The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has kicked against the appointment of “thieves” into public office.

Sanusi warned against 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According to him, values such as diligence, honesty, and compassion have been replaced by the glorification of wealth, no matter how it is acquired.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.