Thieves shouldn’t be rewarded with ministerial appointments – Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has condemned the appointment of individuals with questionable integrity into public office, warning that Nigeria must stop rewarding those who steal public funds with ministerial roles.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Wednesday, the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor said the country’s value system has collapsed, and materialism now supersedes honesty and integrity.

“A society in which material wealth, no matter how you get it, is respected… where people who are known to have stolen money get rewarded with ministerial appointments… that society will continue to reproduce itself,” Sanusi said.

He decried the prevailing trend where individuals with tainted reputations are celebrated and recycled into government positions, insisting that such a system fosters corruption and dishonesty.

Sanusi said many public officials lack proper upbringing and a sense of moral responsibility, noting that they pursue government roles solely for personal enrichment. “Many people go into government to make money, but you don’t go into government to make money,” he said.

According to him, values such as diligence, honesty, and compassion have been replaced by the glorification of wealth, no matter how it is acquired. “We have been ruled by people who have no values… They define themselves by what they own: houses, private jets, billions in bank accounts,” he lamented.

Reflecting on the late former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed, Sanusi stressed that Nigeria urgently needs a complete regeneration of its values and institutions. He argued that the rot in the civil service was engineered by politicians, and rebuilding the system is essential to empower civil servants to stand up against illegal directives.

He concluded that societal change cannot be left solely to the president, governors, or ministers, urging all Nigerians to collectively reclaim and restore ethical standards.

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