The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has raised alarm over what he described as the moral decay in Nigerian society, particularly the way individuals with questionable public service records are honoured and rewarded.
Speaking during a live appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television, the former Central Bank Governor lamented that Nigeria had become a country where wealth is celebrated regardless of how it is acquired — even when it is stolen from public coffers.
“A society in which material wealth, no matter how you get it, is respected and glorified — where people who are known to have stolen money get rewarded with ministerial appointments — that society will continue to reproduce itself,” he said.
Sanusi criticised the lack of accountability in public office, stating that individuals who should be facing the law are instead elevated to higher positions of power.
“We don’t have a sense of disgust for people who hold public office and amass wealth; we reward them with appointments, with more public offices, and more opportunities to amass wealth. This is what Nigeria has become,” the Emir lamented.
He attributed this trend to a fundamental failure in upbringing and public orientation, saying many in leadership today were not brought up with the right values.
“Many people go into government to make money, but you don’t go into government to make money,” Sanusi stated.
He further criticised the obsession with material wealth and lack of legacy-driven leadership.
“We have been ruled by people who have no values. They have no name behind them and no desire to leave a name after them. These are people who define themselves by what they own — how many houses they have, how many private jets, how many billions they keep in bank accounts — and they think that is something.”
Sanusi warned that such a system, where moral values are absent and corruption is normalized, poses a grave threat to the country’s future.
“It is not important to them that people look at them and see thieves, criminals, people who have taken the commonwealth. It is simply not important because, for them, values do not matter,” he added.
