-Rufai did not mention any individual in the statement but said some people who had benefited from his support were now free to decide whether to speak out or remain silent over his current circumstances.
He also said the experience could make him reconsider some relationships, while stressing that he held no resentment towards those who chose not to support him.
Kperogi argued that Sanusi could be one of the people referred to, citing the longstanding relationship between the two men and the support El-Rufai offered Sanusi following his dethronement as Emir of Kano in 2020.
However, Ahmad has now rejected that interpretation, saying El-Rufai’s remarks had nothing to do with the Emir.
“I am glad to note that Kperogi mentioned that there may be things people don’t know,” she added.
Kperogi had acknowledged in his column that El-Rufai did not name anyone and that attempts to identify the people referred to in the statement remained speculative.
He nevertheless pointed to the history between El-Rufai and Sanusi, particularly the events that followed Sanusi’s removal from the Kano throne in March 2020.
Following Sanusi’s dethronement, El-Rufai appointed him Vice Chairman of the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency board and later Chancellor of Kaduna State University.
El-Rufai also visited Sanusi in Awe, Nasarawa State, where the former Emir had been taken after his removal from the throne.
Kperogi cited those events while questioning whether Sanusi could have been among the people El-Rufai had in mind when he spoke about individuals he had previously supported during difficult periods.
The professor, however, cautioned against reaching a definitive conclusion, noting that there could have been private conversations or interventions that were not known to the public.
He also argued that Sanusi’s current position differs from El-Rufai’s circumstances in 2020, when the former governor wielded executive authority, while Sanusi, as a traditional ruler, does not exercise comparable political powers.
The clarification from Ahmad has now added a different account to the speculation surrounding El-Rufai’s statement, with the former governor’s wife insisting that Sanusi was not the person being referred to.
El-Rufai is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with investigations into his administration. He has denied wrongdoing.
His September 23 statement generated widespread discussion over the identity of the people he referred to, particularly after he said adversity had enabled him to see some relationships differently.
Neither El-Rufai’s original statement nor Ahmad’s latest clarification identifies who the former governor specifically had in mind.
Ahmad’s intervention has, however, sought to end speculation linking Sanusi to the remarks, insisting that the Emir remains with the family and that Kperogi’s interpretation does not reflect the circumstances known to them.
