“Rolls-Royces for the royal”: Exotic cars gleaming in Emir Sanusi of Kano’s garage

Lamido Sanusi Lamido is a one-time Nigerian Central Bank Governor and was the 14th Emir of Kano. He ascended the throne in 2014 after the death of his grand-uncle Ado Bayero. On the 9th of March, 2020, he was dethroned by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Muhammadu Sanusi II, CON, known by the religious title Khalifa Sanusi II, is the spiritual leader of the Tijanniyah Sufi order in Nigeria and the emir of the ancient city-state of Kano. He is a member of the Dabo dynasty and was born in Kano in 1961 into the royal family as the grandson of Muhammadu Sanusi I.

On 23 May 2024, the governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf reinstated Sanusi as emir of Kano. Sanusi had been deposed as emir four years earlier. The new law replaces the Kano State Emirates Council Law, 2019, and dissolves the five emirate councils created by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje which had splintered the Kano Emirate and led to the deposition of Sanusi.

The 64-year-old former banker is among several Nigerian monarchs who love to be chauffeured around in a Rolls-Royce and other exotic cars. His garage includes a 1952 Model Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith and Rolls-Royce Phantom VI he inherited as well as a recent models that he acquired by himself.

He is on a yearly allowance from the Nigerian government and earns about 14 million Naira yearly with a monthly salary of N1,312,500, In 2017, Emir Sanusi released his April salary payslip, According to the payslip, Sanusi earned a gross income of N1,312,500 with a PAYE deduction of N62,625. Sanusi’s net income for April 2017 amounted to N1,246,875. The Northerner dignitary has a series of luxury cars, and the most notable are: 

• 1952 Model Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

This Rolls-Royce was originally owned by an Armenian-British millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian who had many custom-made Rolls-Royces in his collection. This particular Rolls-Royce was specially designed for him in 1952. It was purchased by his Abdullahi Bayero and handed down to Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi I who is the current Emir’s grandfather.

Finished in Nigerian Colour, the Silver Wraith ‘ALW 11’ has a customised plate number “Amir Kano” (meaning Emir of Kano).

It is said that Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi I made the car available for use by Queen Elizabeth II when she toured Northern Nigeria (Kano, Jos, Kaduna, etc.) in 1956.

• Rolls-Royce Phantom VI and Rolls-Royce Phantom VII

Emir Sanusi’s love for Rolls-Royce made the 63-year-old monarchs own not just the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI but also the range-topping Rolls-Royce Phantom VII which he took delivery in 2016. The Rolls-Royce Phantom VI is one of just 374 that was manufactured from 1968 to 1990. The model is based on the Phantom V and bodied as limousine and landaulettes.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom VII is a luxury car that has a custom number plate MS-1, signifying Muhammadu Sanisu 1.

• Rolls-Royce Ghost

The youngest Emir also has a black Rolls-Royce Ghost. The Ghost had an estimated cost of N70 million when it was originally purchased but costs over 150 million naira now.

According to Sanusi, the two luxury cars, designed to be driven by his chauffeur, were gifts from his friends Kola Kareem and Bola Shagaya Autojosh noted.

Maintaining The Rolls-Royces Of The Emir Of Kano?

Of course, this sensitive piece of the Emirate’s automotives is not what you would expect just any mechanic to handle. The job of maintaining this expensive and one-off Rolls-Royce was contracted to a long-standing British independent Rolls-Royce specialist, Chris Lee, of Beaconsfield, Bucks. According to Chris Lee, when the Emirate contracted him for the maintenance of the Roll-Royce, he was instructed by the Emirate to do anything that was required, to keep it in proper working shape, irrespective of the cost. Indeed, it requires a fortune to keep a 1952 automobile in top working condition.