The 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has berated the Nigerian elite for causing ethno-religious crisis in the country.
He stated this on The Platform, an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos on Thursday.
Responding to a question during the virtual conference, Sanusi said that ethno-religious crisis was not “so much about Nigerians, but the Nigerian elites.”
According to him, these elites get into office claiming to be fighting for their geopolitical zones but are truly only interested in their pockets and the wellbeing of their immediate family.
Sanusi, who is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), emphasised that nobody is genuinely representing the interest of any geopolitical zone.
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“We do have identities. But the construction of opposing identities is a political process. It’s basically the Nigerian elite competing among itself for a share of the national cake.
“I don’t think that the people, who say they are fighting for the Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, are really interested. When they get there at the end of the day, it’s about them and their families.
“There is nobody out there that is really representing the North or the South or the East. I mean, they claim to be, but look out there.
“In the history of Nigeria, there has never been a government that does not have people from all over the country; so, the first thing to recognise is that we must get away from this sense that holding political office is what makes you a representative of the people,” he said.
He cautioned against the enthronement of federal character in appointments above merit and competence, saying that the nation would never develop in such a situation.
“We should have federal character, but why do we have a minister that can deliver but another that cannot deliver? Why is federal character always pursued at the expense of merit and competence?
“So, until we get out of this almost juvenile obsession with where is this person from, what religion does he practice and actually begin to ask those who want to be President, ministers and governors – what are your credentials? What do you bring to the table? What do you have to offer the people,” Sanusi stated.
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