One of Nigeria’s most powerful Muslim leaders, the
emir of Kano, has voiced support for vigilantes
fighting Boko Haram, urging others to form civilian
militias and questioning the competence of the
military.

The comments were made by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,
who became emir earlier this year after being sacked
from his post as the central bank governor, where he
was one of the government’s most high-profile
critics.
It is extremely rare for Nigeria’s clerics to speak
explicitly about political and military affairs, but
many expected Sanusi to defy convention and inject
himself into public debate after assuming the highly
influential post.

“People should be sensitised on the importance of
being on the alert. And they should prepare, they
should acquire what they will defend themselves
with,” Sanusi said during Friday prayers at the central
mosque in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria’s mainly
Muslim north.
AFP obtained a copy of the transcript of the recording
on Monday. While Sanusi did not mention Boko
Haram by name, it was clear he was discussing efforts
to resist the Islamist rebels.

“Those that are endowed as hunters and vigilantes
should apply this endowment given to them by Allah
as an avenue of earning divine reward in defending
their nation,” he said.
Nigeria’s military has been cooperating with various
vigilante forces in the northeast for more than a
year, often relying on civilians to do the bulk of the
fighting against the insurgents.

Witnesses said it was vigilantes who recaptured the
symbolically important northeast town of Chibok
from Boko Haram at the weekend, with troops
staying clear of the heavy fighting.
Chibok was where the Islamists kidnapped 276
schoolgirls in April. Fifty-seven have escaped.
“We should not wait for soldiers to come, before they
come the carnage will have been done,” Sanusi told
the congregation. “Some of them drop their guns and
flee.”


The military has repeatedly been accused of leaving
civilians defenceless against Boko Haram attacks and
failing to respond to distress calls made in advance of
raids.

While Sanusi’s comments were similar to those made
by President Goodluck Jonathan’s critics, they may
feed added resentment towards the government
because the emir of Kano is expected to stay above
the political fray.

Days after Jonathan sacked him from the central
bank, Sanusi told AFP that the president was a
“simple” man who had been misled and manipulated
by incompetent advisors.

Officially, Sanusi is the number two Islamic cleric in
Nigeria, home to more than 80 million Muslims.
But many consider the emir of Kano to be more
influential than the sultan of Sokoto, who is the
country’s top Islamic leader.