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By Myke Agunwa
The Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, has stated that corruption and embezzlement of public funds are entrenched in Nigerian society because those who steal public funds are rewarded with Senatorial and Ministerial positions.
The vociferous Royal Father stressed that until those in government begin to change the value system and shame those that pillaged public resources, thieves will continue to occupy leadership positions.
The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who was a guest on Channels Television programme, Politics Today aired on Wednesday, lamented over the total collapse of the value system in the country. He said that people are now respected by the amount in their bank account and the number of private jets they own.
According to him, “The entire value system of the country has been eroded. We have been ruled by people who have no values, people who have no names behind them, and they have 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 they have, how many billions they have in their bank accounts.
“It is not important for them to know that people look at them and they only see thieves. They see criminals. To them, values do not matter.”
Sanusi pointed out that the task of value reorientation must be a collective responsibility.
“The president or the governor or a minister cannot on their own change this country. I mean, look at our religious leaders and how they have become sycophants. They have become praise singers for money. Traditional rulers have lost it. Everybody seems to have jumped on this bandwagon where money seems to be an end in itself.
“Unfortunately, a society in which material wealth, no matter how you get it, is respected, is glorified, where people who are known to have stolen money get rewarded with ministerial appointments, with senatorial appointments, that society will continue to reproduce itself. It will not have a sense of disgust.
“People who hold public office and amass wealth, we reward them with appointments, with more public office and more opportunities to amass wealth, and this is what Nigeria has become.
“Could it have been addressed by one man? I don’t think so. Can it be addressed by a hundred men? I don’t think so. I think as parents, as citizens, we are all responsible. As leaders, we are all responsible.
“We have to continue stressing the importance of values, the importance of a sense of what is important in life beyond material wealth.
“We are all going to die. No matter how much money you have, you will die and you will be buried, and there’s nothing you will take with you. People simply do not understand that. People in their 70s and 80s are still looking for money. I don’t know what they’re going to do with it”.
Reflecting on the life of late former Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, Sanusi stressed that Nigeria urgently needs a complete regeneration of its values and institutions.
Countering the argument that civil service is the hot bed of corruption in the country, he argued that the rot in the civil service was engineered by politicians, and rebuilding the system is essential so that they can stand up against illegal directives from political appointees.
“If the civil service will remain the backbone for the regeneration of this country’s values, then the best way to do this is to protect civil servants.
“How many permanent secretaries can say no to the minister? How many permanent secretaries can say no to the president without being fired, without being removed, without being persecuted?
“As far as I’m concerned, if you send a direction, they will do exactly what you want them to do, because they’re not going to risk their jobs and their careers, standing on principles, when they know that they are not going to be protected by the system. Even if they were to be fired unjustly, it would take them decades to get justice, they don’t trust the institutions.
“So, we need to go back to strengthening the civil service, to supporting the civil service, to empowering civil servants, and teaching them that they can say no if they’re asked to break a rule, and nothing will happen to them.”