Nigerian leaders treat public office as family enterprise – Sanusi

The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, has criticised Nigeria’s political leadership, accusing the elite of undermining national development by treating public office as a personal and family enterprise rather than a platform for public service.

Sanusi made the remarks while speaking at the 15th anniversary of Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria in Lagos.

He said the nation continues to miss critical opportunities for progress because those in power prioritise themselves and their inner circles over the welfare of citizens.

“We have done enough damage and maybe we need to stop. And I think this is the point Omobola is making about missed opportunities. Not just missed opportunities, I think sometimes deliberately missed opportunities,” he said.

“The reason we miss these opportunities is because we have people who think public office is about themselves, it’s about their families, it’s about people close to them, it’s not about the country. But public office is about the citizens.”

Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), urged young Nigerians to challenge the country’s prevailing dysfunction and work collectively to build a nation that reflects its true potential.

He argued that the current system is sustained by ethnic rivalries, religious tensions, and personal interests that have derailed national unity and development.

“The important thing for me is that as citizens, each and every one of us will remember that the nation belongs to us. It does not belong to the government, it does not belong to politicians, it belongs to us,” he said.

“We own this country and wherever we find ourselves, we must remember that we are holding one small part of Nigeria and we have a duty to do what we must, to contribute our own quota to this country.”

He called on young Nigerians to unite around a shared ideological direction and articulate a clear vision for the type of Nigeria they want to build.

“What we need to do is try to come together and articulate a clear and achievable ideological position, a vision for what kind of Nigeria we want to have,” he said.

“And it has to be a Nigeria different from the Nigeria that has been manufactured for us, a Nigeria of ethnic rivalries, religious conflicts, race seeking, competition for aggrandizement.

“It has to be a country that realises its potential in the committee of nations.”

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