Muhammadu Sanusi I
| Muhammadu Sanusi I | |
|---|---|
| Emir of Kano | |
| Reign | December 1953 – April 1963 |
| Predecessor | Abdullahi Bayero |
| Abdicated | Muhammad Inuwa |
| Chiroma of Kano | |
| In office 1926 – 23 December 1953 | |
| Monarch | Abdullahi Bayero |
| Preceded by | Abdullahi Bayero |
| Succeeded by | Aminu Sanusi |
| Born | 1900 Kano |
| Died | 1991 (aged 90–91) Wudil, Kano State |
| Burial | Nassarawa Palace, Kano State, Nigeria |
| Issue | Ado Sanusi |
| Dynasty | Dabo (House of Bayero) |
| Father | Abdullahi Bayero |
| Religion | Islam |
Alhaji Sir Muhammadu Sanusi I KBE (ⓘ) was the Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria (1957) and Emir of Kano from 1954 to 1963. He was the eldest son of Emir Abdullahi Bayero. He was a powerful Emir that had substantial influence in the colonial Northern Nigeria. He hosted a grand durbar festival for Elizabeth II when she visited Kano in 1956. The power tussle between him and his distant cousin Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto and accusations of financial malfeasance led to his abdication, and subsequent self-exile in Azare 1963. His grandson, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria reigned as Emir of Kano from 2014 to 2020, was dethroned by the state government in 2020 then reinstated on 24 May 2024 by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. Sanusi belonged to the reformed Tijaniyya order of Ibrahim Niass.