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Emir Sanusi Condemns Rewarding Thieves with Ministerial Appointment
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has decried the erosion of values among different strata of the Nigerian society.
According to him, the Nigerian society must stop rewarding people who stole the nation’s commonwealth as public office holders with more public opportunities.
“The entire value system of the country has been eroded,” the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor stated on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
“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, that society will continue to reproduce itself.
“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, and this is what Nigeria has become,” he stated.
Sanusi said many people in public offices were not well brought up, and that accounts for their mis-behaviour and faulty orientation of the essence of being in public offices. “Many people go into government to make money but you don’t go into government to make money,” he said.
“We have been ruled by people who have no values; they have no name 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 bank accounts. And they think that is something.
“It is not important to them that people look at them and they only see thieves, they see criminals, they see people who have taken the commonwealth. It is simply not important because for them, values do not matter,” he stated.
The emir, who reflected on the memories of the late former military Head of State Murtala Muhammed 50 years after, said the Nigerian society needs a regeneration of values.
He said both leaders and citizens alike are responsible for the regeneration of values in the country.
For him, material wealth should not be elevated beyond values such as honesty, diligence, compassion, among others.
“I think we need an entire regeneration of values. It is not about one person, the president or the governors, or the ministers cannot on their change this country,” he stated.
Sanusi observed that politicians destroyed the civil service, stressing that Nigeria needs to go back to strengthening the system to embolden civil servants to say ‘no’ when asked by politicians to break the rules.
British Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation, bringing an abrupt end to a premiership that began with Labour’s landslide general election victory in July 2024.
Starmer made the announcement in a statement outside 10 Downing Street, where he reflected on his time in office and defended his record in government.
“Every decision I have made has been about putting the country I love first,” Starmer said as he confirmed he would step down as both prime minister and leader of the governing Labour Party.
The resignation marks a dramatic political development in the United Kingdom, coming barely two years after Starmer led Labour back to power following more than a decade in opposition.
His departure is expected to trigger a swift leadership transition within the party at a time of heightened political uncertainty.
Addressing supporters gathered outside Downing Street, Starmer described entering No. 10 in 2024 as “the proudest moment” of his life, saying he entered politics with the goal of improving the lives of millions of people.
The outgoing prime minister also highlighted what he considered some of his key achievements, including rebuilding the Labour Party after years of internal divisions and restoring public confidence in the party’s economic and national security credentials.
Starmer said he inherited a Labour Party that was “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and faced repeated predictions that it was finished as a political force.
He argued that his leadership helped transform the party, including efforts to tackle anti-Semitism and reposition Labour as a credible alternative government.
His resignation has immediately intensified speculation over his successor. Attention has turned to Andy Burnham, who recently won the Makerfield by-election and is due to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.
Political observers and Labour insiders believe Burnham could emerge as the overwhelming favourite to take over the party leadership. Some party members are already discussing the possibility of a “coronation” process in which Burnham becomes the sole candidate, avoiding a prolonged leadership contest.
If that scenario unfolds, Labour could have a new leader and prime minister in place by September, around the time of the party’s annual conference.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
