Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, has blamed the greed of Nigerian politicians for the pervasive decline in societal values.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Speaking in a room filled with politicians from various political parties, including those from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), on Tuesday in Abuja, Sanusi called on the country’s leaders to prioritise integrity over material wealth.
According to the emir, a person’s true identity is not defined by their official title, wealth, or material possessions but by their character, integrity, and actions.
Sanusi, who spoke at the 2024 Annual Conference of the Nkata Ndi Inyom Igbo (NNII) held in the nation’s capital, said politicians should not be defined by their titles, such as senator, governor, or emir, but by their character.
“If you’re a senator or an emir or a governor or a rich man, it is what you are, not who you are. If you own a house, a big car or an aeroplane, it is not what you are. You are the man who owns that house. They are things outside of you.
“You can have two senators, one is an honest, good, kind and generous man and the other is a thief. They are both senators.
“Who you are is you are a good man or you’re a thief. You are honest or you’re dishonest, you’re kind or you’re cruel, or you’re trustworthy or you’re a traitor, you’re sincere or you’re a liar, that is who you are and that is the most important thing.
“Whether you own a big house or a plane or not, you can have a poor man who is a thief and you can be a rich man and you are still a thief,” he said.
Sanusi added that public office is a privilege granted by God and a test of how leaders use their power to serve the people.
He stressed that the true legacy of any leader should be what they do for the society, not the material wealth they accumulate.
“People are given opportunities in public service to transform the lives of people for the better. God gave them that opportunity. And as we always say for those of us who are privileged, there is nothing that tells you that God loves you better than the other person he did not give that privilege. It is a test. God makes you a governor or an emir or a president or a senator and he does not make hundreds of thousands or millions…he’s testing you to see what would you do with that position to help those that he did not give. And it is a great opportunity to write your name in gold. But people don’t want to.
“You hold an office for 4 years or 8 years and all you can say is that I was a minister for so many years or I was a senator for this years or I was a President for so many years. So what if you were a president?
“What did you do with the 8 years? What do you want to be remembered for? Is it the houses that you will die and leave that your children will be fighting over? Is it the money that you hid in Swiss accounts that will never even come to your family? And sometimes the family gets it and we have seen the children become drug addicts, they become what we call ‘money miss road’. They spend it on parties and after three or four years, the money is gone,” he stated.
Sanusi added, “So until we begin to have this conversation (before we can address the moral issues). It is not an ethnic or religious conversation. Even ethnicity is what you are. Did any of us choose to be born Igbo or Yoruba or Hausa or Fulani?
“But we like focusing on that ‘he’s Hausa’ or ‘he’s Igbo’ or ‘he’s Yoruba’. You can be Hausa or Igbo or Yoruba but if you’re a thief, you’re a thief. For this country to move forward, we have to start talking about values.”
Sanusi further criticised the current state of Nigerian politics where party affiliations often shift without any clear ideological basis.
“And I’m sorry that this is a room full of politicians. Today you’re in PDP, tomorrow you’re in APC, the next day in APGA. Why because the focus is on what we are.
“We don’t even know what the parties stand for. There’s no party that we can say is a progressive party or which one is committed to the masses because they’re the same people.
“I think this is why this conversation is essential. It is a conversation at the most basic level and it is important to have it because as we go through difficult economic situations, as we go through insecurity and uncertainty, the tendency to abandon who we are increases.
“People feel they have to steal to pay school fees, they have to be dishonest to eat food. Women have to be prostitutes to live. We have to get to a point where we remind people of what is important in life.
“Also, for those who are elite, go back to the basic principle of understanding the meaning of enough. How much do you need in your life? You have a roof over your head, you are eating 3 square meals a day, you are in good health, and you are paying your children’s school fees, why do you need a plane? Why do you need 10 houses? Why do you need a yacht why do you need billions in a bank account? You’re just watching the money? If you have N100 billion sitting in a bank account, you are a poor man. You’re just a ‘mai guard’. You’re not eating it, you’re not using it, you’re not living, so what do you want it for? And that is a N100 billion that could have built schools, built hospitals provided health care, and saved lives.
“So, until we go back to knowing the importance of who we are, the rest of the country will never go anywhere. Until we know that the most important thing is not how much you have or how many houses you left, but how you were able to impact human life positively.”
The conference, themed “Driving Transformation Through Value Reorientation, Inclusive Leadership, and Sustainability,” was convened by former Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, the founder and president-general of NNII.
It had in attendance the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim; and the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, among others.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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