Maccido eventually recovered financially. He started importing goods and selling the goods to local businesses, just before he became sultan. Ibrahim Dasuki was removed from the position by military dictator Sani Abacha on 19 April 1996. Without going through the traditional Sokoto system of selection, Abacha named Maccido the new Sultan and he was turbaned, or a formal coronation, on 21 April 1996 in the Sultan Bello Mosque. As Sultan, he became the spiritual leader to Nigeria's Islamic community and head of the Sokoto Emirate.