Family feuds have always shaped history. But in Kano, the past is not just remembered — it keeps returning in new forms. To understand today’s emirate crisis, one must revisit 1894, when the ancient city was torn apart by a royal conflict that still echoes through time.

In his classic Kano Civil War and British Overrule, Dr. Adamu Fika recounts the events of 1894–1895, when Kano was gripped by a civil war between two branches of the Ibrahim Dabo dynasty — the Tukurawa and the Yusufawa. They were cousins: one line descended from Emir Bello, the other from Emir Abdullahi Maje Karofi.

At stake was legitimacy. Emir Tukur, from the Bello line, faced rebellion from Yusuf, son of Abdullahi Maje Karofi, whose supporters believed their lineage had been unfairly denied the throne. Yusuf died before the war ended, and his younger brother, Alu Maisango, took charge. The war concluded in 1895 with Tukur’s defeat and death.

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Alu ruled until 1903, when the British conquered Kano. They exiled him and installed his brother, Abbas — ancestor to both Emir Aminu Ado Bayero and Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II. That single decision altered the course of Kano’s history and froze a dynastic rivalry that still simmers beneath the surface today.

The current crisis is a modern replay of that old family feud — except that the weapons have changed. Constitutions and court rulings have replaced swords and spears. Political interests now drive what was once a purely dynastic contest. And outsiders — notably Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso — have added their own rivalries to the mix, turning heritage into a political battlefield.

Ironically, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, now at the centre of the storm, also shares the same royal ancestry. His great-grandfather, Yusuf — who led the 1894 rebellion — was the elder brother of Alu Maisango and Abbas. Like Sanusi II and Aminu Ado Bayero, the governor carries the same Dabo bloodline that once fought over the fate of Kano.

What happened in 1894 was not merely a struggle for the throne; it was a battle over justice, legitimacy, and the soul of Kano. What is unfolding today bears an uncanny resemblance — family against family, each claiming to defend tradition and truth.

But history should not be allowed to repeat itself. The time has come for reason and restraint.

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the two emirs — Aminu Ado Bayero and Muhammadu Sanusi II — are of the same family. They owe it to their ancestors and to the people of Kano to end this feud once and for all. The emirate must not remain a stage for pride and politics.

The people of Kano deserve peace, not tension; stability, not uncertainty. And the governor, by virtue of both his position and lineage, is best placed to lead this reconciliation. He can make history — not by choosing sides, but by choosing peace.

No city prospers when its leaders are divided. No throne endures when brothers fight over it. History will not forgive those who let this cycle continue. The ghosts of 1894 must finally be laid to rest.

Let the sons of Ibrahim Dabo remember their shared blood. Let them rise above politics and restore unity to a city that once stood as a beacon of culture, faith, and pride.

Kano has bled enough from its own past. It is time to heal — and to move forward.

Engr. Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi, FNSE [email protected]